De auteur en promotor geven de toelating deze scriptie voor consultatie beschikbaar te
stellen en delen ervan te kopiëren voor persoonlijk gebruik. Elk ander gebruik valt
onder de beperkingen van het auteursrecht, in het bijzonder met betrekking tot de
verplichting uitdrukkelijk de bron te vermelden bij het aanhalen van resultaten uit deze
scriptie.
The author and promoter give the permission to use this thesis for consultation and to
copy parts of it for personal use. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws; more
specifically the source must be extensively spec ified when using results from this thesis.
*
Ghent, 24th of May 2016
The promoter,
Prof. Petra Meier,
The author,
Sarah Vergaerde
*A summary in Dutch of this master thesis will be submitted at the Faculty’s Student
Administration.

Abstract
This paper examines the experience of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Malawi at a
national and local level. Therefore it wants to answer three research questions: what
different practices constitute IPV, how prevalent are these practices, and what causes
their prevalence? We expected that the high prevalence of IPV in Malawi was the result
of structural gender inequality. We tested this hypothesis by comparing a literature
review on the experience of IPV at a national level, with the results of an empirical study
on the experience of IPV at a local level. We argued that, if the literature and empirical
study would both appoint gender inequality as the root cause of IPV at a local level, it
would verify our hypothesis. The literature review and empirical study distinguished
four types of IPV: physical, sexual, psychological and financial abuse. We found that all
types of IPV were very prevalent at a national and local level. Four causes of IPV were
appointed in the literature review: gender inequality, culture and tradition, poverty and
a deficient institutional response. Based on the findings, we concluded that gender
inequality was the root cause of IPV from which the other causes descend. The empirical
study combined the results of a quantitative and qualitative research and came to the
same conclusions. This supports our theory that the high prevalence of IPV in Malawi
results from structural gender inequality.

Acknowledgements
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has inspired me while
writing this thesis. Eveline Couck, who made my stay in Malawi even more memorable.
My internship coordinator, Mrs Mandinda Zunghu, an unbelievable inspiring woman
who gave me a lot of useful insights on IPV in the specific context of Malawi. Professor
Meier, who gave me the necessary coordination in the subject. And all the others who
will know I am thinking about them while writing this down.

Abbreviations
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
DV Domestic Violence
GBV Gender Based Violence
GRL Gender Related Laws
HCP Harmful Cultural Practices
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
IPV Intimate Partner Violence
MDGI Malawi Development and Gender Index
MDHS Malawi Demographic and Health Survey
NSO National Statistics Office
PDVA Prevention of Domestic Violence Act
TA Traditional Authority
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNIFEM United Nations Development Funds for Women
VAW Violence Against Women
VSU Victim Support Unit
WLSA Women and Law Southern Africa
WLSARET Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Educational Trust
WOLREC Women’s Legal Resources Centre

Index
1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................1
2. Theoretical Framework............................................................................................................5
2.1 Introduction on the International GBV literature.........................................................5
Patriarchy and Gender Inequality.......................................................................................................6
Traditional and Cultural Practices and Beliefs..............................................................................7
Poverty...........................................................................................................................................................8
2.2 Defining Intimate Partner Violence ...................................................................................9
2.3 Intimate Partner Violence in Malawi..............................................................................10
2.3.1 Prevalence of Different Types of IPV in Malawi.......................................................11
Physical abuse.......................................................................................................................................... 12
Sexual violence......................................................................................................................................... 13
Marital Rape............................................................................................................................................. 13
Financial abuse........................................................................................................................................ 14
Psychological and emotional abuse................................................................................................. 15
2.3.2 Causes of Intimate Partner Violence in Malawi ...................................................15
Gender Inequality As a Result of the Socialisation Process .................................................... 16
Gender Inequality in the Malawian Culture ................................................................................. 17
Harmful Cultural Norms...................................................................................................................... 17
Harmful Cultural Practices................................................................................................................. 19
Economic Hardship and Poverty....................................................................................................... 21
Deficient institutional response ........................................................................................................ 22
2.4 Conclusion and Hypothesis.................................................................................................25
3. Empirical Study ........................................................................................................................ 26
3.1 Methodology ............................................................................................................................26
3.1.1 Quantitative Data Collection: Survey................................................................................. 26
3.1.2 Qualitative Data Collection: In‐depth Interviews and Focus Groups................... 27
3.1.3 Limitations and Potential Bias.............................................................................................. 28
3.1.4 Brief Description of Phalombe Region .............................................................................. 30
3.2 Results........................................................................................................................................30
3.2.1 Prevalence of different types of abuse ........................................................................30
Physical abuse.......................................................................................................................................... 30
Sexual Abuse............................................................................................................................................. 32
Financial Abuse ....................................................................................................................................... 33
Psychological abuse............................................................................................................................... 35
3.2.2 Main causes of Intimate Partner Violence in the region of Phalombe.........36
Gender Inequality ................................................................................................................................... 36
Harmful Cultural Practices and Beliefs.......................................................................................... 37
Economic Hardship and Poverty....................................................................................................... 39
Deficient Institutional response ........................................................................................................ 40

5. Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 43
6. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................. 47
7. Bibliography.............................................................................................................................. 48
8. Annexes....................................................................................................................................... 54
8.1 Survey for Women..................................................................................................................54
8.2 Survey for Men ........................................................................................................................62
8.3 Questions Focus Groups.......................................................................................................67
8.3 Overview Key Informants....................................................................................................70

1
1. Introduction
“I was asking him about his love relationship with a certain lady so instead of answering
me he started slapping me.”
“My husband refused to give me money for the maize mill.
I went to seek causal work, and since I came late he started punching me.”
“Each time my husband is not in good mood, he just shouts at me and if I ask, he beats me
with anything, and last time he twisted my arm up to the point of going for xray.”
These are just some testimonies taken from the report of a national survey on Intimate
Partner Violence (IPV) conducted in Malawi in 2005 (Pelser, Gondwe, Mayamba,
Mhango & Phiri, 2005). This list could easily be prolonged with the slightest effort, as
IPV is a pervasive economic, health and women’s rights issue in Malawi like it is in the
rest of the world. According to the UN Statistics Division (2015), IPV accounts for the
majority of women’s experience with violence across the world. I decided to write a
thesis on the subject when I was in Malawi. As a student Gender and Development, I was
offered an internship with Cadecom in Blantyre, the commercial city of Malawi.
Cadecom is the Malawian branch of the development and relief organisation Caritas.
They asked me to conduct an empirical study on a subject of own interest. I decided to
work on the practice of IPV, as it quickly became clear that this was a widespread issue
in the country. Due to time and especially capacity limitations, we decided to make a
case study on the topic in the rural district of Phalombe. This case study would describe
the experience of IPV in the examined communities by answering three questions. The
first two questions were about the practice itself. We wanted to know what incidents
were categorised as Intimate Partner Violence and how prevalent these different
incidents were in the examined communities. However, our interest was not only the act
itself. We wanted to explain the enduring prevalence of these practices as well. That is
why we had to distinguish the factors that maintain the practice. By combining the
results of a quantitative and qualitative study, we could make a case study that offers a
current state of affairs on the prevalence and causes of IPV in Phalombe. Cadecom would

2
than use this case study as a baseline for future programs and activities. In this respect,
this thesis presents itself as a feminist study because it is action orientated and tries to
‘instigate positive change for survivors in the future’ (Skinner, Hester & Malos, 2013, p.
1). It has an empowering goal as it wants to contribute to the fight against IPV and thus
to the wellbeing of women living in Malawi.
I decided to elaborate on the topic in the framework of my master thesis. I thought it
would be interesting to compare the results of this case study to the situation in the rest
of Malawi. Therefore I made a literature review departing from the same research
questions that I had used in my empirical study. Only this time the focus was not on the
experience of IPV in specific communities, but in the broader context of Malawi. Before
we could do this, we thought it necessary to offer a general introduction on the
international GBV literature. This international discourse distinguishes several factors
that are said to maintain GBV. We will discuss only three of them because they have
special relevance for our research: gender inequality, tradition and culture and poverty.
After this general introduction we will discuss IPV in the specific context of Malawi.
Based on the results of three nationally representative surveys, we will answer our first
two research questions: ‘What practices are covered by the concept of IPV in Malawi?’
and ‘How prevalent are these different practices in Malawi?’. In this section we will also
discuss the causes of IPV in the specific Malawian context. This section thus answers our
second research question as well, namely ‘What factors maintain the different types of
IPV in Malawi?’. This will be done based on the same surveys compared with other
relevant literature. In addition to the factors that we have distilled from the
international GBV discourse, we will distinguish one more relevant factor that sustains
IPV in Malawi, namely the deficient institutional response against IPV. In this way we
could get a comprehensive overview on the experience of IPV at a national level.
Showing how prevalent the different practices of IPV are in Malawi was not the main
purpose of this thesis. However, we had to discuss the high prevalence rates because it
gives ground to our main objective, namely explaining why IPV is so prevalent in
Malawi. Our expectation was that its high prevalence is due to structural gender
inequality that entrenches the Malawian society. This thesis thus offers a feminist
understanding of IPV, as it will discuss IPV as a gendered issue and the outcome of
unequal power relations between men and women. That is also why we chose to write
about ‘gender based violence’ instead of ‘violence against women’. Gender based

