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

摘要

Nearly 42% of ever-married women in Malawi have experienced some form of physical, sexual oremotional violence perpetrated by their current or most recent spouse – higher than the global estimateof 35%. This study used national-level data for ever-married women aged 15–49 years from the 2015Malawi Demographic and Health Survey to explore the association between cultural factors and the likelihoodof women experiencing sexual, physical and emotional violence after controlling for socioeconomicfactors using multilevel logistic regression modelling. Key cultural factors found to be associated withviolence 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 importantfactor in violence against married women. Interventions to tackle violence against married women inMalawi should aim at promoting monogamous marriages and discouraging polygynous marriages, andaddress the culture of heavy alcohol consumption amongst husbands. Future studies could explore furtherif there are key lessons that families can learn from Muslim families and across ethnic groups.