Domestic violence against women in Ghana: The attitudes of men toward wife-beating

Ellen Mabel Osei-Tutu, Ernest Ampadu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study examines the issue of domestic violence against women; specifically, men's attitudes toward wife beating. The data used was obtained from the 2011 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). The results presented in this study come from a total 3,052 males from across all the 10 regions in Ghana. It is interesting to note that, although majority of the participants do not endorse wife beating, there was a significant number of these men who thought wife beating was justified for various reasons. That is, the attitude of men toward wife beating is complex to explain as the participants had divergent views regarding the issue. For example, while some were of the opinion that wife beating is justified, others thought otherwise. The results also established that there is a direct relationship between men's level of education and their attitudes toward wife beating. That is, those who were highly educated did not endorse wife beating as compared to those who were not highly educated. Furthermore, men who were in consensual unions or customary marriages were found to be in favour of wife-beating as compared to their counterparts in other types of marriage. It is therefore recommended that institutions that could help reduce domestic violence particularly wife beating in Ghana such as, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) will need to focus their attention on men with relatively low education as well as those in consensual and customary marriages.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)106-116
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of International Women's Studies
Volume18
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Development
  • Domestic violence
  • Education
  • Human rights
  • Wife beating

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