NAIROBI Kenya July 3 -Forty-three percent of women and 35 percent of men believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife for at least one of eight specified reasons
According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 released on July 3, agreement with wife beating is higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
Fifty-one percent of women and 40 percent of men in rural areas agree that wife beating is justified for at least one of the eight specified reasons compared with 30 percent of women and 26 percent of men in urban areas.
The respondents were asked if they agree that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under each of the following eight circumstances: she burns the food, she argues with him, she refuses to cook, she goes out without telling him, she comes home late, she neglects the children, she is unfaithful, and she refuses to have sex with him.
If respondents answer ‘yes’ in at least one circumstance, they are considered to have attitudes that justify wife beating.
The report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) also shows that the percentage of women and men who agree that wife beating is justified for at least one of the eight specified reasons decreases with the level of education.
More women (70 percent) and 59 percent of men with no education agree with wife beating, compared to 19 percent of women and 21 percent of men with more than secondary education doing so.
For both women and men, acceptance of beating decreases with the wealth quintile.
About 63 percent of women and 52 percent of men in the highest wealth quintile agree with wife beating compared with 24 percent of women and 21 percent of men in the lowest wealth quintile.
The percentage who agree with at least one specified reason justifying a husband beating his wife is highest among women in Turkana (84%), Marsabit (82%), and Wajir (78%) counties.
The report further shows it is highest among men in Isiolo (80%), West Pokot (71%), and Mandera (70%).
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