Risk Factors for IPV among Married Women in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe

• In Event: 220 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 06. Family Conflict and Family Violence

Abstract

This paper employs data from the Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) in Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Malawi to examine risk factors for Intimate Partner Physical Violence (IPPV) among married women. Although the results reveal that risk factors associated with IPPV vary by country, the estimated coefficient of polygamy is positive and significant at least at the 5% level in all four countries, suggesting that all else equal, polygamy increases the risk of IPPV. In addition, the estimated coefficient for alcoholism is positive and significant at the 1% level in all the countries, suggesting that overall, women with alcoholic husbands were more likely to experience IPPV in Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, and Malawi. Data analyses also show that there is a strong relationship between education and IPPV. Married women with at least a secondary education from Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe were more likely to experience IPPV than their counterparts with tertiary education. The probability of experiencing IPPV is however the same regardless of educational levels of married women in Malawi. Other socio-demographic variables examined in the study include location of residence, age difference between partners, women’s employment and women’s autonomy. This research contributes to the nascent literature examining IPPV in multiple countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and the socio-demographic characteristics that put women at risk of IPPV.

Authors

• Christobel Asiedu, Louisiana Tech University

• Tatenda Zinyemba, Indiana University

• Elizabeth Asiedu, University of Kansas