Using an Ecological Framework to Understand Men’s Reasons for Spousal Abuse: An Investigation of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007

Abstract

This article applies an ecological model to explore men's reasons for spousal abuse in Bangladesh. Data from the Demographic and Health Survey 2007 indicate that multiple factors perpetuate spousal abuse: the individual-level factors of low education and wealth, a micro-level factor of women making decisions regarding household purchases, an exo-level factor relating to the wives' failure to seek legal support, and a macro-level factor reflecting cultural support for using violence to control wives. However, an ecological model reflecting all four levels of measurement (individual, micro, exo, and macro) explains the greatest amount of variance in spousal abuse. Policy implications include changing the support for spousal abuse at the cultural level, while addressing men's controlling attitudes towards women within the household.Violence against women at the hands of their male intimate partners, while ubiquitous cross-culturally, varies greatly in rate. The World Health Organization's (WHO) Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women reports rates across ten countries ranging from the extremes of 15 to 71 % of women reporting physical or sexual abuse by their intimate partner (2005a). While variable, these numbers are generally accepted as reflecting a serious social justice issue, especially within developing countries.Limited attention has been given to addressing the pervasive problem of intimate partner violence in South Asian countries where Brigid cultures and patriarchal attitudes which devalue the role of women, result in the wide spread occurrence of violence against women^(Niaz 2003, p. 173). One such country reporting some of the highest rates of intimate partner violence is Bangladesh. WHO data reveal that between 53 and 62 % of ever-married Bangladeshi women experience physical or sexual abuse by their male partner (WHO 2005b). The current study uses the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2007 to examine men's reasons for spousal abuse by utilizing an embedded ecological approach. Additionally, policies and programs that may assist this country and its victims are proposed. Spousal Abuse in BangladeshSince the mid-1980s, gender-based violence within Bangladesh has been revealed through various media outlets (Guhathakurta 2004). A 2011 study by Rahman, Hoque, and Makinoda of 4,181 female participants in the BDHS 2007 found one in four (24 %) married Bangladeshi women were victims of physical and/or sexual violence in the preceding 12 months, with this number increasing to one in three (35 %) for girls aged 15-19 years of age. Of those women experiencing intimate partner violence, 10.5 % reported sexual abuse only, while 19.4 % reported physical abuse only. Utilizing a sample size of only 11 women, Akter and Begum (2012) state that 10 (91 %) reported being a victim of physical and verbal abuse as a causal factor for their divorce. Bangladeshi women are Btargets of the worst kind of oppressive behavior and a never ending trauma that begins at birth and stops ...

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