Education and Income Imbalances Among Married Couples in Malawi as Predictors for Likelihood of Physical and Emotional Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence is a social and public health problem that is prevalent across the world. In many societies, power differentials in relationships, often supported by social norms that promote gender inequality, lead to incidents of intimate partner violence. Among other factors, both a woman’s years of education and educational differences between a woman and her partner have been shown to have an effect on her likelihood of experiencing intimate partner abuse. Using the 2010 Malawian Demographic and Health Survey data to analyze intimate partner violence among 3,893 married Malawian women and their husbands, this article focuses on understanding the effect of educational differences between husband and wife on the likelihood of physical and emotional abuse within a marriage. The results from logistic regression models show that a woman’s level of education is a significant predictor of her likelihood of experiencing intimate partner violence by her current husband, but that this effect is contingent on her husband’s level of education. This study demonstrates the need to educate men alongside of women in Malawi to help decrease women’s risk of physical and emotional intimate partner violence.