Abstract
Major international organizations like UN Women and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that nowadays, more than one-third of all women in the world suffer male intimate partner violence (IPV) at some point in their lives and that eliminating the societal acceptancy of that violence is a major element in combatting it. While there is consensus that IPV has disastrous public health consequences, so far, little is known about the drivers of IPV acceptability rates. This article therefore analyzes available global opinion data from the World Values Survey (WVS) project in 72 countries of the world, representing some four-fifths of the global population. Existing IPV data published prior to this study already suggested that the highest global incidence of IPV is to be found in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Andean Latin America. Neoliberal political economy in the tradition of Hayek maintained for a long time that the disrespect of property rights and traditional family values can have disastrous social and economic effects. Our study renders support for this theory: On the basis of a variety of statistical analyses, including a factor analysis of 45 key items from the WVS data, we conclude that apart from attitudes on gender equality, the disrespect of property rights and traditional family values, analyzed by Hayek, emerge as the major drivers of high acceptability rates of IPV. Mali, Serbia, Montenegro, Zambia, Burkina Faso, India, the Philippines, Rwanda, Egypt, and Algeria are on top of this list of global rates of IPV acceptability.
Highlights
This article analyzes available global opinion data from the World Values Survey (WVS) project on the acceptability rates of male intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in 72 countries of the world, representing some four‐fifths of the global population
The variables used to predict IPV acceptability in their multilevel regression models were two items of sexism, contained in the WVS, and the WVS items on the general acceptability of violence to other people, gender of the person, highest educational achievement, satisfaction with household finance, marital status, the importance attached to the family, the safety conditions in the neighborhood, and country‐level data from international United Nations statistics (Human Development Index and Gender Inequality Index of the country). Results from their regression models with WVS data from 72 730 respondents in 51 countries around the world showed that (a) both sexism and acceptability of general violence in social relationships were positively related to acceptability of IPV and (b) the highest levels of acceptability of IPV were found among those sexist individuals who present positive attitudes toward the use of violence in social relationships
In Tausch and Heshmati[35] and Tausch,[36] based on WVS data, it was maintained that patriarchic gender roles in many parts of the Muslim world cannot be separated from the overall societal dynamics, which have led in recent decades to political radicalism
Summary
This article analyzes available global opinion data from the World Values Survey (WVS) project on the acceptability rates of male intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in 72 countries of the world, representing some four‐fifths of the global population. Our new study first of all establishes IPV acceptability data for 72 countries. Major public health studies established the chronic disease and health risk consequences of IPV (11-16 just to mention a few). Among the major global institutions, reporting on the subject, UN Women[17] mentions that 35% of women worldwide have suffered either physical and/or sexual IPV or sexual violence by a nonpartner (not including sexual harassment) at some point in their lives. Even where such laws exist, this does not mean that they are always compliant with international standards and recommendations or are being implemented
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