Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T09:28:21.585Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Do women with autonomy in the household experience less intimate partner violence in Malawi? Evidence from the 2015–16 Demographic and Health Survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2021

James Forty Open the ORCID record for James Forty [Opens in a new window]
James Forty*
Affiliation:
Department of Population Studies, University of Botswana, Gaborone
*
Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In Malawi, the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV), or closely related violence, is estimated at 42% according to the 2015–16 Malawi Demography and Health Survey (MDHS). This study investigated the association between women’s autonomy in household decision-making participation as well as sexual autonomy and IPV among married and cohabiting women aged 15–49 years in Malawi. Secondary data were taken from the 2015–16 MDHS. Multivariate analysis was performed using a stepwise forward logistic (binary) regression model to assess the association of dimensions of women’s autonomy in the household and selected control variables with IPV. No association was found between dimensions of women’s autonomy in the household and IPV. However, other variables did have an association with some form of IPV, namely women justifying wife beating, having a jealous partner, being accused of unfaithfulness by their partner, having a partner who drinks alcohol and having a partner with another woman or more. In addition, religion, ethnicity, women education level and women’s occupation were found to be associated with the risk of experiencing IPV. The study recommends policy interventions aimed at supporting youth, especially girls, to complete secondary education before they marry or cohabit; the development of accessible and affordable psycho-social counselling specialists and platforms for married and cohabiting couples; nationwide rigorous advocacy and civic education on IPV; and enforcement of Malawi’s 2006 domestic violence law.

Keywords

Intimate partner violenceDimensions of women’s autonomy in the householdMalawi
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 54 , Issue 6 , November 2022 , pp. 939 - 958
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramsky, T, Watts, CH, Garcia-Moreno, , Devries, K, Kiss, L et al. (2011) What factors are associated with recent intimate partner violence? Findings from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence. BMC Public Health 11, 109, doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Acharya, DR, Bell, JS, Simkhada, P, van-Teijlingen, ER and Regmi, PR (2010) Women’s autonomy in household decision-making: a demographic study in Nepal. Reproductive Health 7, (1), doi: 10.1186/1742-4755-7-15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Agarwal, B (1986) Women, poverty and agricultural growth in India. Journal of Peasant Studies 13(4), 165–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agarwal, B (1997) “Bargaining” and gender relations: within and beyond the household. Feminist Economics 3(1), 1–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahinkorah, BO, Kwamena, S, Seidu, A and Sekyi, KD (2018) Women decision-making capacity and intimate partner violence among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Archives of Public Health 76(1), doi: 11.1186/s13690-018-0253-9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allendorf, K (2007) Do Women’s Land Rights Promote Empowerment and Child Health in Nepal? World Development 35(11), 1975–1988.Google ScholarPubMed
Atteraya, MS, Gnawali, S and Song, IH (2015) Factors associated with intimate partner violence against married women in Nepal. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 30(7), 1226–1246.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bardhan, K (1985) Women’s work, welfare and status: forces of tradition and change in India. Economic and Political Weekly 20(50), 2207–2220.Google Scholar
Bengesai, AV, Hafiz, TA and Khan, HTA (2020) Female autonomy and intimate partner violence: findings from the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey. Culture, Health & Sexuality. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2020.1743880.Google ScholarPubMed
Chikhungu, LC, Amos, M, Kandala, N and Palikadavath, S (2019) Married women’s experience of domestic violence in malawi: new evidence from a cluster and multinomial logistic regression analysis. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 36(17–18), doi: 10.1177/0886260519851782.Google ScholarPubMed
Chilanga, E, Collin-Vezina, D, Khan, MN and Riley, L (2020) Prevalence and determinants of intimate partner violence against mothers of children under-five years in central Malawi. BMC Public Health 20(1), 1848, doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09910-z CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Darteh, EKM, Dickson, KS, Rominski, SD and Moyer, CA (2020) Justification of physical intimate partner violence among men in sub-Saharan Africa: a multinational analysis of demographic and health survey data. Journal of Public Health, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01260-9.Google Scholar
Dixon-Mueller, R (1993) The sexuality connection in reproductive health. Studies in Family Planning 24(5), 269–282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dyson, T and Moore, M (1983) On kinship structure, female autonomy and demographic behavior in India. Population and Development Review 9, 35–60.Google Scholar
