Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T08:57:29.835Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2020

Lana Clara Chikhungu Open the ORCID record for Lana Clara Chikhungu [Opens in a new window] ,
Tamsin Bradley ,
Monica Jamali  and
Ottis Mubaiwa
Lana Clara Chikhungu*
Affiliation:
School of Area Studies, History, Politics and Literature, Faculty Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Portsmouth, UK
Tamsin Bradley
Affiliation:
School of Area Studies, History, Politics and Literature, Faculty Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Portsmouth, UK
Monica Jamali
Affiliation:
School of Economic, Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southampton, UK
Ottis Mubaiwa
Affiliation:
School of Area Studies, History, Politics and Literature, Faculty Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Portsmouth, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

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.

Keywords

ViolenceMarried womenMalawi
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 53 , Issue 2 , March 2021 , pp. 199 - 213
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. 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

ADD (2013) The alcohol situation in Malawi documented in new research report. Alcohol, Drugs and Development. URL: http://www.add-resources.org/the-alcohol-situation-in-malawi-documented-in-new-research-report.5326844-79090.html (accessed 4th March 2019).Google Scholar
Adebowale, AS (2018) Spousal age difference and associated predictors of intimate partner violence in Nigeria. BMC Public Health 18(1), 212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alio, AP, Clayton, HB, Garba, M, Mbah, AK, Daley, E and Salihu, HM (2011) Spousal concordance in attitudes toward violence and reported physical abuse in African couples. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 26(14), 2790–2810.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, KL (1997) Gender, status, and domestic violence: an integration of feminist and family violence approaches. Journal of Marriage and Family 59(3), 655–669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersson, N, Ho-Foster, A, Mitchell, S, Scheepers, E and Goldstein, S (2007) Risk factors for domestic physical violence: national cross-sectional household surveys in eight southern African countries. BMC Womens Health 7, 11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arnado, C (2004) Ethnicity and marriage patterns in Mozambique. African Population Studies 19(1), 143–164.Google Scholar
Berge, E, Kambewa, D, Munthali, A and Wiig, H (2013) Lineage and land reforms in Malawi: do matrilineal and patrilineal landholding systems represent a problem for land reforms in Malawi? Centre for Land Tenure Studies Working Paper 09/13. Nowergian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernardin, F, Maheut-Bosser, A and Paille, F (2014) Cognitive impairments in alcohol-dependent subjects. Frontiers in Psychiatry 5, 78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bisika, T (2008) Do social and cultural factors perpetuate gender based violence in Malawi. Gender and Behaviour 6(2), 1884–1896.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biswas, RK, Rahman, N, Kabir, E and Raihan, F (2017) Women’s opinion on the justification of physical spousal violence: a quantitative approach to model the most vulnerable households in Bangladesh. PLoS One, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187884 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brecklin, LR and Ullman, SE (2002) The roles of victim and offender alcohol use in sexual assaults: results from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs 63(1), 57–63.Google ScholarPubMed
Breitman, N and Schackelford, TK (2004) Couple age discrepancy and risk of intimate partner violence. Violence and Victims 19(3), 321–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carson, BE (1984) Causes and maintenance of domestic violence: an ecological analysis. Social Service Review 58(4), 569–587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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, doi: 10.1177/0886260519851782.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chikhungu, LC, Madise, NJ and Padmadas, SS (2014) How important are community characteristics in influencing children's nutritional status? Evidence from Malawi population-based household and community surveys. Health & Place 30, 187–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobash, RE and Dobash, R (1979) Violence Against Wives: A Case Against the Patriarchy. Free Press, New York.Google Scholar
Eidhamar, LG (2018) ‘My husband is my key to paradise.’ Attitudes of Muslims in Indonesia and Norway to spousal roles and wife-beating. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 29(2), 241–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilchrist, E, Johnson, R, Takriti, R, Westo, S, Beech, A and Kebbell, M (2003) Domestic Violence Offenders: Characteristics and Offending Related Needs. UK Home Office, London.Google Scholar
GoM-AFIDEP (2017) Child Marriage in Malawi. URL: from https://www.afidep.org/download/fact-sheets/Malawi-Fact-Sheet_Final.pdf (accessed 2nd April 2019).Google Scholar
Goody, J (1973) The Character of Kinship. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Gray, RF (1960) Sonjo bride-price and the question of African “Wife Purchase”. American Anthropologist 62(1), 34–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greene, MC, Kane, JC and Tol, WA (2017) Alcohol use and intimate partner violence among women and their partners in sub-Saharan Africa. Global Mental Health 4, e13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hanson, FA (2013) Meaning in Culture. Routledge, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heath, DB (1983) Alcohol and aggression. In Gotthiel, E et al. (eds) Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Aggression. Charles C.Thomas, Springfield, IL, p. 89.Google Scholar
