Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2001-2002 - Measure DHS

3.7.2 Attitudes toward Wife BeatingThe ZDHS collected information on the degree of acceptance of wife beating by asking whether ahusband would be justified in beating his wife in each of the following five situations: if the wife goes outwith another man; if she neglects the children; if she argues with him; if she refuses to have sex; and ifshe cooks bad food or food is late.Tables 3.15.1 and 3.15.2 show the proportions of women and men who agreed that a husbandwould be justified in hitting or beating his wife for specific reasons. A high proportion of women agreeingthat wife beating is acceptable is an indicator that women generally accept violence as part of malefemalerelationships. A low proportion agreeing indicates that the majority of women do not accept suchviolence and, thus, is an indicator that women are more “empowered.”Table 3.15.1 shows that many women find wife beating justified in certain circumstances. Overfour in five women agree that at least one of the specified reasons is enough to justify wife beating.Women’s infidelity is the most likely reason to justify wife beating (79 percent), whereas bad orlate food is the least likely (45 percent). It is not surprising that there is a high level of acceptance of thelegitimacy of beatings because traditional norms teach women to accept, tolerate, and even rationalisebattery. However, this norm hinders women's empowerment with consequences for their health. There islittle difference between women in urban and rural areas (84 and 87 percent, respectively). Women inLuapula province constitute the highest proportion of women who say wife beating is justified for at leastone of the reasons specified (95 percent), while Eastern province has the lowest proportion (59 percent).Except for Eastern and Lusaka provinces, 90 percent or more of women agree with one of the reasonsjustifying wife beating. Generally, women who have never married, highly educated women, and unemployedwomen are least likely to agree with any of the reasons for wife beating.Tables 3.15.1 and 3.15.2 show that fewer men than women agree that wife beating is justified forat least one of the specified reasons (69 percent and 85 percent, respectively). Rural men are more likelyto agree with wife beating for one of the specified reasons than their urban counterparts (72 versus 65percent). Table 3.15.2 indicates that among educated men, those with higher education are least likely toaccept wife beating (38 percent).46 │ Characteristics of Respondents