Sociodemographic Factors Associated With Wife Beating in Bangladesh: Evidence from a Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2017–2018

Abstract

Wife beating is one of the most important global health concerns, not only in developing countries but also in developed countries. The prevalence of wife beating is more common in Bangladesh, which is a major health-related problem among reproductive-aged women. For this reason, the aim of this paper was to investigate sociodemographic factors associated with wife beating among women in Bangladesh. We used the most recent Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017–18 data. A total of 20,127 women were included in this study. Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used. Binary logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with wife beating among reproductive-aged women. The study's findings demonstrated that, in binary logistic regression, women's education, exposure to the media, residence, and religion were very significant predictors of violence against women. Significant correlates of violence against women were also found to include the occupation, division, size of the household, and wealth index of women. We might be able to lessen wife beating in Bangladesh by concentrating on women's education, occupation, place of residence, division, wealth index, household size, exposure to mass media, and religion.