3
violence is a more adequate term because it suggests that gender violence is influenced
by and influences gender relations (Skinner et al., 2013). By identifying gender
inequality and thus patriarchy as the cause of IPV, we claim that IPV is the effect of
structural constraints. According to Carlson (2005) this is a feminist argument that
belongs to the ‘structural violence approach’. This approach presents IPV as a structural
problem resulting from social, political and economic systems, which create disparities
between groups of people, in this case between men and women. By using the structural
violence approach, it becomes clear how extensive the scale of the issue is. IPV is not
‘random violence’ in which victims happen to be women. Rather, the risk factor is being
female (Bunch et al., 1998 cited in Vu, Vu, Nguyen & Clement, 1999).
In addition to gender inequality, IPV is caused by other factors as well. Tradition and
culture for example play an important role in sustaining IPV (Skinner et al., 2013). That
is why we used the cultural approach in addition to the structural violence approach.
However, culture and gender inequality will not be discussed as separate phenomena
that are not linked with each other. The approaches more or less overlap as culture
works as a structure. The Malawian culture for example reflects and promotes gender
inequality. That is why patriarchy will not only be referred to as a form of structural
violence, but as a cultural norm as well (Carlson, 2005). In addition to this, we will also
discuss IPV as the consequence of poverty and a deficient institutional response. Both
factors will be discussed from a gender perspective.
The structural violence and cultural approach were chosen with full awareness of their
disadvantages. These approaches treat survivors of IPV as being without agency that act
under the influence of structures, in the form of gender inequality, tradition and culture.
I could have used the individual approach to compensate this. According to this
approach, abusers have the capacity to stop beating and the abused have the agency to
escape their abusive situations (Carlson, 2005). However, our research has forced us not
to use this approach. In Malawi, the capacity of an individual to resist bigger structures
seems to be limited. There is not much reason to believe that Malawian men have
individual reasons to abuse their wives, it seems to be more like a habit or a culturally
accepted behaviour by men and women. To compensate with this assumption, I chose to
write about survivors rather than victims as I acknowledged the individual resistance of
abused women, however limited. Another downside of these approaches is that they can
create a hierarchy on their own. In other words, describing IPV in Africa as the result of

4
a patriarchal culture could be patriarchal as well (Carlson, 2005). With Mohanty (2000)
in my thoughts, I was cautious not to homogenize the ‘third world women’ having to be
saved by white, western women. I certainly did not want to claim that the western world
has reached a point of gender equality while Africa has not yet done so (Carlson, 2005). I
also did not want to claim that IPV is something specifically African as I fully recognize it
as a worldwide issue. The fact is that I was offered to conduct a study in Malawi on IPV
and that I tried to grasp the factors that maintain the practice. During the process, I
found that the structural violence and cultural approach were most suitable to answer
my research questions.
To confirm the hypothesis that IPV in Malawi is the result of structural inequality, we
thought it would be relevant to compare the conclusions of our literature study on the
experience of IPV at a national level, with the conclusions of our empirical study on the
experience of IPV at a local level. If the case study would confirm the conclusions of our
literature review, meaning that it would show the same prevalence rates and distinguish
the same causes, it would support our theory that IPV in Malawi is the result of
structural inequality. If the case study would not confirm the bigger picture, the
comparison would have been relevant as well. It would have disproved our hypotheses
and showed that IPV is more an effect of coincidental present factors that only have an
affect in certain regions in the country. In addition to that, our case study would have
pointed out gaps in the representation of IPV at a national level. These gaps are
problematic as these national surveys are used as a baseline for further research,
policies and laws. In this way, this thesis would have contributed to a better baseline by
pointing out the gaps. In either way, our study would have been relevant as research on
the experience of IPV in a specific Malawian community is limited. As such, this thesis
has contributed to a greater awareness of the factors that maintains IPV in Malawi.

5
2. Theoretical Framework
2.1 Introduction on the International GBV literature.
The concepts of Gender Based Violence (GBV), Domestic Violence (DV) and Intimate
Partner Violence (IPV) are relatively new. The contemporary domestic violence
discourse emerged in the 1970s together with second wave feminism in the United
States. The existence of wife battering was widely denied at that time. The problem was
considered rare and women who experienced it were advised to improve their
marriages (Ferraro, 1996). According to Bell Hooks, it was the second wave feminist
movement “that dramatically uncovered and exposed the ongoing reality of domestic
violence” (Hooks, 2014, p. 61). Second wave feminists politicized a previous private
matter through the establishment of the battered women’s movement, consciousness‐
raising ‐ and neighbourhood empowerment groups (Ferraro, 1996). Intimate partner
violence was no longer seen as ‘exceptional and private’ but recognized as part of a
‘broad‐scale system of domination that affected women as a class’ (Crenshaw, 1991, p.
1241). The international discourse has made this shift as well. Until recently, most
governments regarded domestic violence as a private matter beyond their responsibility
(Vu et al., 1999). This has changed over time as violence against women was
increasingly considered as a public health issue and an epidemic societal problem”
(Hattery, 2009). The awareness that all women of all socio‐economic backgrounds were
potential victims brought about that violence against women was addressed in the
realm of the human rights. In 1993 for example, the United Nations adopted the
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. In this document VAW is
defined as “a violation of the rights and fundamental freedoms of women and impairs or
nullifies their enjoyment of those rights and freedoms” (United Nations, 1993). VAW had
to be eradicated as it prevented ‘the achievement of equality, development and peace’
(United Nations, 1993). Eradicating VAW thus became a matter of promoting gender
inequality. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for example, defined VAW as “a
manifestation of the historically unequal power relations”. The document presents
violence as the result of domination over and discrimination against women by men and
prevents the full advancement of women (United Nations 1995:75 cited in Vu et al.,
1999). These documents argue that gender inequality and its consequences like violence

6
prevent women from enjoying their human rights. Ending male domination shall
establish gender equality and end violence against women as well.
Patriarchy and Gender Inequality
The international IPV discourse identifies patriarchy and gender inequality as forms of
structural violence that cause women’s suffering around the world (Carlson, 2005). This
reasoning aligns with the structural violence approach that we have discussed earlier.
Blaming patriarchy for GBV is a feminist argument that stems from radical second wave
feminists. In the seventies, the nuclear and male dominated family was the keystone of
the society. According to second wave feminists, wife battering was the outcome of this
gendered hierarchy in the family because it condoned violence by men against women
and it made the escape of abusive relationships very difficult. They argued that
transforming these unequal social relations was the best solution. Male dominance and
male privilege within the society and family had to be eliminated in order to liberate
women from their dependency on men (Ferraro, 1996). In their view, as it is in the
contemporary IPV discourse, ending GBV was a matter of ending patriarchy. This is why
Bell Hooks (2014) preferred to talk about patriarchal violence instead of domestic
violence. She argued that this phrase continually reminded the listener that violence in
the home is connected to sexism, sexist thinking and male domination. Ending GBV is a
case of challenging patriarchy and stopping sexist thinking because these factors
support male domination and the violence that is its consequence. It is widely supported
that this should be the responsibility of both women and men because ending male
domination is not only a question of empowering women. Changing unequal gender
relations is about creating alternative masculinities as well. Sathiparsad (2016) argues
that every intervention on gender‐based violence should involve the opportunity for
men to develop alternative masculinities. If men are not targeted by these interventions,
it gives the message that GBV is a women’s issue only and something in which men do
not need to participate (Ricardo & Verani, 2010). Galtung, who first coined the
‘structural violence approach’, writes that structural violence is not inevitable.
Patriarchy for example could be put to an end by changing behaviour (Carlson, 2005).

