Page 85 - Contributed Paper Session (CPS) - Volume 6

CPS1829 Lana Clara Chikhungu et al.

Married women’s experience of domestic
violence in Malawi: New evidence from a cluster
and multinomial logistic regression analysis
Lana Clara Chikhungu , Mark Amos , Ngianga II Kandala , Saseendran
1
2
2
2
Palikadavath
1 School of Area Studies, History, Politics and Literature, Faculty Humanities and Social
Sciences, University of Portsmouth.
2 School of Health Science and Social Work, Faculty of Sciences, University of Portsmouth.
Southampton, UK

Abstract
Violence against women is a global issue with estimates indicating that 35%
of all women world-wide have experienced either physical and/or sexual
intimate partner violence or non-partner violence in their life time. In Malawi
42% of ever-married women have experienced some form of violence
perpetrated by their current or most recent spouse. A number of studies have
investigated intimate partner violence in Malawi within the context of
HIV/AIDS and girls sexual abuse and a few report on the role of socio-cultural
factors in influencing gender based violence. No study has used cluster
analysis to systematically analyse the groups affected domestic violence across
different dimensions of abuse. Using the 2015 Malawi Demographic and
Health Survey data, we employed cluster analysis and multinomial logistic
regression to analyse the distribution of different forms of abuse amongst
married women in Malawi and the key attributes associated with each form of
abuse. Correlates of domestic violence significantly differ by levels of abuse
and are distributed as follows; controlling behaviour (11.8%), general
controlling behaviour (27.1%), moderate physical and emotional abuse
(27.2%) and the high and complete abuse (8.5%). Alcohol consumption,
ethnicity and women working status were significantly associated with all four
levels of abuse but age and religion were only associated with controlling
behaviour and generalised controlling behaviour. The strength of association
between husband’s alcohol consumption, woman’s working status and
marriage type and domestic violence increased by level of abuse. On each of
these factors, the odds of experiencing violence were lowest in the controlling
behaviour group and highest in the high physical and emotional abuse group.
Policies and programmes that are designed to tackle violence against married
women in Malawi should incorporate strategies that discourage excessive
drinking, promote messages that women can be bread winners and
discourage polygamous marriage.

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