Women’s Attitude Towards Justification of Wife Beating: A Cross-Sectional Study of Gender-Based Violence In Zambia

Background and Purpose: Attitudes that justify intimate partner violence (IPV), particularly wife beating, remain a critical barrier to gender equality and women’s health in sub-Saharan Africa. In Zambia, despite ongoing policy efforts to reduce gender-based violence (GBV), social norms that normalize violence persist. Women’s acceptance of wife beating reflects deeply embedded cultural, socioeconomic, and relational dynamics that may perpetuate IPV. Therefore, this study examined the prevalence and correlates of women’s attitudes toward the justification of wife beating using a nationally representative sample in Zambia.

Methods: This national cross-sectional study utilized data from the 2024 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS), a nationally representative survey employing a stratified two-stage cluster sampling design. This included married women aged 15–49 years (N≈7,358). The outcome variable included women’s justification of wife beating, measured as agreement with at least one of five scenarios (e.g., if a wife neglects children, argues with her husband, goes out without telling him, refuses sex, or burns food), and dichotomized as "not justified" or "justified". Independent variables included the wife’s characteristics (e.g., age group, religion, residence type, education level, work status, household wealth index, number of children, and frequency of media use) and the husband’s characteristics (e.g., age, education level, work status, and current alcohol use). Weighted descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the significance of associations, using SPSS v. 31.0 (p<.05).

Results: Out of 7,358 married women, 38.7% of these women justified wife-beating. Women in the age group 30-39 (OR=0.67;p<.006), 40-49 (OR=0.48;p<.001) were associated with a lower odds of wife justifying wife beating compared to those aged 15-19 years, while those 20-29 were marginally significant (OR=0.79;p<.059). Compared to Catholics, those who affiliated with other religions other than protestants had lower odds of justifying wife beating (OR=0.50,p<.036). Women who were classified in the rich wealth index had lower odds of justifying wife beating compared to those who were poor (OR=0.58;p<.001). Women who attained at least secondary education (OR=0.72;p<.004) and higher education (OR=0.16;p<.00) had lower odds of justifying wife beating than those without any form of education. In contrast, women living in rural areas were associated with higher odds of justifying wife beating compared to those living in urban areas (OR=1.39;p<.001). Women who were currently working had higher odds of justifying wife beating compared to those who were not working (OR=1.45;p<.001). In addition, women with husbands who were currently drinking alcohol had higher odds of justifying wife beating compared to those with husbands who never drank alcohol (OR=1.45;p<.001).

Conclusions and Implications: This study shows that social and structural factors shape women’s perceived attitudes toward IPV endorsement. This underscores the need for interventions that should be extend beyond legal frameworks to address normative beliefs through education, economic empowerment, and community-based programming. Enhancing women’s autonomy, promoting gender-equitable norms, and integrating IPV prevention into broader development initiatives are essential. Social work practitioners and policymakers should prioritize culturally responsive, multilevel strategies to disrupt the intergenerational cycle of violence and shift societal attitudes toward the unacceptability of wife beating in Zambia.