7
Traditional and Cultural Practices and Beliefs
IPV does not have to be exclusively identified as a consequence of patriarchy. Many
studies have analysed IPV by focusing on culture. However, we have said that this
cultural approach largely overlaps with the structural violence approach. For example, it
is possible to argue that cultural norms sustain gender inequality. In this respect,
patriarchy can be referred to as a form of structural violence or as a cultural norm
(Carlson, 2005).
Culture includes the beliefs, practices, values, norms, and behaviours that are shared by
members of a group (Tönsing, 2015). Cultural practices and beliefs guide people of a
certain community on how they should live or behave. In this way, culture gives a sense
of belonging and identity (Wadesango, Rembe & Chabaya, 2011) Despite these
beneficiary effects of culture, some cultural beliefs are said to maintain GBV and IPV.
Cultural values and beliefs that minimize the impact of violence influence a women’s
experience of IPV. If cultural norms present domestic violence as a normal part of
married life, it will restrain her from seeking help (Tönsing, 2015). An example of such a
cultural norm is the notion of the man as household head. This notion gives men a
position of power, which creates an unequal power balance in the family. Violence might
be used to discipline a woman when she challenges this hierarchy, for example if she
deviates from her prescribed gender role as a man’s subordinate (Tönsing, 2015).
Women will accept this violence to a great extent, because they have been socialised to
believe that violence is a normal part of the married life. This cultural acceptance of
violence is even greater in societies in which marriage is linked with status. This cultural
norm restrains women from reporting their abusive husband because it might end up in
a divorce, which is a very shameful experience. Women will tolerate violence out of fear
of being ostracised from their communities (Tönsing, 2015).
In addition to cultural beliefs and values, cultural and traditional practices can
discriminate against women as well. The term ‘harmful cultural practice’ is increasingly
used to refer to certain practices that promote and legitimize GBV in the name of culture
(Longman & Bradley, 2015). Traditional practices such as polygamy, female genital
mutilation, payment of bride price (lobola) and child marriages cause physical pain or
humiliate and degrade women. They reinforce women’s inferior status in society and
continue to violate their human rights. Therefore they obstruct the achievement of
gender equality in a society (Wadesango et al., 2011).

8
Poverty
Poverty is another frequently appointed cause of GBV and IPV in the international
literature. Several studies have showed a positive association between poverty and
intimate partner violence. These studies do not claim that poverty is a direct cause of
IPV. Rather, poverty seems to exacerbate violence (UNIFEM, 1998 cited in Vu et al.,
1999). Duvvury (2009) for example states that economic recession increases poverty,
which triggers an increase in violence. The most logical explanation is that poverty puts
a strain on households because couples living in poverty are under greater stress to
make ends meet (Clarke, 1997 cited in Vu et al., 1999). In this respect, violence is used to
release tension. According to Jewkes (2002), poverty and the associated stress are key
contributors to IPV. Gelles (1974) confirms this link between stress resulting from
poverty and violence in his book The Violent Home (Jewkes, 2002). He argues that men
living in poverty cannot live up to their ideas of successful manhood and this can trigger
a crisis of male identity. The frustration that this crisis brings along might find an outlet
in violence against their partner. In this respect, VAW is not only an expression of male
power and dominance. Violence can also result out of male vulnerability caused by the
inability to behave according to models of masculinity. A study by Saffioti (1997)
confirms this. She examined the intersection of gender based violence, class, and
ethnicity and concluded that if men do not dominate in class terms they might use
‘gender power’ to compensate this. She argues that GBV is not only the exercise of male
power, but also a reaction to “male impotency” (Saffioti, 1997 cited in Vu et al., 1999).
Another explanation of the positive association between poverty and VAW is that
poverty is a gendered phenomenon. This means that the intersection of poverty and
gender produces more intense forms of economic deprivation for women (Kabeer,
2003). This phenomenon is referred to as the feminization of poverty. Diana Pearce
(1978) first used the term in an essay in which she wrote that ‘poverty is becoming a
female problem’ (p. 28). The term became especially popular after the Fourth UN
Conference on Women, when eradicating the ‘persistent and increasing burden of
poverty on women’ was adopted as one of the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Platform
for Action. Since than, the concept began to circulate in studies on gender and poverty
and later in the international development literature as well (Chant, 2012). It has
brought awareness on the fact that women are more vulnerable to poverty. One possible
survival strategy is to financially depend on a partner. This creates a state of impunity

9
for a man because it becomes possible for him to exploit their partners. He can do what
he wants with her because she depends on him for survival. In the face of more poverty,
women will endure a lot of violence (Kim & Gray, 2008). Thus, In addition to the strain
poverty places on households, it also impairs women’s ability to leave a violent
household (Clarke, 1997 cited in Vu et al., 1999). Tackling IPV has thus something to do
with tackling poverty and especially the feminization of poverty, for example by
empowering women financially.
2.2 Defining Intimate Partner Violence
Gender based violence is generally defined as ‘any act of violence that results in, or is
likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women,
including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, where
occurring in public or private life’ (United Nations, 1993). This internationally accepted
definition of GBV is very broad because the practice comes in many different shapes.
GBV does not only take place at home and the offenders are not only intimate partners.
The practice takes place at school, in police stations, on the street and is performed by
students, relatives, strangers and so on. Domestic violence is only one manifestation of
GBV. However, the practice continues to be a broad phenomenon as it includes all
violent incidents taking place within the domestic sphere, by the hand of anyone living
in a particular household. In terms of feasibility, we chose to focus on one particular
kind of domestic violence, namely Intimate Partner Violence.
Intimate Partner Violence applies to the type of violence that occurs between two
intimate partners. That is the most essential and concise definition of the practice.
However, more elaborate definitions are used as well. What exactly constitutes IPV
depends on how the concepts of ‘violence’ and ‘intimate partner’ are defined. What
behaviour is considered as “violent’ differs between cultures and even individuals. One
person might define a certain act as abusive, while another would say it is acceptable
behaviour within the family context (Vu et al., 1999). The definition of violence differs
between studies as well. For example, the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey 2010
and the 2012 GBV survey, two large‐scale studies on GBV conducted in Malawi, did not
include financial abuse as a type of IPV while another study, the 2005 IPV survey, chose
to do so. The exclusion of financial abuse might be based on the idea that financial
matters cannot be abusive because they do not have a violent nature as such. That may
be true, but the impact of it might not be underestimated, especially in a context of

10
poverty. Controlling the finances gives a position of power and makes it possible to
exploit the ones that are financially dependent on you in different ways.
What constitutes IPV is further complicated because the definitions of “intimate partner”
and “relationship” differ between individuals and studies as well. The MDHS 2004 and
2010 for example, defined an intimate partner as someone the respondent lived with or
was married with. According to this tight definition, intimate partners have to share a
household. This definition excludes a lot of information about violent experiences
between partners that were not sharing a household at the time of the abuse. This is
probably why the 2005 IPV survey did not define the term intimate partner (Mellish,
Settergren & Sapuwa, 2015). In that way, information about violent practices that have
taken place in unofficial relationships was also included.
2.3 Intimate Partner Violence in Malawi
We have discussed that GBV and IPV occurs in all societies making women of all socio‐
economic backgrounds potential victims. However, the international GBV discourse has
showed that certain risk factors like poverty, gender inequality and traditional cultural
beliefs and attitudes increase the prevalence of IPV. Malawian women are easy victims
in this respect. Malawi is a country afflicted by poverty. It has a patriarchal society with
high levels of gender inequality, in which tradition and culture still play an important
and dominant role. In the Malawian context, there is one more factor that sustains IPV,
namely the deficient institutional response against IPV. This response contains serious
gaps, which affects the good working of support services based at a local level. Given
these challenges, it is no surprise that IPV is a big economic, health, social and human
rights issue in Malawi. Although other types of GBV occur as well, research has
confirmed that IPV is the most common form of domestic violence in Malawi (NSO,
2013; MDHS, 2010; Pelser et al., 2005). The MDHS 2004 for example concluded that that
all women, irrespective of age, marital status, number of children, educational levels and
employment status are at risk of all forms of violence by their husbands or partners
(NSO, 2005).
Malawi recognizes the magnitude of the issue and has made efforts at different levels to
tackle the problem. It has signed international agreements that aim to empower women,
it has enacted legislation that criminalised DV and IPV, policies and national action plans
that want to guarantees women’s safety and it has installed support service providers at

