Tanzanian Couples’ Perspectives on Gender Equity, Relationship Power, and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the RESPECT Study
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is widely prevalent in Tanzania. Inequitable gender norms manifest in men’s and women’s attitudes about power and decision making in intimate relationships and are likely to play an important role in determining the prevalence of IPV. We used data from the RESPECT stu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2012-01-01
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| Series: | AIDS Research and Treatment |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/187890 |
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| _version_ | 1832565660030337024 |
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| author | Suneeta Krishnan Divya Vohra Damien de Walque Carol Medlin Rose Nathan William H. Dow |
| author_facet | Suneeta Krishnan Divya Vohra Damien de Walque Carol Medlin Rose Nathan William H. Dow |
| author_sort | Suneeta Krishnan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Intimate partner violence (IPV) is widely prevalent in Tanzania. Inequitable gender norms manifest in men’s and women’s attitudes about power and decision making in intimate relationships and are likely to play an important role in determining the prevalence of IPV. We used data from the RESPECT study, a randomized controlled trial that evaluated an intervention to prevent sexually transmitted infections in a cohort of young Tanzanian men and women, to examine the relationship between couples’ attitudes about IPV, relationship power, and sexual decision making, concordance on these issues, and women’s reports of IPV over 12 months. Women expressed less equitable attitudes than men at baseline. Over time, participants’ attitudes tended to become more equitable and women’s reports of IPV declined substantially. Multivariable logistic regression analyses suggested that inequitable attitudes and couple discordance were associated with higher risk of IPV. Our findings point to the need for a better understanding of the role that perceived or actual imbalances in relationship power have in heightening IPV risk. The decline in women’s reports of IPV and the trend towards gender-equitable attitudes indicate that concerted efforts to reduce IPV and promote gender equity have the potential to make a positive difference in the relatively short term. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-93d6a314aa974dca8b293b562e89ad83 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-1240 2090-1259 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AIDS Research and Treatment |
| spelling | doaj-art-93d6a314aa974dca8b293b562e89ad832025-02-03T01:06:58ZengWileyAIDS Research and Treatment2090-12402090-12592012-01-01201210.1155/2012/187890187890Tanzanian Couples’ Perspectives on Gender Equity, Relationship Power, and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the RESPECT StudySuneeta Krishnan0Divya Vohra1Damien de Walque2Carol Medlin3Rose Nathan4William H. Dow5RTI International, 114 Sansome Street, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94104, USADivision of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California Berkeley, 101 Haviland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94704, USADevelopment Research Group, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USAHealth Economics and Finance, Global Health Program, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, P.O. Box 23350 Seattle, WA 98102, USAIfakara Health Institute, Plot 463 Kiko Avenue, Mikocheni, Dar-es-Salaam, TanzaniaRTI International, 114 Sansome Street, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94104, USAIntimate partner violence (IPV) is widely prevalent in Tanzania. Inequitable gender norms manifest in men’s and women’s attitudes about power and decision making in intimate relationships and are likely to play an important role in determining the prevalence of IPV. We used data from the RESPECT study, a randomized controlled trial that evaluated an intervention to prevent sexually transmitted infections in a cohort of young Tanzanian men and women, to examine the relationship between couples’ attitudes about IPV, relationship power, and sexual decision making, concordance on these issues, and women’s reports of IPV over 12 months. Women expressed less equitable attitudes than men at baseline. Over time, participants’ attitudes tended to become more equitable and women’s reports of IPV declined substantially. Multivariable logistic regression analyses suggested that inequitable attitudes and couple discordance were associated with higher risk of IPV. Our findings point to the need for a better understanding of the role that perceived or actual imbalances in relationship power have in heightening IPV risk. The decline in women’s reports of IPV and the trend towards gender-equitable attitudes indicate that concerted efforts to reduce IPV and promote gender equity have the potential to make a positive difference in the relatively short term.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/187890 |
| spellingShingle | Suneeta Krishnan Divya Vohra Damien de Walque Carol Medlin Rose Nathan William H. Dow Tanzanian Couples’ Perspectives on Gender Equity, Relationship Power, and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the RESPECT Study AIDS Research and Treatment |
| title | Tanzanian Couples’ Perspectives on Gender Equity, Relationship Power, and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the RESPECT Study |
| title_full | Tanzanian Couples’ Perspectives on Gender Equity, Relationship Power, and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the RESPECT Study |
| title_fullStr | Tanzanian Couples’ Perspectives on Gender Equity, Relationship Power, and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the RESPECT Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tanzanian Couples’ Perspectives on Gender Equity, Relationship Power, and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the RESPECT Study |
| title_short | Tanzanian Couples’ Perspectives on Gender Equity, Relationship Power, and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the RESPECT Study |
| title_sort | tanzanian couples perspectives on gender equity relationship power and intimate partner violence findings from the respect study |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/187890 |
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