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6 Int'l J. Soc. Sci. Stud. 42 (2018)
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Zambia: Socio-Demographic Determinants and Association with Use of Maternal Health Care

handle is hein.journals/ijsoctu6 and id is 610 raw text is: International Journal of Social Science Studies Vol. 6, No. 6; June 2018 Famne ISSN 2324-8033 E-ISSN 2324-8041 Published by Redfame Publishing URL: http://ijsss.redfame.com Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Zambia: Socio-demographic Determinants and Association with Use of Maternal Health Care Simona Simona, Mazuba Muchindu, Harriet Ntalasha 'Department of Social Work and Sociology, University of Zambia, Zambia Correspondence: Simona Simona, Department of Social Work and Sociology, University of Zambia, Zambia Received: April 5, 2018 Accepted: May 17, 2018 Available online: May 25, 2018 doi:10.11 114/ijsss.v6i6.3300 URL: https://doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v6i6.3300 Abstract This study used the 2013-2014 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) data to examine, on one hand, the socio-demographic characteristics associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) and, on the other hand, the relationship between IPV and maternal health care (place of delivery and ANC visits) utilization. The findings indicate that women's characteristics including marital status, household wealth, witnessing parental violence and attitudes justifying wife beating were significantly associated with reporting experience of IPV. Partner characteristics significantly associated with IPV were alcohol consumption and jealous behaviour. In this study, IPV was not found to be strongly associated with use of maternal health care. The study indicates that gender inequality and problematic cultural norms that privilege men with power over women still exist in Zambia, and thus IPV preventive strategies should incorporate means of toning down such norms to enhance the welfare of women. Keywords: Intimate partner violence, gender inequality, maternal health care, norms, Zambia 1. Introduction Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), defined as lifetime experience of violence by an intimate partner, is a global social and public health problem, perpetrated mostly by men against women (Krug, Mercy, Dahlberg and Zwi, 2002; Tuladhar, Khanal, Lila, Ghimire and Onta, 2013). Globally, the lifetime prevalence of violence against women is averaging 35.6% (WHO, 2013) and in sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of IPV ranges between 20% and 70% (Devries, Mak, Garcia-Moreno, Petzold, Child, ...Watts, 2013). In Zambia, evidence shows that 43% of women age 15-49 have experienced physical violence and that 37% experienced physical violence in the 12 months preceding the 2013-2014 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) (CSO, 2014). Many studies have examined predictors of intimate partner violence in different parts of the world. The documented factors of IPV operate on different levels, ranging from individual socio-demographic characteristics to culturally related factors, particularly in the African context. Commonly reported socio-demographic factors that are positively associated with JPV include woman's age (Kwagala, Wandera, Ndugga and Kabagenyi, 2013), childhood experience of domestic violence (Yount and Carrera, 2006), having a low level of education, being unemployed, financial dependence on the partner (Dutton, 1988; Gartner, 1999; Smith, 1990), using drugs or drinking alcohol (Koenig, Lutalo, Zhao, Nalugoda and Wabwire-Mangen, 2006; Kwagala et al, 2013), and having more surviving children (Hindin, Kishor and Ansara, 2008). Lower levels of education and unemployment are both seen as contributing to women's frequent dependence on their husbands and partners, thereby making it difficult for them to leave situations of domestic violence. These factors also make women more tolerant of spousal abuse, hence putting them in a vicious cycle of violence and abuse. However, there have been contradictory findings on the association between education and IPV. Some studies have found that some women with lower educational status compared with their partners are at a higher risk of violence (Garcia-Moreno, Jansen, Ellsberg, Heise and Watts, 2005) and other studies have found that women with higher educational status than their partners are at higher risk of violence (Jewkes, Levin and Penn-Kekana, 2002; Taillieu and Brownridge, 2010). 42