Aboagye Richard Gyan, Essuman Mainprice Akuoko, Dzirasah King David, Seidu Abdul-Aziz, Adnani Qorinah Estiningtyas Sakilah, Ahinkorah Bright Opoku
Department of Family and Community Health, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana.
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
BMC Public Health. 2025 May 9;25(1):1719. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22581-y.
There remains a dearth of comprehensive understanding of the fundamental origins of intimate partner violence within the context of marital structure. This study examines the association between polygyny and justification of violence among women in sub-Saharan Africa.
We used up-to-date data from the Demographic and Health Surveys of twenty-one sub-Saharan African countries. A multilevel binary mixed-effect regression analysis was used to examine the association between polygyny status and justification of violence, controlling for potential covariates. The results were presented utilising adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Women whose husbands/partners had other wives (co-wives) (aOR = 1.35; 95% CI 1.30, 1.40) had higher odds of justifying wife beating if wife goes out without telling compared to those whose husbands/partners had no co-wives. Similar results were obtained concerning the association between polygyny and justification of wife beating if wife burns food (aOR = 1.31; 95% CI 1.25, 1.36), neglects children (aOR = 1.31; 95% CI 1.27, 1.36), argues with the husband (aOR = 1.37; 95% CI 1.32, 1.43), and refuses to have sex with her husband (aOR = 1.30; 95% CI 1.25, 1.35).
The endorsement of violence against women within relationships, irrespective of the rationale, undermines worldwide and national endeavours aimed at tackling the issue of intimate partner violence and its associated repercussions. It is imperative to implement diverse approaches to effectively tackle the situation. Increased education and awareness campaigns focused on intimate partner violence are expected to play significant roles in effectively tackling this issue. Implementing punitive measures against individuals who perpetrate intimate partner violence upon their partners could also be adopted.
在婚姻结构背景下，人们对亲密伴侣暴力的根本根源仍缺乏全面理解。本研究考察了撒哈拉以南非洲地区一夫多妻制与女性对暴力行为正当化认知之间的关联。
我们使用了来自撒哈拉以南非洲21个国家人口与健康调查的最新数据。采用多层次二元混合效应回归分析来考察一夫多妻制状况与对暴力行为正当化认知之间的关联，并对潜在协变量进行控制。结果以调整后的优势比（aOR）及95%置信区间（CI）呈现。
与丈夫/伴侣没有其他妻子（共妻）的女性相比，如果妻子未经告知外出，丈夫/伴侣有其他妻子（共妻）的女性更有可能认为殴打妻子是正当的（aOR = 1.35；95% CI 1.30，1.40）。在妻子烧焦食物（aOR = 1.31；95% CI 1.25，1.36）、疏于照顾孩子（aOR = 1.31；95% CI 1.27，1.36）、与丈夫争吵（aOR = 1.37；95% CI 1.32，1.43）以及拒绝与丈夫发生性行为（aOR = 1.30；95% CI 1.25，1.35）的情况下，一夫多妻制与对殴打妻子行为正当化认知之间也得到了类似结果。
无论出于何种理由，认可关系内针对女性的暴力行为都会破坏全球和各国为解决亲密伴侣暴力问题及其相关影响所做的努力。必须采取多种方法来有效应对这种情况。加强针对亲密伴侣暴力的教育和宣传活动有望在有效解决这一问题方面发挥重要作用。还可以对实施亲密伴侣暴力行为的个人采取惩罚措施。