Hyde-Nolan, ME and Juliao, T (2011) Theoretical basis for family violence. In Fife, RS and Shrager, S (eds) Family Violence: What Health Care Providers Need to Know. Jones and Bartlett Learning, Sudbury, MA, USA, pp. 5–16.Google Scholar
Inglehart, R and Norris, P (2003) Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jansen, NA and Agadjarian, V (2016) Polygyny and intimate partner violence in a rural sub Saharan setting. Paper presented at the Population Association of America, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Kaminaga, AS (2017) Acceptance of intimate partner violence in rural Malawi: an empirical analysis on the impacts of lineage and AIDS Conversation Networks. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, doi: 10.1177/0886260517703375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanyongolo, NR and Malunga, B (2011) The Treatment of Consent in Sexual Assault Law in Malawi. The Centre for Social Innovation, Toronto.Google Scholar
Kim, S, Kim, Y and Park, SM (2016) Association between alcohol drinking behaviour and cognitive function: results from a nationwide longitudinal study of South Korea. BMJ Open, 6(4).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCloskey, LA, Williams, C and Larsen, U (2005) Gender inequality and intimate partner violence among women in Moshi, Tanzania. International Family Planning Perspectives 31(3), 124–130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKinney, CM, Caetano, R, Harris, TR and Ebama, MS (2009) Alcohol availability and intimate partner violence among US couples. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 33(1), 169–176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marshall, M (1981) ‘Four hundred rabbits’: an anthropological view of ethanol as a disinhibitor. In Room R and Collins G (eds) Alcohol and Disinhibition: Nature and Meaning of the Link. Proceedings of a conference held in Berkeley/Oakland, California, 11–13th February, 1981. Research Monograph No. 12, Washington DC, pp. 186–204.Google Scholar
MHRC (2006) Cultural practices and their impact on the enjoyment of human rights, particularly the rights of women and children in Malawi . Malawi Human Rights Commission, Lilongwe.Google Scholar
NSO Malawi (2012) Integrated Household Survey 2010–2011: Household Socio-economic Characteristics Report. National Statistical Office, Zomba, Malawi.Google Scholar
NSO Malawi and DHS Program (2017) Malawi Demographic and Health Survey Report 2015–2016. NSO and ICF, Zomba, Malawi and Rockville, MD, USA.Google Scholar
NSO Malawi and ICF International (2016) Malawi Demographic and Health Survey 2015–2016 Key Indicators Report. NSO and ICF, Zomba, Malawi and Rockville, MD, USA.Google Scholar
NSO Malawi and ICF International (2017) Malawi Demographic and Health Survey Report 2015–2016. NSO and ICF, Zomba, Malawi and Rockville, MD, USA.Google Scholar
Oguli, OM (2004) Bride price and violence against women: the case of Uganda. Paper presented at the International Bride Price Conference, Kampala, Uganda, 16th to 18th February 2004. URL: https://mifumi.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MIFUMI-Bride-Price-Conference-2004_BRIDE_PRICE_AND_GENDER_VIOLENCE_by_Josephine_Alupo.pdf Google Scholar
Pallikadavath, S and Bradley, T (2018) Dowry, ‘dowry autonomy’ and domestic violence among young married women in India. Journal of Biosocial Science 51(3), 353–373.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pelser, E, Gondwe, L, Mayamba, C, Mhango, T, Phiri, W and Burton, P (eds) (2005) Intimate Partner Violence: Results from a National Gender-Based Violence Study in Malawi. Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, South Africa.Google Scholar
Peterman, A, Bleck, J, and Palermo, T (2015) Age and intimate partner violence: an analysis of global trends among women experiencing victimization in 30 developing countries. Journal of Adolescent Health 57(6), 624–630.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rani, M, Bonu, S and Diop-Sidibe, N (2004) An empirical investigation of attitudes towards wife-beating among men and women in seven sub-Saharan African countries. African Journal of Reproductive Health 8(3), 116–136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rea, LM and Parker, RA (2014) Designing and Conducting Survey Research: A Comprehensive Guide: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Renzetti, CM, Edleson, JL and Bergen, RK (2001) Sourcebook on Violence Against Women. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.Google Scholar
Room, R, Babor, T and Rehm, J (2005) Alcohol and public health. Lancet 365(9458), 519–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SIRC (1998) Social and Cultural Aspects of Drinking. Social Issues Research Centre, Oxford.Google Scholar
Takyi, BK and Gyimah, SO (2007) Matrilineal family ties and marital dissolution in Ghana. Journal of Family Issues 28, 682–705.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UNFPA (2012) Marrying Too Young, End Child Marriage. URL: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/MarryingTooYoung.pdf (accessed July 2019).Google Scholar
White, DR and Burton, ML (1988) Causes of polgyny; ecology, economy, kinship and warfare. American Anthropologist 90, 871–887.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WHO (2017) WHO Fact Sheet: Violence Against Women. URL: http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women (accessed May 2018).Google Scholar
WHO (2018) The Ecological Framework. The Global Campaign for Violence Prevention. URL: http://www.who.int/violenceprevention/approach/ecology/en/ (accessed 28th July 2018).Google Scholar
Why Islam (2015) What Islam Says About Domestic Violence. URL: https://www.whyislam.org/social-issues/islam-domestic-violence/ (accessed 29th August 2018).Google Scholar