| dc.description.abstract | Background: Violence against women and girls is a major public health issue, a violation of human rights, and is linked to a number of harmful effects on one’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health. I examined factors associated with physical domestic violence (PDV) against married women in Uganda
Methods: This study is based on data from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS), analyzed 5,642 weighted cases of married women aged. Both descriptive and multilevel binary logistic regressions were used to analyze the data. Chi-squared tests and multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine the predictors of physical domestic violence. The main explanatory variables included age, total children ever born, education, wealth index, religion, alcohol consumption and witness of parental violence.
Results: The overall prevalence of physical domestic violence among married women in Uganda was 36%. Age, total children ever born, education, wealth status, husband drinks alcohol and witnessing parental violence were found to be the predictors of physical domestic violence (PDV) among married women of in Uganda. Married women aged 20-24 (OR=1.51, CI=1.11-2.03), 35-39 (OR=1.76, CI=1.19-2.58), 40-44 (OR=1.74, CI=1.17-2.58), and 45-49 (OR=1.85, CI=1.20-2.87), were more likely to experience physical domestic violence compared to those aged 15-19. The odds of experiencing physical domestic Violence (PDV) were higher among married women who witnessed parental violence compared to married women who didn’t experience parental violence Likewise, the odds of experiencing physical domestic violence (PDV) were higher among married women whose husbands were drinking alcohol compared to those not drinking (OR=2.36, CI=2.04-2.74). Women with tertiary education (OR =0.50, CI=0.34-0.73) were less likely to experience PDV compared with women with no education. Married women of middle and rich wealth indexes were less likely to experience PDV (OR =0.76, CI=0.65-0.88), and (OR =0.50, CI=0.39-65) compared to women of poor wealth index.
Conclusion: Both sociodemographic and behavioral-level factors influenced physical domestic violence in Uganda. Integrating behavioral level factors when designing interventions to address gender-based would be key to reduce women’s vulnerability to gender-based violence in the country. There is need to re-evaluate and re-strategize current strategies being implemented to address gender-based violence in the country to make them context specific.
Keywords: Married women, Physical domestic violence, Uganda | en_US |
