60% of women justify wife-beating - Survey

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MISC) conducted by Ghana Statistical Service in 2011 and released last month has revealed that 60 percent of women hold the view that, husbands are justified in beating their wives, for a variety of reasons.

The survey also indicated that domestic violence was 70 percent in the rural areas and in the urban areas, 51 percent.

The survey interviewed 11,925 households across the country and 11,963 women aged between 15 to 49 years.

The MICS is a national representative sample survey of households conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to provide information on the situation of children, women and men in Ghana.

The survey on women feeling that husbands were justified in beating them was on the backdrop that over the last two years, the media reported 53 cases of spousal murders.

Of the figure, according to the Human Rights Advocacy Center (HRAC), 42 involved wife-killing, 5 husband-killing, and 6 rival murders.

The survey, however, indicated that attitudes of acceptance of beatings by husbands decreased, based on the women’s educational level.

It said 36 percent of the men agreed that it was justified to beat their wives or partners and saw domestic violence as a norm.

The result also showed that 94 percent of children aged between 2 to 14 years , were subjected to some form of physical and psychological abuses.

It said 14 percent of children, aged between 2 to 14 years were subjected to severe physical punishment and 73 percent, minor punishments.

The MICS indicated that about 50 percent of respondents believed a child needed to be physically punished to bring him/her up properly.

According to the survey, 57 percent of children aged between 0 to 17 years, live with both parents, while 17 percent are not living with their biological parents.

It said 8 percent of children have one parent dead, while about 1 percent, aged 0 to 17 years are orphans.