11
a local level. Despite these efforts, IPV has remained a big issue in Malawi. The following
section gives an overview on the prevalence of the different types of IPV in Malawi.
2.3.1 Prevalence of Different Types of IPV in Malawi
This section will give an overview on the prevalence of different types of IPV in Malawi
according to three representative studies on IPV in particular, or DV and GBV in general.
Comparing these studies can only be done with caution because the survey samples and
the definitions of violence and intimate partner are different (Mellish et al., 2015). A first
study of special relevance was the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey of 2010. The
National Statistics Office of Malawi conducts these surveys every six years. It is only
since 2004 that a chapter on domestic violence was included. According to the writer of
this chapter, C. D. Chakwana, this inclusion of the module on domestic violence ‘is in
recognition of the presence of gender‐based violence as an economic, human right, and
health issue in Malawi’ (NSO, 2005, p. 265). Remarkable in this respect is that financial
abuse was not examined in the survey. Despite this gap, the surveys still offer a
comprehensive view on the scope of the other forms of IPV: sexual, physical and
emotional abuse. The figures that are given in this study are based on the answers of
ever‐married female respondents aged between 15 and 49 that were asked to report
abusive experiences ever committed by a partner they lived with or were married to.
The MDHS is a nationally representative study as 23,020 women and 7175 men across
Malawi completed the survey. This sample is large enough to generalize and speak about
the total population of Malawi. This study will be referred to with ‘MDHS 2010’.
Another relevant study for this paper was the 2005 IPV survey. The Department of
International Development conducted this study in cooperation with the National
Statistical Office Crime & Justice Statistical Division. The objective was to get relevant
quantitative information about intimate partner violence in particular. In total 3546
women and 2246 men were interviewed. The respondents had to be over 18 years of
age with no upper age limit specified (Mellish et al., 2015). They were asked about their
experiences with sexual, physical, financial and/or emotional abuse by the hands of an
intimate partner. As said before, this concept was not further defined. The respondents
were asked as well to reveal whether they found these practices acceptable or not. That
is interesting, as it exposes which practices are tolerated and for what reasons. It also
gives an insight in the male perception of IPV, something that is mostly ignored in other
national studies (Pelser et al., 2005). Another relevant study is the 2012 GBV survey.

12
While other surveys had collected gender‐related data before, this was the first survey
by the NSO that focused on gender and GBV in particular. The survey collected data on
the prevalence of different types of IPV, levels of awareness about gender‐related laws,
help seeking behaviour and quality of support services. IPV was defined in terms of
sexual, physical and psychosocial violence. Financial abuse was excluded because they
had to contain the scope of the survey. All respondents were living in areas where the
European Union and the UNFPA were implementing their Gender Equality and Women
Empowerment Program and some other UN Women districts. It is not a nationally
representative study as it only targets specific areas of intervention. However, the
results offer reliable estimates for the selected areas as 3252 households were
interviewed. This survey targeted all persons aged six years and over residing in a
household. A household was defined as a unit where one or more persons related or
unrelated lived together. An intimate partner was defined as someone the respondent
was married to, as the survey only included the option wife or husband as possible
intimate offenders (NSO, 2013). These studies are quantitative by nature and thus help
to provide estimates of the prevalence of different forms of IPV at a national level.
Physical abuse
Physical abuse has the greatest visible impact of the different types of IPV because it is
by definition violent. Therefore it is most associated with IPV as well. Physical violence
is a very broad phenomenon with consequences varying from light injuries to death and
from traumas to psychological disorders (Pelser et al., 2005). Physical violence was the
most reported type of IPV in the 2005 IPV survey, with almost one third of the female
respondents reporting an experience of physical abuse. In the 2012 GBV survey it was
the least reported form of IPV by female respondents (30%) and in the MDHS it was
ranked as second most common form (21.7%). Very few respondents of the 2005 IPV
survey justified this kind of abuse in comparison with the other forms of IPV. According
to the researchers, this had everything to do with the violent nature of these acts. Less
than five percent of the female respondents would found it justified if their partners
would hit, slap or kick them. About forty percent of these women said that men could
use violence if their wives were disrespectful or disobedient to them, a fifth of these
women said it was acceptable if their partners were angry. Despite these low levels of
acceptance, about one fifth of the female respondents who had experienced physical
violence found that their partners had not committed a crime. According to the

13
researchers, this finding refers to a gap between what is considered tolerated in a
relationship and what is considered legally wrong. When people condemn physical
violence it does not necessarily mean that they perceive it as something that should be
punished (Pelser et al., 2005). The same reasoning accounts to the issue of marital rape,
which will be discussed in the following section.
Sexual violence
The 2005 IPV survey asked female respondents about their experience with sexual
violence within the confines of an intimate relationship. Apparently, just over one third
of them had experienced some form of sexual assault in their current or former
relationship (Pelser et al., 2005). The figure obtained by the MDHS 2010 is somewhat
lower, as almost one fifth of the ever‐married women aged between 15 and 49 reported
having experienced sexual violence by their partner or husband. The 2012 GBV survey
showed that forty percent of the female respondents had ever experienced sexual abuse.
This figure applies to sexual abuse cases by the hand of other people than intimate
partners. Husbands were the most common reported offenders in the case of sex
deprivation, coerced sexual intercourse and marital rape. This last incident needs some
elaboration.
Marital Rape
A section about sexual violence in Malawi needs to pay special attention to the issue of
marital rape. The incident was reported by one fourth of the female respondents of the
2012 GBV survey, by 16% of the ever‐married women in MDHS 2010 and by a tenth of
the female respondents to the 2005 IPV survey. In the 2012 GBV survey, marital rape
was the second most often experienced form of sexual violence (24.2%). These high
prevalence rates are reflected in high levels of acceptance. Most Malawians do not
consider marital rape as a criminal act that should be punished (Kamyongolo & Malunga,
2011). Only 5.8% of the respondents of the 2012 GBV survey said that they would report
marital rape to an individual or institution. However, reporting a case of marital rape
this would stay without consequences, as the practice is not criminalized in Malawi.
Section 132 of the Penal Code on rape does not make any reference to the position of
husband and wife (Kamyongolo & Malunga, 2011).
There are several reasons that explain why the prevalence and acceptance rates of
marital rape are so high. A first explanation lies in the specific Malawian interpretation

14
of marriage as a contract. The understanding is that when a Malawian woman signs the
marriage contract, she gives consent to sex throughout her married life (Kamyongolo &
Malunga, 2011). A study done by the Ministry of Health in 2012 mentions some relevant
studies in this respect. Hickey (1999) found that Malawian women felt they could not be
raped within marriage and that women have to have sex with their husbands even if
they did not wanted to. A study done by Save the Children US in 2000 showed that the
male participants initiated sex in 92% of relationships and women felt powerless to
refuse sex or negotiate safe sex. A second explanation lies in the specific Malawian
socialization process that establishes power imbalance and gender inequality in the
intimate relationship. According to Sangala (1999), men are socialized to believe that
women do not have to actively agree to sexual intercourse and that coercion is part of
the sex act (Ministry of Health, 2012). Men grow up to believe that they are superior to
women, coerced sex can be a way of expressing dominance over the person assaulted.
(Jewkes, Sen & Garcia‐Moreno, 2002). In addition to that, the socialization process
creates unequal gender norms that define male sexuality as uncontrollable and
aggressive and female sexuality as passive (Ricardo & Verani, 2010). Marital rape thus
objectifies women, as they become the object of the male sexuality.
Financial abuse
Financial abuse is not the most obvious and well‐known form of IPV. As a result, the
impact of it is often underestimated. The Malawi Demographic and Health surveys for
example do not include questions about financial abuse. These surveys define intimate
partner violence in terms of physical, sexual or emotional violence. Despite this gap in
an important document as the MDHS, there must be no doubt that the practice is
widespread and has a great impact. Financial abuse includes a very broad range of
practices going from withholding money or information about the family income,
preventing someone to be employed and have an income, taking money from a partner
without their consent, refusing to pay a monthly child maintenance or support and all
variations on these incidents (Pelser et al., 2005).
According to the 2005 IPV survey, men controlled the finances in seven out of ten
households. In only one fifth of the households, this was a women’s responsibility. In a
few examined households, husband and wife shared control of the financial resources.
The frequency of financial abuse is perhaps best illustrated by the question whether
respondents were free to spend any money that they had received from anyone else

