Understanding Women’s Attitudes Towards Wife Beating in Mainland China

• In Event: ACCCJ Empirical Criminological Research on China

Abstract

To employ effective interventions to eliminate domestic violence in China, this paper investigated women’s perception of wife beating. This study used a sample of 600 women in a large city in southern China, examining the effects of socio-demographic factors, patriarchal ideology and IPV experience on women’s perceptions of wife beating. Women’s attitudes towards wife beating were measured from responses to the questions of whether a husband is justified in beating his wife when she: neglecting household work; going out without telling him; refusing to have sex with him; neglecting the children; not obeying parents in law; not having male child and arguing with him. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine the association of influential factors on women’s perception of wife beating. Results indicated that marital status, husbands’ gambling behaviors, gender ideology, satisfaction with interpersonal relationships, urban Hukou, IPV experience were significantly associated with perceptions of wife beating.

Authors

• Jia Xue, University of Pennsylvania

• Ivan Sun, University of Delaware