Women support wife-beating

Daisy Jeremani Gender Editor
MOST Zimbabwean women believe that it is justifiable for their husbands to beat them up except those from Bulawayo and Harare provinces. In the recently released final Multi-indicator Cluster Survey report by Zimstats only women in the urban centres of Bulawayo and Harare scored lower percentages saying there was no justification for domestic violence towards them.

An overall, 51,8 percent of female respondents aged 15-49 many of them in the rural areas who were assessed on their attitudes towards being beaten, felt that it was justifiable for partners or husbands to hit women in all six standard situations.

Women were asked whether it was justifiable for husbands to use violence against them; if they go out without telling them, for neglecting children, for arguing with them, for refusing to have sexual intercourse with them, for burning  food and committing adultery.
Female respondents in Bulawayo scored lowly in all of the scenarios compared to other provinces like Masvingo, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West and Manicaland, but felt infidelity should not go unpunished being their only high of 32,8 percent.

Masvingo scored higher than the other provinces for the same situation with score of 59,7 percent, followed by Mashonaland Central which scored 48,4 percent.

Masvingo topped all the other provinces in all the six circumstances and was equalled by Mashonaland Central in the circumstances where women thought all the six circumstances men were justified in beating their  spouses.

The report said, “Women in rural areas, younger women, women with primary education and women in the poorest quintiles were more likely than other women to agree with at least one of the reasons, justifying wife beating.”

The research also established that 41, 6 percent of women who have not been married believed that a husband is justified in beating his wife if she committed adultery.

Despite the existence of the Domestic Violence Act and ongoing efforts to protect women against violence, attitudes and perceptions still justify certain forms of domestic violence.