Women's Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence in Ethiopia: The Role of Social Norms in the Interview Context

Carlie D Trott; Jennifer J Harman; Michelle R Kaufman

doi:10.1177/1077801216654018

Women's Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence in Ethiopia: The Role of Social Norms in the Interview Context

Violence Against Women. 2017 Jul;23(8):1016-1036. doi: 10.1177/1077801216654018. Epub 2016 Jun 29.

Authors

Carlie D Trott¹, Jennifer J Harman¹, Michelle R Kaufman²

Affiliations

¹ 1 Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
² 2 Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

PMID: 27364004
DOI: 10.1177/1077801216654018

Abstract

This study draws on a social norms framework to examine the influence of interview context-specifically the presence of other women and men-on women's reported attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV) in Ethiopia, where IPV rates are among the highest in the world. The sample (16,515 women, ages 15-49) was taken from Ethiopia's 2011 Demographic and Health Survey. Results showed the odds of women "justifying" IPV to be nearly twice as great when other women were present during the interview, and nearly half in the presence of men. Implications for more sensitive interview methodology are discussed.

Keywords: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS); attitudes; intimate partner violence; social norms.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Attitude*
Ethiopia
Female
Humans
Income / statistics & numerical data
Intimate Partner Violence / psychology*
Marital Status / statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Risk Factors
Social Norms*
Surveys and Questionnaires