Different predictors of intimate partner and natal family violence against women

Abstract

Background Violence against women is often studied in the context of violence from intimate partners. However, women receive violence from a wider range of individuals—such as their natal kin—including their siblings, parents, uncles, and cousins. Applying insights from evolutionary theory we examine whether cousin marriage, which has been hypothesised to both reduce the risk of partner violence but increase the risk of natal family violence, associates differently with each type of violence. Secondly, we test whether common risk factors for partner violence, such as wealth, associate similarly with natal violence. Methodology We analyse over 16,000 Jordanian women from 3 cohorts of the Jordan Demographic Health Surveys. Predictor variables include type of cousin marriage (patrilateral or matrilateral), education, wealth, number of children, urban living, and polygyny. Outcome variables include whether a woman’s husband or her natal family has ever been physically violent towards her. Results Being married to a patrilateral cousin but not a matrilateral cousin is associated with a reduced risk of reporting intimate partner violence. By contrast being married to a matrilateral cousin but not a patrilateral one is associated with a reduced risk of reporting natal family violence. As expected, wealth is negatively associated with reporting partner violence, but we find no association with reports of natal family violence. Lastly, individuals with more children are more likely to report IPV. Conclusions and implications Findings indicate the importance of distinguishing between types of cousin marriage and highlight substantial differences in risk factors for intimate partner compared to natal family violence. LAY SUMMARY Sociodemographic risk factors, such as wealth, may associate differently with intimate partner and natal family violence. Results suggest that whether cousin marriage is protective of violence may depend on the type of cousin and secondly, that violence can have fitness relevant outcomes.

Multilevel analysis of factors associated with perinatal intimate partner violence among postpartum population in Southern Ethiopia

“…Conversely, women concentrated in the community with high women decision-making autonomy have a high probability of encountering PIPV. This suggests that as women gain autonomy, they struggle for reproductive autonomy, including fertility control, which can lead to PIPV victimization in traditional societies where men hold primary decision-making power in marriage, as evidenced by other studies [59][60][61] . Also, the result is consistent with a cohort study conducted in Nepal, which found that the risk of contracting IPV was higher in women who became pregnant and gave birth than in those who did not 62 .…”

Measuring Lineage: Implications for Family Violence Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Some researchers associate polygynous family arrangements—a key feature of traditional African societies—to women’s risk of IPV (Amo-Adjei and Tuoyire 2016; Behrman 2019; Jansen and Agadjanian 2020; Tenkorang 2023). Others suggest ethnic and lineage ties increase women’s risks of experiencing IPV (Asiedu 2016; Campbell and Mace 2022; Lowes 2016; Sedziafa and Tenkorang 2016; Sitawa, Tenkorang, and Djamba 2018). For instance, using data collected in Kananga, the capital of Kasai Central Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lowes (2020a) found women in matrilineal societies experienced less domestic violence and had higher autonomy.…”