Property status and wife beating justification in Ghana: an integrated theoretical approach

Abstract

Intimate partner violence is a pervasive global human rights issue that has prompted the establishment of various international charters and national-level comprehensive legislative measures to combat this problem effectively. To attain success, it is also imperative to contextualize intimate partner violence within its underlying precursors and address them systematically and methodically. In this article, we focus on two obstacles hindering the effort of policymakers to eradicate intimate partner violence in Ghana: wife beating justification and restricted access to permanent or temporary shelters for victims. The aim is to investigate the correlation between these two indicators to determine if empowerment in property ownership can influence and unseat the belief that wife beating is justified. Leveraging data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, we utilized a comprehensive theoretical approach by integrating normalization, social learning, resource, and gendered resource theories. Subsequently, we estimated a stepwise logistic regression, which revealed that while a higher proportion of women justified wife beating than men, empowering women with landed properties (arable or otherwise) significantly reduced the odds of justifying wife beating. However, among the men, a different pattern was observed. The findings presented in this article emphasize the protective nature of property ownership and stress the significance of improving women’s access to property. This enhancement aims not only to support livelihoods but also to diminish the inclination to justify wife beating.