Individual and Community-Level Determinants of Domestic Violence in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

A cross-sectional survey of 10368 reproductive-aged women residing in two rural areas in Bangladesh examines the determinants of domestic violence at the individual and community level. The data were derived from the MCH-FP Extension Project of the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research (ICDDR). Household characteristics parental support and wifes status/autonomy were the individual level variables while the wifes level of educational attainment savings/credit group membership and womens mobility index were the community- level variables. A multivariate analysis was used for both the community-level and the independent-level variables. Results showed that verbal abuse represented an almost universal event among wives with almost 80% reporting its recent occurrence. 42% of wives reported having experienced recent physical violence. With regard to the probability of the wife seeking help following the occurrence of domestic violence 51% of those who encountered frequent violence sought assistance compared to 30% among those who reported occasional violence. The most common sources of help that women sought were their in-laws and own families. Among mothers higher level of educational attainment was strongly inversely related to domestic violence. Membership in womens savings and credit groups conferred significant protection against the risk of domestic violence. These results highlight the importance of the dimension of womens status and autonomy as an influence on the degree of likelihood of domestic violence.