Co-authors : Elizabeth Asiedu Department of Economics University of Kansas Tatenda Zinyemba School of Public and Environmental Affairs Indiana University Christobel Asiedu Department of Social Sciences Louisiana Tech University

Why Africa? o Domestic violence, though a global crisis, disproportionately affects women in African countries. (Shamu et al., 2011) o Domestic violence was the "most urgent, pervasive and significant protection issue for women in West Africa." (International Rescue Committee)

Objectives o Determine the factors that affect a woman’s risk of being physically abused by her husband. o Factors: - polygamy - alcoholism - education - rural/ urban - employment - age difference - household decision

Definition of domestic violence Respondent answers “yes” to any of the following questions: Did your husband ever: o Push you, shake you, or throw something at you? o Slap you? o Twist your arm or pull your hair? o Punch you with his fist or with something that could hurt you? o Kick you, drag you or beat you up? o Choke you or burn you on purpose? o Threaten or attack you with a knife, gun, or any other weapon?

Prevalence of Domestic Violence Demographic Health Surveys Country% AbuseNo. of Women Ghana Kenya Malawi Zimbabwe214356

Empirical Analysis o Probit and Logit regressions. o Dependent variable: Equals one if a woman faced domestic violence; zero otherwise o Independent variables are: polygamy, alcoholism, education, employment, urban, age, employment

Main Findings o Alcoholism and Polygamy are constant factors among all four countries. o All the other variables vary by country

Effects of polygamy Odds ratio

Effects of Alcoholism Odds ratio

Summary of results VariableGhanaKenyaMalawiZimbabwe PolygamyPositive AlcoholicPositive PrimaryPositive No effectPositive SecondaryNo effectPositiveNo effectPositive UrbanPositiveNo effectPositiveNo effect AgeNegative No effectNegative EmployedNo effectPositiveNo effect Decision No effectPositive

Merci beaucoup Thank you Jai-rruh-jef