Journal of Family Violence

, Volume 27, Issue 7, pp 625–633 | Cite as

Women’s Acceptance of Spousal Abuse in Iraq: Prevalence Rates and the Role of Female Empowerment Characteristics

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
First Online:

Abstract

This study examines the acceptance of spousal abuse among women living in Iraq and tests whether attitudes condoning abuse are associated with low female empowerment. Of 15,875 married women surveyed, 63 % agreed that a husband is justified in beating his wife. Women lacking education were 2.3 times more likely to justify this violence than those with secondary education. Women outside the labor force were 1.4 times more likely than working women to condone this abuse. Attitudes on spousal violence varied by region and rural/urban status. Female empowerment efforts may help combat spousal violence and change social norms condoning this behavior.

Keywords

Gender-based-violence Iraq Female empowerment 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • Natalia Linos
    • 1
    • 4
  • Marwan Khawaja
    • 2
  • Rachel L. Kaplan
    • 3
  1. 1.Department of Society, Human Development and HealthHarvard School of Public HealthBostonUSA
  2. 2.Center for Research on Population and HealthAmerican University of BeirutBeirutLebanon
  3. 3.Mack Center on Mental Health and Social ConflictUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUSA
  4. 4.New YorkUSA

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