Eswaran, M and Malhotra, N (2011) Domestic violence and women’s autonomy in developing countries: theory and evidence. Canadian Journal of economics/revue canadienne d'économique 44(4), 1222–1263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fanslow, J, Robinson, E, Crengle, S and Perese, L (2010) Juxtaposing beliefs and reality: prevalence rates of intimate partner violence and attitudes to violence and gender roles reported by New Zealand women. Violence Against Women 16(7), 812–831.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedemann-Sánchez, G and Lovatón, R (2012) Intimate partner violence in Colombia: who is at risk? Social Forces 91(2), 663–688.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fulu, E and Kerr-Wilson, (2015) What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls: Evidence Reviews. URL: https://www.sexrightsafrica.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/what-works_Annex-C-Summary_Prevention-Interventions_Paper-2-Final-1.1-cop.pdf (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
Fuseini, K and Kalule-Sabiti, I (2015) Women’s autonomy in Ghana: does religion matter? African Population Studies 29(2), https://doi.org/10.11564/29-2-743.Google Scholar
García-Moreno, C, Jansen, H A, Ellsberg, M, Heise, L and Watts, C (2006) Prevalence of intimate partner violence: findings from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence. The Lancet 368(9543), 1260–1269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Moreno, C, Pallitto, C, Devries, K, Stöckl, H, Watts, C and Abrahams, N (2013) Global and Regional Estimates of Violence Against Women. World Health Organization, Geneva. URL: https://apps.who.int.iris/bitstream/handle/10665/85239/9789241564625 (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
Government of Malawi (2014) National Plan of Action to Combat Gender-Based Violence in Malawi 2014-2020. Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, Lilongwe.Google Scholar
Go, VF, Johnson, SC, Bentley, ME, Sivaram, S, Srikrishnan, AK et al. (2003) Crossing the threshold: engendered definitions of socially acceptable domestic violence in Chennai, India. Culture, Health and Sexuality 5(5), 393–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenhalgh, S (1985) Sexual stratification: the other side of “growth with equity” in East Asia. Population and Development Review 11(2), 265–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamby, SL (2000) The importance of community in a feminist analysis of domestic violence among American Indians. American Journal of Community Psychology 28, 649–669.Google Scholar
Heise, LL (1998) Violence against women: an integrated, ecological framework. Violence Against Women 4(3), 262–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hindin, MJ and Adair, LS (2002) Who’s at risk? Factors associated with intimate partner violence in the Philippines. Social Science & Medicine 55(8), 1385–1399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jansen, NA and Agadjarian, V (2019) Polygyny and intimate partner violence in Mozambique. Journal of Family Issues 41(3), 338–3568.Google ScholarPubMed
Jejeebhoy, SJ (1991) Women’s status and fertility: successive cross-sectional evidence from Tamil Nadu, India, 1970–80. Studies on Family Planning 22, 217–230.Google Scholar
Kanteh, O and Palamuleni, M (2019) Women status and fertility in the Gambia. Gender and Behavior 17(3), 13627–13644.Google Scholar
Kusanthan, T, Mwaba, SOC, Menon, JA (2016) Factors affecting domestic violence among married women in Zambia. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science 12(2), 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kyegombe, N, Starmann, E, Devries, KM, Michau, L, Nakuti, J, Musuya, T et al. (2014) “SASA! is the medicine that treats violence”. Qualitative findings on how a community mobilisation intervention to prevent violence against women created change in Kampala, Uganda. Global Health Action 7, doi: 10.3402/gha.v7.25082.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawoko, S (2008) Predictors of attitudes toward intimate partner violence: a comparative study of men in Zambia and Kenya. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 23(8), 1056–1074.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levitt, HM and Ware, K (2006) “Anything with two heads is a monster”: religious leaders’ perspectives on marital equality and domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 12(12), 1169–1190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lombardini, S, Bowman, K and Garwood, R (2017) A ‘How To’ Guide to Measuring Women’s Empowerment: Sharing Experience from Oxfam’s Impact Evaluations. URL: https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/a-how-to-guide-to-measuring-womens-empowerment-sharing-experience-from-oxfams-i-620271 (accessed March 2021).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mann, JR and Takyi, BK (2009) Autonomy, dependence or culture: examining the impact of resources and socio-cultural processes on attitudes towards intimate partner violence in Ghana, Africa. Journal of Family Violence 24, 323–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manyange, SC (2003) Women’s Status and Fertility in Kenya. URL: http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/handle/123456789/6284 (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
NSO-Malawi (2017) Malawi Demographic and Health Survey Report 2015–2016. National Statistical Office Malawi, Zomba. URL: http://www.nsomalawi.mw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=222&Itemid=108 (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
