Does Wives’ Empowerment Moderate the Association Between Husbands’ Drunkenness and Their Intimate Partner Violence Toward Their Wives?—A Study in India

Abstract

Although the impacts of husband alcohol consumption and wife empowerment on intimate partner violence (IPV) have been researched independently, there is scanty evidence on the moderating role of empowerment in reducing IPV among wives whose husbands drink alcohol in India. Using the data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (2019–2021), this study examines the intermediating role of wives’ empowerment in the association between husbands’ drunkenness and IPV among currently married women (n= 16,360). Multidimensional women empowerment indices were constructed, and logistic regression was used to show the association between husbands’ drunkenness and the type of IPV among their wives with different empowerment levels. The IPV prevalence ranged from 12% for sexual assault to 47% for physical violence. The odds of physical violence (odds ratio (OR) = 3.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) [3.29–4.44]), sexual violence (OR = 3.88, 95% CI [ 2.98–5.05]), and emotional violence (OR = 4.94, 95% CI [4.02–6.05]) were higher among wives whose husbands were often drunk compared to those with never drunk husbands. However, with an increasing degree of husband drunkenness, the odds of emotional and sexual violence significantly reduced among wives with high empowerment indices. The results suggest the urgent need to curb alcohol consumption among men and the simultaneous socio-economic upliftment of women to reduce the prevalence of IPV. To further safeguard the welfare of women, it is also necessary to raise women’s understanding of current laws and their stringent enforcement.