Malawi 2015-16

• Women in urban areas are about twice as likely (6% versus 3%) as those in rural areas to initiate
violence against their spouse.
• Women whose husband has more than secondary education are more likely to commit physical
violence (10%) against their husbands than those with no education (2%) (Table 17.16).
• Women whose husbands get drunk often are more likely to initiate physical violence (10%) than
women whose husbands do not drink (2%).
• The percentage of women who have initiated violence against their husband increases sharply with the
number of controlling behaviours that their husbands display from 1% among women whose husbands
do not display any of the specified controlling behaviours to 8% among women whose husbands
display all five specified behaviours.
• In keeping with the fact that women who have experienced spousal violence are more likely than other
women to initiate violence, women whose fathers beat their mothers are more than twice as likely
(7%) to report initiating violence against their husband as women whose fathers did not beat their
mothers (3%).
• Similarly, women who are afraid of their husband most of the time not only experience more violence
but also are more likely to initiate violence (7%) than women who are never or only sometimes afraid.
17.9 HELP-SEEKING AMONG WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED VIOLENCE
Overall, 40% of all women who have ever
experienced any type of physical or sexual violence
have sought help to stop violence; however, 49%
have never sought help nor told anyone about the
violence they experience. Women who have
experienced both physical and sexual violence are
more likely to have sought help (55%) than women
who have experienced only physical violence (35%)
or only sexual violence (30%) (Table 17.17 and
Figure 17.6).
Figure 17.6 Help seeking by type of
violence experienced
Percentage of women age 15-49 who
have experienced physical or sexual
violence who sought help
35
30
55
Patterns by background characteristics
• Help seeking by women who have ever
experienced physical or sexual violence does not
vary by urban rural residence, but is higher in
Physical only Sexual only Physical and
sexual
the Central region (43%) than in the Northern (35%) and Southern regions (39%).
• Women employed for cash are more likely than women not employed to seek help: 45% vs. 36%.
• Among women who have ever experienced physical or sexual violence, formerly married
(divorced/separated/widowed) women followed by never married women are more likely to seek help
(48% and 44%, respectively) than currently married women (38%).
• Help seeking does not vary consistently with women’s education or wealth status.
17.9.1 Sources for Help
Among the women who have experienced physical or sexual violence and sought help, the most common
source for help was the woman’s own family (62%). The second most common source for help was her
husband’s family (33%). One in ten women sought help from a friend. Among institutional sources of
288 • Domestic Violence