Empowerment, Partner’s Behaviours and Intimate Partner Physical Violence among Married Women in Uganda

Betty Kwagala, Makerere University
Stephen Ojiambo Wandera, Makerere University
Patricia Ndugga, Makerere University
Allen Kabagenyi, Makerere University

Studies on empowerment, partners’ behaviours and intimate partner physical violence (IPPV) among married women in Uganda are limited. This paper investigated how women’s empowerment and partners’ behaviours influence IPPV among married women in Uganda. We used the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey data, selecting a sample of 1307 women in union considered for the domestic violence module. Cross tabulations (chi-square tests) and logistic regressions are used to identify factors associated with IPPV. Four in ten women (41%) experienced IPPV in the last 12 months. Intimate partner physical violence was associated with partners’ controlling behaviours, poor wealth status, high parity, fear for partner, partners’ alcohol consumption and witnessing parental violence. In conclusion, in the Ugandan context, women’s empowerment as assessed by the UDHS has no mitigating effect on IPPV in the face of partners’ controlling behaviours, alcohol consumption and witnessing parental violence.