15
than their partners. About three out of ten women reported that they could not freely
decide on what to do with that money. Some had to consult their partners on how to
spend the money but the majority simply had to hand it over. Somewhat more than one
half of the women reported that they could not spend any money without their partner’s
consent (Pelser et al., 2005).
Psychological and emotional abuse
This type of abuse includes but is not limited to humiliating, threatening, scaring,
offending, controlling and limiting the social mobility of a partner. Emotional violence
was the second most reported form of IPV in the 2005 IPV survey, with one quarter of
the female respondents reporting they had experienced it within an intimate
relationship. In the MDHS 2010 it was the most common reported form with again a
quarter of ever‐married women saying that a husband or partner ever emotionally
abused them. Emotional abuse was the most reported form of violence in the 2012 GBV
survey as well and husbands were the most common perpetrators. Humiliation was the
most reported form in the 2005 IPV survey, applicable to 12.8% of the female
respondents. A small but significant part of the female respondents reported that their
partners prohibited them to have contact with other people (8% or 272 respondents). A
fraction of the sample (248 respondents) had been threatened with harm (Pelser et al.,
2005). The most common forms of emotional violence in the GBV 2012 survey were
being criticized in front of children, being denied freedom and social mobility, being
humiliated, being shout at in presence of people and being refused food. All these
incidents were reported by more or less 5400 female respondents (NSO, 2013).
2.3.2 Causes of Intimate Partner Violence in Malawi
We have said before that IPV in Malawi will be discussed as the outcome of structural
gender inequality. Meaning that the different factors that maintain IPV in Malawi will be
discussed as consequences of gender inequality. First we will elaborate on how these
high levels of gender inequality are established. Then we will discuss how it affects the
Malawian culture. Thereafter we will discuss how gender inequality influences the
socio‐economic sphere and creates a specific female experience of poverty in Malawi.
Finally we will discuss how the deficient institutional response against IPV results from
gender inequality as well.

16
Gender Inequality As a Result of the Socialisation Process
Changing attitudes and values about gender roles might be the greatest challenge in the
fight against GBV and IPV. Especially in a country like Malawi, which has a patriarchal
society with strong attitudes about men being superior to women (Ministry of Gender,
2014). The mindset that women should be subservient to men is the outcome of a
socialization process that begins with birth. Baby boys will receive gifts like an axe, an
arrow or a bow. These gifts reveal what are considered to be manly tasks and what is
expected to become of boys, for example hunters and builders of houses. When a baby
girl is born, she will receive gifts like a cooking stick or a pestle. These gifts make it clear
that girls are expected to care for their family when they grow up, for example by
cooking. The names boys and girls are given express these gender roles as well.
Examples of boys’ names are Limbani meaning “Bravery”, Mfumu “Leadership”, Timve
“Command for obedience” and Mzati “Foundation of the family”. Girls’ names include
Pilira “Perseverance”, Tsala “Stay Behind” and Chifundu “Mercy”. The upbringing of
children also displays attitudes and beliefs about gender roles. Boys are discouraged to
help with care giving work like washing the dishes, cooking a meal or caring for siblings.
Girls on the other hand are encouraged to help with these tasks, because one day they
will have to take care of their own family (WLSARET, 2011). The socialization process
goes on throughout life and the subservient role of women is reinforced over and over
again. For example, engaged couples have to attend a bridal shower or sent off. During
these ceremonies, future husband and wife will receive advise on how to behave in
marriage and how to treat your partner. Women are advised to be submissive to their
husband and persevere in all situations to ensure the harmony of the household. This
implies that women should tolerate violence. These ceremonies also reinforce the idea
that men should be in control and that is legitimate for them to use violence to command
respect (WLSARET, 2011).
The socialization process establishes gender stereotypes about men and women. These
gender stereotypes include all sorts of attitudes, beliefs, and expectations on how to
behave as a man or a woman. Good Malawian women are supposed to be peacemakers,
fearful, weak, nurturing, cheerful, dependent and following. Men are supposed to be
aggressive, brave, powerful, assertive, forceful, independent and leading. Problematic is
that the set of characteristics belonging to men is more valued than the one belonging to
women. In other words, the socialization process establishes unequal power relations

17
between men and women and thus gender inequality (WLSARET, 2011). This gender
inequality is entrenched in the socio‐economic, legal and political spheres of the
Malawian society (WLSA, 2009).
Gender Inequality in the Malawian Culture
Harmful Cultural Norms
Gender inequality is entrenched in the Malawian Culture. Several cultural norms and
values minimize the impact of IPV and encourage women to persevere. They restrain
women from reporting because in their communities violence is seen as acceptable
behaviour that should be tolerated. These cultural norms explain the high levels of
acceptance, resulting in low reporting levels and thus in low prosecution levels. In this
way, they sustain IPV in the Malawian society.
A first and most widespread belief that supports IPV is the notion of the household head.
Men are socialized to believe that they are supposed to be the household heads.
Therefore it becomes legitimized for them to use their authority, for example with
violence, in order to stay in control, gain respect or to punish a woman (Sathiparsad,
2016). In the same way women have learned to behave as the subordinates of their
husbands. They are expected to accept male dominance and the violent oppression that
sometimes comes with it. That explains why reporting a husband is seen as an act of
betrayal. This belief restrains them from seeking help because they fear reprisals from
their abusers or because they are afraid of being ostracized by their community
(Ministry of Gender, 2014). This brings us to another potentially harmful cultural norm
that prescribes that marriage is linked with status. This encourages women to persevere
violence in order to keep the harmony of the household. If they report their husband, it
might end up in a divorce, which is a very shameful experience (Tönsing, 2015). They
tolerate the violence out of fear of being jeopardized by the community. Another
harmful cultural norm prescribes sexual abuse as defilement. This restrains survivors to
report their abuse because the community might stigmatize them. Others stay silent
because they are afraid of not being believed or being blamed to be responsible for the
sexual abuse themselves as if it was the result of their own promiscuousness (Jewkes et
al., 2002).
There is also a strong cultural sense that whatever happens at home, stays at home. That
explains for another part why the support seeking behaviour of victims is so limited. The

18
MDHS 2004 mentions that cultural norms discourage Malawians to discuss conjugal
issues, which might result in underreporting of abusive incidents (NSO, 2005, p. 273).
According to the MDHS 2010, about one in three women who experienced both physical
and sexual violence never told anyone about it, one in four never sought help. Most of
the survivors that did seek help contacted their family and in‐laws first, followed by
friends, neighbours or police, traditional leaders or chiefs and religious leaders (NSO,
2010, p. 260). Domestic violence is not something that is discussed with anyone,
especially not with officials of the police or the justice system because they are not
trusted (Pelser et al., 2005). Other research confirms that victims report with unofficial
services in the first place. According to the results of a survey done in 2010, almost half
of women that had experienced violence did any report, based on a sample size of 2527
people. Almost of all of them had reported their abuse with an informal source. A small
minority did a formal report with the police, a medical point or the social services.
Because abuse is often solely reported with informal reporting points, estimates of GBV
prevalence based on health, police and social services must be handled with caution
because they underestimate the total prevalence of GBV (Palermo, Bleck & Peterman,
2013).
A major point of contact that these studies do not specifically mention, are the marriage
counsellors or Ankhoswe. It is a traditional custom in Malawi that marriage counsellors
or Ankhoswe are appointed for both husband and wife when they get married. These
Ankhoswe are very prevalent in Malawi and in Phalombe, the region where the
empirical study of this paper was conducted. A study done in this region showed that
249 men (n=306) and 255 women (n=313) had received some form of advise from their
Ankhoswe at the beginning of and/or during their marriage. The advise of these
counsellors seems to be respected in this population as most of the respondents
reported to have followed it. According to the same research, these marriage advocates
also give advice to be faithful to spouse, for example when he or she is neglecting her or
him. More women than man had received this advice, which suggests a double moral
standard. Adultery seems to be more tolerated with men than with women (Kornfield &
Namate, 1997). This double moral standard is confirmed by another study conducted by
Brown (2004). She did research on the Malawian cultural practices that promote the
spread of HIV/AIDS. She found that respectful Malawian women are supposed to be

