SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Glob. Women’s Health
Sec. Quality of Life
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2025.1687419
Intersecting Inequities: A Systematic Review of Socio-Cultural, Economic, and Legal Determinants of Violence Against Women and Girls in Asia (ANULA Project-WP1 Evidence Synthesis)
Provisionally accepted
Nimesha Wijamuni1
Sohier Elneil2*
Peter Phiri3
Thamudi Sundarapperuma1Janaki Warushahennadi1
Vindya Pathiraja1
George Uchenna Eleje4
Jian Qing SHI5
Nirmala Rathnayake1
Gayathri Delanerolle6,7- 1University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka
- 2University College London, London, United Kingdom
- 3Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom
- 4Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
- 5Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
- 6Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom
- 7University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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Background Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains a critical public health challenge globally and in Asia, where it is rooted in entrenched socio-cultural, economic, and legal inequities. Despite increasing awareness, the drivers of VAWG in Asian contexts remain poorly consolidated across disciplines. Objective To systematically identify and report the socio-cultural, economic, and legal determinants of VAWG in Asia. Methods An evidence synthesis protocol was systematic developed and registered in PROSPERO (CRD420241046281). Comprehensive searches were conducted across PubMed, Science Direct, and the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group Specialised Register for English-language peer-reviewed articles published between April 1980 and April 2025. The analysis was conducted using contextual and thematic approaches. Results From 16,473 records screened, 34 studies met inclusion criteria. Studies spanned South, Southeast, and East Asia, and included diverse methodologies. Thematic analysis revealed five dominant themes: socio-cultural determinants, economic constraints, legal and institutional weaknesses, regional and demographic variations, and emerging forms of violence. The total population represented across the studies was 193,429 women and girls. Conclusion VAWG in Asia is perpetuated by intersecting systems of gender inequality, economic deprivation, and weak legal enforcement. Multisectoral, culturally sensitive interventions are urgently needed to address the structural roots of violence. Future research should prioritise underrepresented regions and emerging modalities of violence, such as cyber abuse.
Keywords: violence against women, Asia, Socio-cultural factors, Economic abuse, legal systems, patriarchy, gender-based violence, Systematic review
Received: 17 Aug 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wijamuni, Elneil, Phiri, Sundarapperuma, Warushahennadi, Pathiraja, Eleje, SHI, Rathnayake and Delanerolle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sohier Elneil, sohier.elneil@ucl.ac.uk
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