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Understanding women's attitudes towards wife beating in Zimbabwe
Bulletin
of the World Health Organization 2003, 81 (7)
by Michelle J. Hindin1
July 2003
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Objective
To investigate the factors associated with attitudes towards wife
beating among women in partnerships in Zimbabwe in order to assist
public health practitioners in preventing intimate partner violence
(IPV).
Methods
A nationally representative survey of 5907 women of reproductive
age (15-49 years) was conducted in Zimbabwe. Women were asked about
their attitudes towards wife beating in five situations. The survey
included sociodemographic characteristics, partnership characteristics,
and household decision-making.
Findings
Over half of all women in Zimbabwe (53%) believed that wife beating
was justified in at least one of the five situations. Respondents
were most likely to find wife beating justified if a wife argued
with her spouse (36%), neglected her children (33%), or went out
without telling her spouse (30%). Among women in partnerships (n
= 3077), younger age, living in rural areas, lower household wealth,
schooling at a lower level than secondary, and lower occupational
status were associated with women reporting that wife beating is
justified. Women who reported that they make household decisions
jointly with their partners were less likely to say that wife beating
is justified.
Conclusions
Zimbabwe has a long way to go in preventing IPV, particularly because
the younger generation of women is significantly more likely to
believe that wife beating is justified compared with older women.
Given the current social and political climate in Zimbabwe, finding
means to negotiate rather than settle conflict through violence
is essential from the household level to the national level.
1 Assistant Professor,
Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Bloomberg School
of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe Street,
E413, Baltimore, MD 21205-2179, USA
(email: mhindin@jhsph.edu).
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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