Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

15.5 ATTITUDES TOWARD WIFE BEATING
Another measure of women’s empowerment derives from the idea that gender equity is
essential to empowerment. Women who believe that wife beating is justified seemingly have a lower
status than women who think otherwise because they are more accepting of norms that give men the
right to use force against women, which is a violation of women’s basic human rights. Violence
against women has serious consequences for their mental and physical well-being, including their
reproductive and sexual health (Heise et al., 1999). The attitude of women and men toward wife
beating may be considered a proxy indicator for their attitude toward domestic violence.
Women and men were asked whether a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife in
each of the following five situations: if she burns the food, if she argues with him, if she goes out
without telling him, if she neglects the children, and if she refuses to have sexual intercourse with
him. The fewer situations, or reasons, that a woman agrees with indicates a greater sense of
entitlement, self-esteem, and status, and reflects positively on her sense of empowerment.
A woman who believes that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife, for any of the
five specified reasons, may consider herself to be of low status both absolutely and relative to men.
Such a perception could act as a barrier to accessing health care for herself and for her children, affect
her attitude toward contraceptive use, and impact her general well-being.
Table 15.6.1 shows that 86 percent of women believe that a husband is justified in beating his
wife for at least one of the specified reasons. The most widely accepted reason for wife beating among
women is neglecting the children (76 percent). About 64 percent of women believe that a husband is
justified in beating his wife if she argues with him, and 72 percent believe that it is acceptable if she
goes out without telling him. A smaller percentage of women believe that the husband is justified in
hitting or beating his wife if she burns the food (43 percent) or denies him sexual intercourse
(30 percent). Differentials by women’s background characteristics are small, except among women in
Viqueque, who are least likely to sanction wife beating. Only 59 percent of women in Viqueque
believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife for at least one specified reason. Among the
Timorese, it is the man and/or his family who pays dowry at marriage to his wife’s family (Belis,
Barlaque). However, once the payment is completed, the wife is often considered the property of the
husband, thus losing her independence and status as an individual. In Viqueque, the payment of
dowry is less prevalent and as such women in Viqueque may tend to exhibit greater self-esteem.
Men age 15-49 are almost as likely as women to report that they find physical violence
against women justifiable (Table 15.6.2). Overall, four in five Timorese men agree with at least one of
the reasons for why a man is justified in beating his wife. Men are most likely to justify beating a wife
if she neglects the children (71 percent). Like women, men are least likely to say that burning food
(38 percent) or refusing to have sex (27 percent) are grounds for wife beating. About 44 percent of
men feel that arguing with one’s husband is a justifiable reason for wife beating.
Women’s Empowerment and Demographic and Health Outcomes | 213