NSO-Malawi (2019) Malawi Housing and Census Report 2018. Nation Statistics Office, Zomba, Malawi. Available at: http://www.nsomalawi.mw/index.php (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
NSO-Malawi and DHS Program (2017) Malawi Demographic and Health Survey Report 2015–2016. National Statistical Office, Zomba, Malawi. URL: http://www.nsomalawi.mw/images/stories/data_on_line/demography/mdhs2015_16/MDHS2015-16FinalReport.pdf (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
Okenwa, LE, Lawoko, S and Jansson, B (2009) Exposure to intimate partner violence amongst women of reproductive age in Lagos, Nigeria: prevalence and predictors. Journal of Family Violence 24(7), 517–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okenwa-Emegwa, L, Lawoko, S and Jansson, B (2016) Attitudes toward physical intimate partner violence against women in Nigeria. SAGE Open 6(4), doi: 10.1177/2158244016667993.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owusu-Adjah, ES and Agbemafle, I (2016) Determinants of domestic violence against women in Ghana. BMC Public Health 16(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3041-x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palamuleni, ME (2011) Socio economic determinants of age at marriage in Malawi. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology 3(7), 224–235.Google Scholar
Palamuleni, ME (2019) Prevalence and correlates of domestic violence among currently married women in Malawi. Journal of Gender and Behaviour 17(3), 13372–13397.Google Scholar
Paul, M, Mejia, C, Muyanda, B and Munthali, L (2017) Developing Measures of Reproductive Empowerment. Measure Evaluation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. URL: https://www.measureevaluation.org/resources/publications/tr-17-185.html (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
Paul, S (2016) Women’s labour force participation and domestic violence: evidence from India. Journal of South Asian Development 11(2), 224–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Popoola, BI (2009) Sex-negotiation strategies and safer-sex practices among married women in South-western Nigeria. Sexual Relationship Therapy 24, 261–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rahman, M, Hoque, MA and Makinoda, S (2011) Intimate partner violence against women: is women empowerment a reducing factor? A study from a national Bangladeshi sample. Journal of Family Violence 26(5), 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rakovec-Felser, Z (2014) domestic violence and abuse in intimate relationship from public health perspective. Health Psychology Research 2(3), 1821.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schuler, SR and Nazneen, S (2018) Does intimate partner violence decline as women’s empowerment becomes Normative? Perspectives of Bangladeshi women. World Development 101, 284–292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sougou, NM, Bassoum, O, Faye, A and Leye, MMM (2020) Women’s autonomy in health decision making and its effect on access to family planning services in Senegal in 2017: a propensity score analysis. BioMedical Central, Public Health 20(1), 872. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09003-x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sunmola, A, Sambo, MN, Mayungbo, OA and Morakinyo, LA (2019) Moderating effect of husband’s controlling attitudes on the relation between women’s household decision-making autonomy and intimate partner violence experience in Nigeria. Journal of Interpersonal Violence Doi: 10.1177/0886260519888534.Google ScholarPubMed
Tenkorang, E (2018) Women’s autonomy and intimate partner violence in Ghana. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 44(2), 51–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
United Nations (1993) Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. URL: https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r104.htm (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
United Nations (2017) Sustainable Development Goals. URL: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
United Nations (2018) The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018. URL: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/report/2018/TheSustainableDevelopmentGoalsReport2018-EN.pdf (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
Wang, G and Jain, W (2003) Regression Analysis Modeling & Forecasting. Graceway Publishing Company. URL: https://books.google.mw/books?hl=en&lr=&id=dRQAkwHHmtwC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=Wang+G+and+Jain+W+(2003)+Regression+Analysis+Modeling+%26+Forecasting.+Graceway+Publishing+Company.&ots=en7yF3ySUq&sig=wkg42cuAioL4yz3t_1bcXAg8AlU&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
Wekwete, NN, Sanhokwe, H, Murenjekwa, W, Takavarasha, F and Madzingira, N (2014) The association between spousal gender based violence and women’s empowerment among currently married women aged 15–49 in Zimbabwe: evidence from the 2010-11 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey. African Population Studies/etude la Population Africaine 28(3), 1413–1431.Google Scholar
WHO (2013) Global and Regional Estimates of Violence Against Women: Prevalence and Health Effects of Intimate Partner Violence and Non-Partner Sexual Violence. URL: https://www.who.int/iris/handle/10665/85239 (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
WHO (2017) WHO Fact Sheet: Violence Against Women. URL: http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar
World Bank (2020) The World Bank in Malawi. World Bank, Washington, DC. Available at: nhttps://www.worldbank.org/en/country/Malawi (accessed March 2021).Google Scholar