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Domestic violence is the most common form of violence against women
Domestic violence is the most common form of violence against women. It affects women’s well-being and the health, nutrition and education of both the children who experience it and the children who witness it.
In the context of gender inequality, women’s response to abuse reflects their relatively fewer options to change or leave the relationship and their assessment of how best to protect themselves and their children. Household surveys in 68 countries were conducted to determine attitudes towards domestic violence. When asked their opinion, on average, half of girls and women aged 15–49 responded that a husband or partner is justified in beating his wife under certain circumstances1.
More than 50 per cent of women aged 15–49 years think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances
Percentage of women aged 15-49 years who think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances, by region
Neglecting children is the most commonly cited reason for justifying wife-beating across almost all regions2.
Percentage of women aged 15–49 years who think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances, by circumstance and by region
* These values are not representative of the overall population of these regions, but are weighted averages
Younger women are as likely to justify wife-beating as older women3.
Percentage of women aged 15–49 years who think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances, by age group
Less educated women are more likely to feel that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife. As with the level of education, wealth quintile and area of residence appear to influence significantly women’s approval of wife-beating. Overall, women from rural areas are women belonging to the poorest quintile of the wealth distribution and are more likely to justify wife-beating than women from urban areas and women of the richest households4.
Approval of wife-beating varies significantly by level of education
Percentage of women aged 15–49 years who think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances, by wealth quintile and level of education
Regional overview
Central and Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE-CIS): The largest variation in the levels of acceptance of wife-beating can be found among countries from CEE/CIS. The percentage of women aged 15–49 years who think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances ranges from 4 per cent in Ukraine to 74 per cent in Tajikistan (data are available for 16 countries in CEE/CIS covering 54 per cent of the population in the region. These data are therefore representative of the entire region).
Percentage of women aged 15–49 years who think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances in 16 CEE/CIS countries with available data
Latin America and the Caribbean: An average of 16 per cent of women aged 15–49 years think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances in nine Latin American/Caribbean countries with available data (these nine countries cover only 6 per cent of the population of the region, and therefore data are NOT representative of the entire region).
Percentage of women aged 15–49 years who think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances in nine Latin American/Caribbean countries with available data
Midde East and North Africa: An average of 58 per cent of women aged 15–49 years think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances in four countries in the Middle East and North Africa with available data (these four countries cover 37 per cent of the population of the region, and therefore data are NOT representative of the entire region).
Percentage of women aged 15–49 years who think that a husband is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances in four countries of the Middle East and North Africa with available data
1. Estimates are based on data for 68 countries covering 39 per cent of the world population. These 68 countries can be classified as follows: 61 are developing countries, of which 26 are least developed countries, and 7 are transition countries.
2. Values for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East and North Africa are not representative of the overall population of these regions, but are weighted averages based on the limited number of countries with available data in each of these regions.
3. Estimates based on data for 66 countries covering 38 per cent of the world population.
4. NOTE: Estimates by wealth quintile are based on data for 53 countries covering 34 per cent of the population of developing countries and 29 per cent of the world population. Estimates by education are based on 64 countries covering 44 per cent of the population of developing countries and 38 per cent of the world population.