The SMU Office of Postgraduate Research Programmes organised yet another Brown-bag Seminar held virtually on 16 March 2022. The Seminar was open to all SMU postgraduate research students. There were over ten participants at the Seminar. The student speaker, Arpita KHANNA, a 5th Year PhD in Economics candidate presented on the “Impact of Natural Disasters on Domestic Violence”. Associate Professor of Economics, Tomoki FUJII chaired the session.
Participants gained insights from Arpita and Associate Professor FUJII about the relationship between natural disasters, its socioeconomic costs and public health impact. In her study, Arpita shared about the linkages between exposure to a natural disaster (i.e., 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal) and the incidence of stress and intimate partner violence (IPV).
The exposure to the Nepal quake in 2015 led to a significant increase in the likelihood of IPV with a history of family violence enhancing its impact. Due to escalating stress and financial constraints, via the analysis of substance use, Arpita shows how the increase in stress may increase the incidence of intimate partner violence in urban areas after a natural disaster occurrence. Besides physical rebuilding of the infrastructure, it is critical to focus on tackling the source of stress to support victim’s long-term physical, psychological and economic wellbeing. Watch the recording of the Seminar.
