Malawi 2015-16

Sixteen percent of women and 13%
of men believe that a husband is
justified in beating his wife for at
least one of five specified
circumstances (Tables 16.10.1 and
16.10.2, Figure 16.6).
Trends: Attitudes towards wife
beating do not appear to have
changed since the 2010 MDHS. For
both women and men, there is a 2
percentage point or less change in
attitudes during this time.
6
Figure 16.6 Attitudes towards wife beating
2
Burns the
food
Percentage of women and men age 15-49 who agree
that a husband is justified in beating his wife
for specific reasons
7 7
5 5
Argues with
him
Women
Goes out
without
telling him
Men
9 8
6
5
Neglects Refuses
the children sexual
intercourse
16
13
Any of
these
reasons
Patterns by background characteristics
• Attitudes that accept wife beating are higher in rural areas than in urban areas; 18% of women and
14% of men in rural areas agree that wife beating is justified in at least one of the five specified
circumstances compared with 11% of women and 9% of men in urban areas.
• Women and men in the Northern region were more accepting of wife beating than their counterparts in
other regions; 25% for women and 21% for men compared with 17% or less in the other regions.
• Among women, education is negatively associated with attitudes that accept wife beating. That is,
women with no education or a primary level of education (18% each) are more likely to justify wife
beating compared with women with a secondary or higher level of education (12% and 4%,
respectively).
• For both women and men, tolerance of wife beating decreases with wealth. However, women and men
in the highest wealth quintile are much less likely to report attitudes that accept wife beating compared
with those in lower wealth quintiles; only 11% of women and 10% of men in the highest wealth
quintile agree with wife beating compared with 18-20% of women and 13-15% of men in the lower
wealth quintiles.
16.11 ATTITUDES TOWARD NEGOTIATING SAFER SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH HUSBAND
Attitudes toward negotiating safer sexual relations with husband
Knowledge about HIV transmission and ways to prevent it is less useful if
individuals feel powerless to negotiate safer sex with their partners. To gauge
attitudes towards safer sex, respondents were asked if they think a wife is
justified in refusing to have sex with her husband, and in asking that they use
a condom if she knows he has an infection that can be transmitted through
sexual contact.
Sample: Women and men age 15-49
The majority of women and men in Malawi believe that a woman is justified in refusing sex if she knows
her husband has sex with other women (66% and 74%, respectively). The majority also report that a
woman is justified in asking her husband to use a condom if he has a sexually transmitted infection (STI)
(82% and 88%, respectively) (Table 16.11).
Trends: The percentage of women and men who report attitudes that promote safe sex negotiation has not
changed substantially over time. The percentage of women who believed women are justified in refusing
sex decreased only slightly from 70% in 2010 to the current 66%. Among men, the percentage decreased
258 • Women’s Empowerment