Women's Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries of Southern Asia

Purpose The present study identified the vulnerable IPV cohorts of South Asian women, and the prevalence of and predictors of the women's IPV acceptance.Design Cross-sectional survey - the United Nations Children's Fund multiple index cluster survey.Setting Many South Asian women are accepting of IPV. Studies mostly focus on individual countries.Subject 103 139 ever-married women from Bangladesh, Laos and Nepal.Measures Women's attitudes toward IPV were measured using a set of five, fixed, binary responses.Analysis Following bivariate analysis, complex survey weight adjusted logistic regression models were fitted for individual country data, and the pooled sample.Results Of the sampled South Asian women 27.8% accepted IPV, and no major variation among countries in IPV acceptance. Education was the most reliable protector against IPV acceptance whereby, higher educational attainment systematically reduced IPV acceptance (OR = .61 [.56-.83]). Other significant protective factors were being un-married (Married OR = 1.34 [1.28-1.42]), having increased wealth (OR = .71 [.56-.83]), and being over 24 years old (OR = .88 [.83-.97]).Conclusion Only education produced absolute consistency at the country and region level; there seems to be no blanket solution for regionally reducing women's IPV acceptance rates in Southern Asia. Focus on the least educated women and making education more accessible should be prioritised. Future IPV studies can consider measurement methods for women's direct exposure to patriarchal standards and within community interaction.

Automated summary

This study investigated the acceptance of intimate partner violence (IPV) among South Asian women, and identified the prevalence and predictors of IPV acceptance. The survey included a total of 103,139 ever-married women from Bangladesh, Laos, and Nepal. The findings revealed that 27.8% of the sampled South Asian women accepted IPV, without significant variation among countries. Education was found to be the most reliable protector against IPV acceptance.