Social determinants of women's justification of wife beating: Implications for public health

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the leading causes of disability and death for women worldwide. Prior studies have identified individual and household level risk factors for IPV. Little is known about the role of the community in shaping women’s attitudinal acceptance of IPV. METHODS: This study used 2011 Bangladesh Demographic Health Surveys (BDHS) data on 13,611 married women living in 600 communities in Bangladesh. The key predictors of this study were community socioeconomic characteristics: proportion of poor, media access and exposure, and proportion of women with high school completion.  Wife beating justification was measured with questions asked to women about their opinion on wife beating in 5 different situations. RESULTS: Logistic regression reveals that community characteristics are significantly associated with women’s likelihood of justifying wife beating. Women living in disadvantaged communities had greater support for wife beating compared to their counterpart living in socioeconomically privileged communities. Among the community characteristics, media access appeared to be the strongest predictor of wife beating justification. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to our knowledge of structural influences on IPV. Due to the large personal and societal burden of IPV related morbidity and mortality, IPV prevention programs are urgently needed, particularly for women who live in disadvantaged and rural areas.