Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar 18;20(1):354.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-8447-9.

Domestic violence among married women of reproductive age in Zimbabwe: a cross sectional study

Joseph Lasong  1 , Yuan Zhang  1 , Kahindo P Muyayalo  1 , Olivia Adhiambo Njiri  2 , Simon Afewerki Gebremedhin  3 , Chrissie S Abaidoo  4 , Chun Yan Liu  1 , Huiping Zhang  1 , Kai Zhao  5
Affiliations

Domestic violence among married women of reproductive age in Zimbabwe: a cross sectional study

Joseph Lasong et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Domestic violence does not only violate women's fundamental human rights but it also undermines them from achieving their fullest potential around the world. This study was conducted to assess trends and factors associated with domestic violence among married women of reproductive age in Zimbabwe.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study which used secondary data obtained from 2005/06, 2010/11 and 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Surveys (ZDHS). Respondents ranged from married or living with a partner (15-49 years). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors associated with domestic violence.

Results: Out of 4472 women who were currently married, 1907 (42.7%) had ever experienced one form of domestic violence (physical, emotional and sexual violence). Women aged 40-49 was deemed a protective factor against domestic violence. Risk of domestic violence was higher among working women than unemployed women [AOR = 1.35; p ≤ 0.047]. Women who drink alcohol significantly risk experiencing domestic violence compared to their non-drinking counterpart; also women whose husbands drink alcohol were at higher risk of experiencing domestic violence [AOR = 1.35; p ≤ 0.001]. Domestic violence was higher among women whose husbands have ever experienced their fathers beating their mothers and significant for women whose husbands have more than one wife (polygamy) [AOR = 1.35; p ≤ 0.001]. High parity (5 or more children) was also a risk factor for domestic violence among the studied population [AOR = 1.35; p ≤ 0.038].

Conclusion: Domestic violence was found to be strongly associated with women whose husbands drink alcohol, products of abusive parents/father beating their mother and/or polygamous marriage (had more than one wife). Domestic violence still remains a challenge and a more biting policy efforts are needed to eradicate this public health canker in Zimbabwe.

Keywords: Africa; Domestic violence; Public health trends; Risk factors; Zimbabwe.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Forms of domestic violence recorded in 2005, 2011 & 2015
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Trends of domestic violence recorded in 2005, 2011 & 2015 among respondents
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. United Nations . Women’s Rights are Human Rights. 2014.
    1. Devries KM, et al. The global prevalence of intimate partner violence against women. Science. 2013;340(6140):1527–1528. doi: 10.1126/science.1240937. - DOI - PubMed
    1. García-Moreno C, et al. Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2013.
    1. Zimbabwe Domestic Violence Act; the Domestic Violence Act [Chapter 5:16], 2007. Available from: http://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/-/media/files/un%20women/vaw/ful....
    1. United Nations . Violence against women - Key findings. 2015.

LinkOut - more resources