19
faithful. If they catch their husband on cheating, they are supposed to look the other
way.
Harmful Cultural Practices
According to the Gender Equality Act of 2013, harmful traditional practices (HCP) are
social, cultural, or religious practices that, “on account of sex, gender or marital status”
[are likely to, or do] “undermine the dignity, health or liberty of any person,” or “result
in physical, sexual, emotional or psychological harm” (Mellish et al., 2015, p. 3).
Malawi has tried to outlaw HCP with the Gender Equality Act of 2013 and the Sexual and
Reproductive Health Rights Policy of 2009, but these practices have stayed prevalent
across Malawi. HCP reflect gender inequality because they promote and legitimize
violence against women in the name of culture. These practices discriminate against
women as they prevent them from enjoying their human rights to the fullest (Bisika,
2008). A list of examples includes, but is not limited to practices as property grabbing,
wife inheritance, polygamy, dowry (lobola or bride price), fisi (hiring a man to have sex
and become pregnant), hiv cleansing myths (the idea that having sex with certain
persons like virgins or people with a disability may cleanse you from HIV), female
genital mutilation, property inheritance, initiation ceremony rituals, messages given at
counselling sessions before marriage and early marriage (Mellish et al., 2015). Some of
these practices are the embodiment of IPV in particular. Property grabbing, for example,
means that the relatives of the deceased husband take all his property, leaving the
widow and her children with nothing (Mellish et al., 2015). Polygamy is another
widespread HCP in Malawi, especially in Muslim communities. The disadvantages of
polygamy are particularly financial. Former wives get a second‐rank status because
newly wed men favour their new wives. Most of them stop supporting their former
wives and children and thus neglect their well being. This is dramatic for women who
are financially dependent on their husbands. Therefore the practice is widely
disapproved. The 2005 IPV survey showed that polygamy was found to be the most
abusive traditional practice, with about a third of the respondents that condemned the
practice. Another study by the Malawi Human Rights Commission (2005) found that
respondents of focus groups saw it as a violent practice as well because the former wife
and her children become slaves for the new family. However, a study done by the Centre
for Human Rights and Rehabilitation in 2005 contradicts these findings. The participants

20
of the focus groups did not consider polygamy to be a form of GBV (Mellish et al., 2015).
Early marriage is another widespread practice in rural Malawi that is losing its appeal. It
is a harmful cultural practice that deprives boys, but especially girls of their right on
education and childhood (Wyatt, 2014). It is disapproved because a lot of IPV takes
place in the context of an early marriage. These marriages are most often arranged
between young girls and older men. This age difference gives men even more authority
and causes an even greater power imbalance between husband and wife. This might
result in all sorts of partner violence (Jensen & Thornton, 2003). However many are
starting to condemn the practice, there are still a lot of people that believe in the positive
economic effects of early marriages. Early marriage is a way to improve the family’s
economic status, whether by payment of dowry or by continued support by the
daughter’s husband or his family (Human Rights Watch, 2014). Dowry, bride price or
lobola itself is another HCP. It signifies that a man pays a certain amount for his future
bride. This can be harmful for women because in this way the bride becomes a
purchased good. In this context abuse is tolerated as an extension of his rights of
ownership (Pelser et al., 2005). Women in this situation cannot leave their abusive
relationships until the ‘lobola’ is repaid (Mellish et al., 2015). His right to have sex might
be seen as an extension of his rights of ownership he received when he literally bought
his wife (Pelser et al., 2005). Wife inheritance is another harmful practice that embodies
IPV. In Malawi wife inheritance is known as Chokolo and it means that a brother or
another relative of the deceased husband marries the widow in order to sustain the
family and carry on the family name (Ligomeka, 2003). It looks like a good practice at
first sight, as a widow could definitely use the help of a man to support her family. But
there are a lot of down sights to this cultural habit as well. First of all, senior members of
the family decide whom she will remarry, without asking her consent (Brown, 2004). A
second disadvantage is that greed is often the main motivation behind this practice
instead of sincere concern for the widow and her children. The new husband might look
at the situation as an opportunity to gain wealth. Also problematic is that the widow
enters a new family as the second or third wife. She will be ranked as the wife with the
lowest status and will be treated accordingly. The practice is also dangerous, as it is
believed to be a main catalyser in the spread of HIV/AIDS. When the new family head is
HIV positive, the widow and her children are at risk of getting infected. Or when the
widow is HIV positive she might infect her new husband and his current family. In this

21
way, former uninfected families get into the clutches of this deadly disease (Brown,
2004). Counselling sessions before marriage can also be bad for women’s well being. We
have said before that women are advised to be submissive to their husbands and
persevere in all situations, which implies that they should accept violence (WLSARET,
2011). It might as well be emphasized that they should not refuse intercourse, which
makes them vulnerable to marital rape (Mellish et al., 2015). Some of these HCP are
widespread but that does not mean they are also widely accepted. According to the
results of the 2005 IPV survey, almost six in ten women reported that traditional beliefs
actually promote violence. Polygamy was appointed most often as an abusive practice
(35%), followed by wife inheritance (30%) and lobola or bride price (10%)
Economic Hardship and Poverty
Although poverty is not a direct cause of violence and exclusively economic remedies
cannot cure violence, violence is often exacerbated by poverty for several reasons
(UNIFEM, 1998 cited in Vu et al., 1999). A first reason is the feminization of poverty. In
Malawi, the feminization of poverty is the outcome of a process in which gender works
as an exclusion mechanism. In societies characterized by gender inequality girls get less
opportunities to receive a full education, which affects their employment opportunities
and contributes to their economic hardship. According to reports from the National
Statistics Office in Malawi, more girls than boys have not obtained any education and
boys have a higher educational level than girls in general (NSO, 2012a). As a result, more
men than women are employed (NSO, 2010) and men dominate the more lucrative
formal sector as a result of women’s low levels of education (NSO, 2012b). Women
dominate the agricultural and non‐formal sectors where they earn less than men (NSO,
2012a). Women’s low employment status contributes to their economic hardship. As a
result, a lot of them are forced to depend on their partners financially as a survival
strategy. This state of dependency makes it extremely difficult for victims of abuse to
escape their abusive relationship (Pelser et al., 2005). It also constraints abused women
to report their situation because they are afraid that their husbands will end up in
prison, which implies that she will lose her main source of income. The key solution for
this is the economic empowerment of women in Malawi. That is why it is emphasized in
documents like the Malawi Country Report (2014) that women need to be employed and
have an income for their selves. Only when women can take care of their selves
financially, this kind of situations will not occur anymore.

22
Poverty and the associated stress is another reason why poverty exacerbates violence
(Jewkes, 2002). The most obvious explanation was that couples living in poverty are
under great stress to make ends meet and violence might be a way of stress relief (Vu et
al., 1999). In addition to that, poverty can make it impossible to fulfil masculinity ideals
and violence might be used to resolve this crisis (Jewkes, 2002). This ideal and most
appreciated way of being a man is what constitutes the hegemonic masculinity in a
society (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). The hegemonic masculinity in Malawi
prescribes that men are supposed to be superior to women. Their superiority is
reflected in their position as household head, which gives them the responsibility to
support their families. Men that fail to take this responsibility are considered as
unsuccessful men. This might explain why women who are employed for cash have most
chance to experience physical, sexual and emotional violence according to the MDHS
2010 (NSO, 2010, p. 240). In a patriarchal society like Malawi where men are supposed
to be the breadwinners of their families, earning less than a woman is humiliating and
violence might be a way to regain dominance (Jewkes, 2002).
Deficient institutional response
The Government of Malawi has done some serious efforts to tackle GBV and IPV in
particular. At an international level, the country has signed several agreements that
were set up to empower women. For example, the country has ratified the Convention
on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, informally known as
the international Bill of Rights for women. The Malawian Government also signed the
Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, which urged signatories to draw up National
Plans for Action on specific areas of concern (Fletcher, 2006). In the Malawi National
Platform for action of 1997, violence against women was included as one in four priority
areas for the advancement of women (Mellish et al., 2015). The country is a signatory to
regional documents and instruments as well like the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) Declaration on Gender and Development of 1997. This document
recognizes the specific problems for women in developing, southern African countries
like Malawi. In 1999 the SADC made an addendum to this declaration, the Prevention
and Eradication of Violence Against Women and Children. With this addendum the SADC
signatories reaffirmed their commitments to end VAW. At a national level the country
has created several laws like the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of 2006 (PDVA

