Economic solvency in the context of violence against women: a concept analysis

The aim of this concept analysis is to define economic solvency in the context of violence against women. Poverty, or lack of resources, is often discussed as a risk factor for intimate partner violence. The concept of economic solvency, which may be a protective factor for women, is less often discussed and not well defined. Databases searched for the analysis included EBSCOhost, CINAHL, PubMed and Gender Watch. The Rodgers evolutionary method was used to perform the concept analysis. A total of 134 articles were retrieved, using the specified search terms 'economic solvency and women', 'economic self-reliance and women' and 'economic self-sufficiency and women'. Articles were included if they were peer reviewed, contained the keywords with sufficient context to determine the author's intended meaning, and focused on women only or contrasted men to women. Thirty-five articles were used in the concept analysis. The definition of economic solvency drawn from the concept analysis is: a long-term state that occurs when there is societal structure that supports gender equity and external resources are available and can be used by a woman who has necessary human capital, sustainable employment and independence. Just as poverty and violence are cyclical, so are economic solvency and empowerment of women. To decrease women's risk of intimate partner violence around the world and further improve the status of women, we recommend continued research on economic solvency, including the individual, family, community and societal resources required to obtain economic solvency and the human capital characteristics needed for sustainability.