Vulnerability to domestic physical violence among married women in Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose - Due to the gender norms in Indonesia, married women are vulnerable to domestic violence perpetrated by their husband. With a paucity of studies on this issue, the purpose of this paper is to explore the vulnerability to domestic physical violence among married women in Indonesia by measuring the acceptance of being beaten by their husband and factors associated with married women’s approvals were also identified. Design/methodology/approach - Secondary data analysis of three rounds of Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey in 2002/2003, 2007 and 2012 was performed. Data were analyzed descriptively to reveal the trend of women’s acceptance and binary logistic regression was applied to identify determinants. Findings - Women’s acceptance of wife beating in some circumstances experienced an increase during 2002–2012. Determinants varied by type of beating justification. Overall, determinants fell into three groups of women’s, husband’s and household’s characteristics. Originality/value - This study helps to identify determinants of women’s vulnerability to domestic physical violence and suggests some substantial approaches to address this pressing issue.

Keywords

• domestic violence
• physical violence
• wife beating
• married women
• indonesia