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. 2025 May 1;17(3):251-258.
doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihae047.

Attitudes towards wife-beating justification and its association with female genital mutilation - analysis of ever-married Somali women in the 2020 Somali Health and Demographic Survey

Abdirahman Saeed Mohamed  1 , Espen Bjertness  2 , Aung Soe Htet  3 , Win Thuzar Aye  4 , Ahmed Ali Madar  2
Affiliations

Attitudes towards wife-beating justification and its association with female genital mutilation - analysis of ever-married Somali women in the 2020 Somali Health and Demographic Survey

Abdirahman Saeed Mohamed et al. Int Health. .

Abstract

Background: In Somalia, despite its prohibition, female circumcision persists alongside significant intimate partner violence. This study examines the prevalence of wife-beating justification among Somali women and its link to the perception that female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a religious obligation.

Methods: We studied 7726 married Somali women 15-49 y of age from the 2020 Somali Health and Demographic Survey. Using χ2 tests and logistic regression, we examined wife-beating justification by covariates and its connection to the perception that FGM/C is a religious obligation.

Results: The prevalence of women justifying wife-beating for any of six reasons was 56.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 55.3 to 57.6). A higher prevalence of wife-beating justification was found among women 35-49 y of age (59.9% [95% CI 57.8 to 61.9]), without education (57.7% [95% CI 56.5 to 59.0]), rural residents (57.8% [95% CI 56.3 to 59.2]), with lower socio-economic status (60.4% [95% CI 58.7 to 62.1]) and married before age 18 y (58.4% [95% CI 56.7 to 60.1]). Adjusted for covariates, logistic regression analyses indicated a significant association between wife-beating justification and the belief that FGM/C is mandated by religion (adjusted odds ratio 1.40 [95% CI 1.17 to 1.68], p<0.001).

Conclusions: Wife-beating justification is alarmingly common among Somali women and significantly associated with the belief that FGM/C is mandated by religion. Further research is necessary to investigate the drivers behind the acceptance of domestic violence, its impact on women's mental health and well-being and its association with FGM/C acceptance.

Keywords: Health and Demographic Survey; Somalia and Somaliland; domestic violence; ever-married women; female genital mutilation/cutting; wife-beating justification.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Directed acyclic graph for the association between the belief that FGM/C is religiously mandated and acceptance of wife-beating. The variables marked in red represent the identified confounders that are adjusted for in the logistic regression analyses.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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