Culture and domestic violence amongst ever-married women in Malawi: an analysis of emotional, sexual, less-severe physical and severe physical violence

Nearly 42% of ever-married women in Malawi have experienced some form of physical, sexual or emotional violence perpetrated by their current or most recent spouse - higher than the global estimate of 35%. This study used national-level data for ever-married women aged 15-49 years from the 2015 Malaw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of biosocial science 2021-03, Vol.53 (2), p.199-213
Main Authors: Chikhungu, Lana Clara, Bradley, Tamsin, Jamali, Monica, Mubaiwa, Ottis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Aggression
Alcohol
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology
Alcohol use
Child marriage
Consumption
Cross-Sectional Studies
Cultural factors
Culture
Dependency theory
Domestic violence
Drinking behavior
Emotional Abuse - statistics & numerical data
Emotions
Ethnic groups
Ethnicity
Families & family life
Female
Gender
Health surveys
Households
Humans
Husbands
Malawi - epidemiology
Marriage
Marriage - statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Minority & ethnic groups
Monogamy
Patriarchy
Personal relationships
Religion
Sex Offenses - statistics & numerical data
Socioeconomic Factors
Spouse Abuse - statistics & numerical data
Spouses - statistics & numerical data
Wives
Women
Young Adult
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Summary:Nearly 42% of ever-married women in Malawi have experienced some form of physical, sexual or emotional violence perpetrated by their current or most recent spouse - higher than the global estimate of 35%. This study used national-level data for ever-married women aged 15-49 years from the 2015 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey to explore the association between cultural factors and the likelihood of women experiencing sexual, physical and emotional violence after controlling for socioeconomic factors using multilevel logistic regression modelling. Key cultural factors found to be associated with violence against ever-married women in Malawi were type of marriage (polygynous or monogamous), age at marriage, religion and ethnicity. Husband's consumption of alcohol also emerged as a very important factor in violence against married women. Interventions to tackle violence against married women in Malawi should aim at promoting monogamous marriages and discouraging polygynous marriages, and address the culture of heavy alcohol consumption amongst husbands. Future studies could explore further if there are key lessons that families can learn from Muslim families and across ethnic groups.
ISSN:0021-9320
1469-7599
1469-7599
DOI:10.1017/S0021932020000140