23
2006) that addresses cases of domestic violence, the Deceased Estate Act of 2011 that
protects spousal property rights and the Gender Equality Act of 2013 that addresses
GBV in the context of harmful cultural practices. The government has created some
policies as well, like the National Gender Policy of 2014, which prescribes the need to
create more laws and policies that address GBV, the need to improve access to socio
economic services and to raise knowledge and change attitudes about GBV. Other
important policies are the Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Policy of 2009 that
aims to tackle GBV in the form of harmful practices and the National HIV/AIDS Policy of
2003 that ensures women’s rights to have control over issues of sexuality free from
violence (Mellish et al., 2015).
Despite these efforts, the prevalence rate of IPV has stayed high. We have discussed that
this is due to high levels of acceptance among the population as a result of cultural
norms that sustain gender inequality. Apparently, gender inequality results in a deficient
institutional response as well. Gender related issues like IPV, however widespread they
have always been, are only recently taken serious in Malawi. Remember that the 2012
GBV survey presented itself as the first survey that focused solely on gender and gender
based violence. The MDHS 2004 mentions that IPV was treated as a private issue until
the government started implementing gender initiatives in response to international
and regional instruments on women’s rights (NSO, 2005). Although gender issues are
finally getting attention, they are still not prioritised. The Malawi Country Report (2014)
mentions that the Ministry of Gender has little authority so that gender issues are not
taken seriously at central Government level and with policy makers. Illustrative in this
respect is that the Malawi Growth and Development Strategies I & II have failed to
mainstream gender in all its priority areas. The Malawi Country Report mentions as well
that government funding on gender programs and activities is very limited. As a result,
almost all programmes on gender have to be supported by development partners. This
lack of resources at the Ministry of Gender affects the implementation of laws and
policies and the good working of support service providers at a local level. The Ministry
is responsible for the dissemination of Gender Related Laws (GRL) but because of its
tight budget, not all service providers have copies of these laws. This is problematic for
the magistrates in particular, because they need a proper reference point when
addressing GBV cases. Research done by Mvalo et al. (2014) showed that some
magistrates had no active knowledge on the provisions of GRL and if they did, it offered

24
no guarantee that they could apply the law adequately. This depended on whether they
had undergone capacity building on GRL or not. Unfortunately, in most instances there is
no money for capacity building and training of the personnel. The general lack of
resources in judicial institutions affects the enforcement of court orders as well. Because
courts have no money to follow‐up cases, offenders renounce to their court orders.
Sometimes victims are asked to provide transport and lunch for court officials so they
could come and do the follow up, but most victims cannot afford this and they just give
up on their cases. As a result, many of the abusers go unpunished because the court is
not able to take further action (WOLREC, z.d).
The Victims Support Unit, another important support service provider, faces similar
challenges. These units are a crucial part of the institutional response against GBV. The
PDVA 2006 ordered that these units should be based at police offices across the country.
The act outlined the duty for police officers to provide assistance to the survivor of
abuse, to ensure their safety and welfare and to prevent any further breaking of the law
(Ministry of Health, 2012). These police officers are also responsible to collect data on
GBV cases as well. Unfortunately, the good working of these units is affected by the
general lack of resources as well. First of all, because of limited resources it has been
impossible to install a VSU in each police station in Malawi (Ministry of Gender, 2014).
Limited resources also make it difficult to provide the offices with modern
infrastructure like computers. This again makes it difficult to collect data and refer cases
to other stations. In absence of ICT, it becomes impossible for the Ministry of Gender to
spread GRL and policies via Internet. This means that police officers do not have a
proper reference point when addressing GBV cases. Additionally, police officers should
be law enforcers as well. However, they lack money and transport means to fulfil this
responsibility, just like the courts. This further affects the adequate provision of justice
(Mvalo et al., 2014).
The deficient institutional response causes low levels of awareness level with citizens as
well. Respondents to the 2012 GBV survey were asked if they had ever heard of
existence of some prelisted GRL and if they had basic knowledge on these laws. One in
three respondents said they had ever heard of these laws, but only a part of them
reported to have knowledge on the content of these laws as well. In general, more men
than women said to know about GRL and their content. This is problematic because if
survivors do not know they have certain rights, they will not claim these rights or seek

25
justice either. The results of this survey also showed that about half of the respondents
had no idea about the availability of health, legal, psychosocial and economic services. If
survivors do not know about these services, they will not search for them either (NSO,
2013). In this way, the deficient institutional response further sustains IPV.
2.4 Conclusion and Hypothesis
We can conclude that the different types of IPV are very prevalent in Malawi. Especially
if one considers that help seeking behaviour is limited, meaning that prevalence rates
are probably much higher in reality. According to the findings of the literature, gender
inequality sustains IPV in three ways. Firstly, it is entrenched in the Malawian culture.
Cultural norms and practices legitimize violence against women. Secondly, it causes the
feminization of poverty. This makes women financially dependent on their husbands.
This state of dependence makes it impossible to leave an abusive relationship and thus
sustains IPV. Thirdly, it affects the institutional response. Because of gender inequality,
gender related issues are not taking seriously at a national level, which is why gender
initiatives receive inadequate funding. This affects the good working of local service
providers and thus sustains IPV. The literature review thus suggests that the high
prevalence of IPV in Malawi is due structural gender inequality. If this is true, the causes
of IPV at a local level should be the same as those on a national level. That is why we
made an empirical study on the experience of IPV in specific communities in Phalombe.
We expected that the results of this case study would confirm the conclusions of the
literature review, as we argued that IPV is the result of structural constraints rather than
the effect of random factors that are only present in certain contexts. In the following
section we will discuss the results of our empirical study and test our hypothesis.

26
3. Empirical Study
3.1 Methodology
As a student in the Gender and Diversity studies I was offered to do an internship with
Cadecom, the Malawian branch of Caritas International. They wanted me to make an
empirical study on the prevalence and causes of IPV in the rural region of Phalombe.
This case study would then be used as a baseline for future programs and activities.
Over a six‐week period in February and March 2016 we conducted a quantitative and
qualitative research in selected areas of Phalombe. The objective was to get an idea
about the incidents that are covered by the concept of Intimate Partner Violence and
how prevalent the different types of IPV were in the examined communities. A second
objective was to appoint the factors that maintain these practices in the examined
communities. Triangulation of data obtained by a questionnaire, focus groups and in‐
depth interviews with key informants would assure truthful results that are
representative for the examined communities. Because the extent of our examined
sample was limited, it was not possible to extrapolate our conclusions to the broader
population of Phalombe or the rest of Malawi. However, the results enable us to make
relevant statements about the experience of IPV in the examined rural communities in
Phalombe. This was found to be relevant, as research on IPV in specific communities in
Malawi is limited. Moreover, this case study gave us the possibility to test our hypothesis
that IPV in Malawi is the result of structural gender inequality. If the case study If the
case study would distinguish the same factors that sustain IPV and the same challenges
in the fight against IPV, it would support our theory that IPV is indeed the result of
structural inequality. If not, it would indicate that certain factors and challenges are
specific to certain regions. In this way, we would have appointed gaps in the literature
that describes IPV at a national level. For example, the national representative studies
we have used might have overlooked some causes that have a specific effect in rural
areas.
3.1.1 Quantitative Data Collection: Survey
We used quantitative data collection methods because they would give information
about the prevalence of IPV in the sample. It would also provide information about
dominant ideas on IPV that prevailed among the interviewees. We used only one
quantitative data collection method, namely the survey. The survey asked about socio‐

27
demographic characteristics and health status of the interviewee, personal and cultural
attitudes and beliefs about IPV, the interviewee’s experiences with IPV, their criminal
history and their knowledge on existing laws and policies against IPV. In this way, we
could found out if occurrence of IPV was associated with any of these factors. We will
mainly discuss the answers given by female respondents as this thesis focuses on
violence against women. In order for the results to be representative for the examined
communities, we wanted this survey to be filled in by at least hundred persons. Because
of financial and time constraints, the sample could not be larger than two hundred
persons. Eventually the sample consisted of 50 men and 91 women. The male
respondents were aged between 19 and 66 years old. The largest part of the sample, one
in three women, did not complete primary school. Half of them had a relationship with
someone they lived together with, less than a tenth had a relationship without living
together and a third was legally married. Female respondents were aged between 13
and 90. The majority of the female respondents, about half of them, did not complete
primary school. About forty percent of the female respondents had a relationship with
someone they lived with, less than one tenth had a relationship without sharing a
household and about one fourth was legally married. The results of the survey have
been processed with of the statistical software of SPSS. An employee of Cadecom was
responsible for this.
3.1.2 Qualitative Data Collection: Indepth Interviews and Focus Groups
The qualitative section of the empirical study was more elaborate and consisted of
different parts. Using qualitative data collection methods was relevant for this research
because we wanted to get an idea about the general attitudes on IPV among Malawian
people. The aim of the quantitative research was to hear the stories behind the abstract
figures obtained from the survey. That is why we decided it would be interesting to
work with focus groups. We chose not to compose mixed groups but only men and
women only groups. Our internship coordinator, Mrs Zunghu, had told us that cultural
norms prevent women from speaking openly in the presence of men. Mixed groups
would thus not be a good strategy, because the presence of men could retain women
from speaking honestly about their experiences and thoughts on IPV. With the exception
of gender, we did not use other criteria to select participants. These conversations were
semi‐structured and interactive. We guided the conversations but the informants were
free to elaborate beyond the questions. In this way we tried to create an open and free

