Time Heals all Wounds? a Capabilities Approach for Analyzing Intimate Partner Violence

The capabilities approach has redefined what constitutes economic well-being and is now used globally to track progress in human development. Yet, its application in examining violence against women has been limited to identification of impacts on universal capabilities and protective or risk factors for violence. This study examines the long-term consequences of intimate partner violence as capability deprivations. This framework allows for a more complete articulation of the costs faced by survivors. Additionally, this approach allows for consideration of the temporal dimension of capability deprivations associated with intimate partner violence. Such deprivations are cyclical, in the translation of resources into capabilities and into functionings, and linear, over the lifespan. Ultimately, the capabilities approach can help evaluate policies that disproportionately impact survivors over time. Two examples from the United States are included.HIGHLIGHTS Intimate partner violence (IPV) is both a serious, direct deprivation of bodily integrity and a cause and consequence of deprivations across other capabilities.Compared to static frameworks, the capabilities approach allows for better recognition of the long-run costs of IPV.Organizations working with survivors should move away from resource-based perspectives and toward using the capabilities approach to identify and remove barriers survivors face in translating resources to capabilities to functionings.Examining the US-based Purple Paw Program for pet fostering and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act reveals how conceptualizing IPV in terms of capabilities can aid in targeting policies toward supporting survivors.