Violence Against Women: A Cross-cultural Analysis for Africa

Economica • Vol/Iss. 88 • Wiley-Blackwell • New Jersey • Published In • Pages: 70-104 •
By Alesina, Alberto, Brioschi, Benedetta, La Ferrara, Eliana

Abstract

The authors of this study investigate both intimate partner violence (IPV) in Africa and tolerance towards it. Merging Demographic and Health Survey data with information from the Ethnographic Atlas, they take into account a wide range of ancestral characteristics that could influence domestic violence today, including precolonial economic roles and marriage traditions. Their findings indicate that societies in which men were dominant in subsistence and/or had androcentric marital practices have more IPV today, and more acceptance of it. They also find an interesting gender gap in acceptance of IPV, in which women are more likely than men to justify domestic violence.
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: anj.droe