28
atmosphere in which stories were told without constraint (Braathen, 2008). During the
fieldwork we made extensive notes and all conversations with the focus groups were
recorded. We decided not to transcribe all the conversations, but only the parts that
were relevant regarding the objectives. These transcripts can be requested at any time.
We did four focus groups in total. They will be referred to as focus groups 1 until 4.
Focus group 1 was done on the 18th of February 2016 with women; focus group 2 was
done on the same day with men. Focus group 3 and 4 were done on the 9th of March
2016, the first with women and the second with men.
A total of nine key informants were interviewed. This was relevant because most of
them were key institutional players who had been confronted with IPV professionally
(Vu et al., 1999). They could provide us information about the inconsistencies in the
institutional response against IPV. The conversations gave an insight on what is being
done to tackle the issue, how awareness raising about laws and policies takes place and
what the main obstacles are in the institutional fight against IPV. We have talked with an
official working at the Ministry of Gender, a village chief, a police officer working at the
Victim Support Unit in Phalombe, a paralegal working with Women and Law in Southern
Africa, a doctor working at the main hospital in Phalombe and one victim. I wanted to
interview an offender as well to understand more about his motives but we have not
managed to arrange this.
3.1.3 Limitations and Potential Bias
The results of the empirical study might be biased because of different reasons. A first
bias resulted directly out of my identity as a researcher. In line with feminist theorists
like Ann Oakley, Sandra Harding and Adrienne Rich, I rejected the ideal of a neutral
researcher that collects objective knowledge. I constantly reminded myself that I was
not an ‘invisible, anonymous voice of authority’ but rather a ‘real, historical individual
with concrete, specific desires and interests’ (Harding, 1987, 9). In other words, it was
inevitable that my identity would influence the way I conducted my research. In her
Notes toward a politics of location, Rich (1984) explains how all knowledge is situated
and subjective. The only way to minimize your subjectivity as a researcher is to
constantly situate yourself and be reflexive about how your epistemological standpoint
influences the course of your study. That is why I conducted my research with full
awareness that my personal identity as a white, western, young, academically trained
female intern with certain assumptions, beliefs, values and interests would shape data

29
collection, selection, analyses and interpretation. In addition to that, I was fully aware
that my knowledge about the examined participants was situated and thus partial as
well (Collins, 1999). I could not claim to know their lived experience; I could only know
them from my own perspective. The only way I could minimize this gap between the
participants and myself was to conduct my research as collaborative as possible. I tried
to establish a non‐hierarchical between the participants and myself, for example by
letting them elaborate on questions without interrupting them. At the end of every focus
group, I also asked the participants if they wanted to ask me how I felt about IPV and the
factors that maintain the practice at end of every focus group. In this way I supported
the idea that ‘growth and learning should be mutually beneficial, interactive and co‐
operative’ (Kirsch, 1999).
The results of the empirical study are biased because of other factors as well. The
sensitivity of the topic might have restrained some participants from speaking honestly
about their IPV experiences and attitudes. Especially since the respondents could not
complete the surveys in total anonymity. We had to conduct the surveys in English,
because we had no knowledge about the local language. As a result, the surveys had to
be filled in with the help of a translator. In addition to that, interviewers of the
questionnaires were not segregated by sex, which means that some female respondents
were interviewed by male interviewers and the other way around. My translator during
the focus groups was a man as well, which might have caused that some women felt
reluctant to be speak frankly.
We tried to minimize these biases as much as possible. During the focus groups I only
asked about the participants’ general experiences with IPV, for example if they had
heard about cases in their communities. However, when someone wanted to share a
personal experience, it was taped and used for our research as well. At the beginning of
every conversation we explained them about the motives behind the research and the
sensitivity of the topic. We assured them that they were not obliged to answer and that
all information was anonymous and confidential.
It is likely that a lot of information has been lost because of a different understanding
about the concept of IPV between the respondents and the researchers (Vu et al., 1999).
Both might have had a different idea about what behaviour is acceptable or not within
the bounds of marriage or intimate relationship (Pelser et al., 2005). This gap might
have resulted in underreporting of violent incidents during the interviews and focus

30
groups. The interviewers of the survey might have experienced some problems with
understanding all concepts as well. Moreover, their personal opinions might have
influenced the answers of the respondents (Vu et al., 1999). For example, I found that
the passages about marital rape with the male respondents happened in a macho kind of
vibe. I noticed that my translator treated this subject more as a joke than as a serious
matter because they were all laughing with the way he put the questions.
3.1.4 Brief Description of Phalombe Region
The results of the empirical study can be presented in the form of a case study as almost
all data was collected in the region of Phalombe. Phalombe is a region situated in the
south of Malawi. In 2008, the district had a population of 313.129 with a sex ratio of
90.1, meaning that per 100 women there were 90.1 men (NSO, 2008). This ratio justifies
why more women were interviewed than men. According to the Integrated Household
Survey 3, more than one sixth of the examined population lived in poverty. More than
one third of the children living in the examined households were underweight. Overall
education levels in the region were low. Approximately one fourth of the population
aged 15 and above never attended school. Several reasons were given for this. The
majority reported that there was no money to go to school; one fifth said that they were
not allowed to, one tenth said not to be interested and around one percent had to help at
home. A fourth of the examined population was illiterate. The majority of the population,
more than one sixth, was involved in household, agricultural or fishing activities. A
minority, less than a tenth, was involved in the non‐agricultural and non‐fishing
business. Less than five percent of the population received some sort of payment (NSO,
2012a).
3.2 Results
3.2.1 Prevalence of different types of abuse
Physical abuse
Physical violence was the most reported form of IPV by the female respondents to our
survey. Almost one third of them said that they had been physically abused by an (ex‐)
partner, meaning that they had been battered, or that their partner had hurt them in one
way or another for example because they refused to do something he had asked them.
About one fifth of the male respondents reported to have ever physically abused an

31
(ex)partner. The focus group conversations brought some clarification on the motives of
these physical abusers. I asked the female participants of the focus groups why their
partners would use violence. In focus group 3 it was said that ‘men have too much
power’, and ‘women are always on the wrong sight’. If I asked them whether their
partners treated them as equals, one lady explained that it varied between families.
Some men respect their wives and consider them as equals. But in other families women
feel that ‘men are more powerful’. In other words, some men in the examined
communities still behave as head of the house while treating their partners as
subordinates. When women challenge their traditional gender roles, violence can be
used to restore the hierarchy and thus the subordinate position of women in the
household. For example, during focus group 1 it was said that ‘some women don’t listen
and men cannot tolerate this’, and ‘some women lack listening skills when their husband
is speaking. They are always at the top of their voices and that is why their husband uses
violence’. These statements suggest that women are expected to obey their husbands. If
women deviate from their expected attitudes, violence might be a way to enforce the
desired behaviour.
Another reason to use violence is when a woman refuses to have sex. Marital rape was a
common practice in the examined communities, as will be discussed in the section about
sexual abuse. As rape includes an element of force, it is likely that a lot of the reported
marital rape incidents were physically violent as well. The following fragments from the
focus group conversations support this assumption:
‘Men want sex with their wives almost daily; at any time he feels so. If a woman
says “No, let me rest a bit”, than he says “No I need it now”, and than violence
comes in. Than they force her or beat her.’ (Focus group 2)
‘When a couple gets married, they sign a cultural contract. This gives him the
right to have sex with this partner. The man treats his wife as property. They are
used the way the man wants. If they refuse there can be violence.’ (Focus group
2)
It should be said that the participants to focus group 4 thought differently about physical
violence. The male respondents said it was unacceptable to use violence when their
wives misbehaved or as a means to stay in control. One participant said he would take
distance to cool down if his wife had upset him and another man would seek help with

32
his Ankhoswe. The other men disliked violence as well and preferred dialogue in the
case of a misunderstanding.
Sexual Abuse
In our survey, sexual abuse was reported by one fifth of the female respondents, which
makes it the second most reported kind of IPV. Sexual abuse was defined as being forced
into sex or sexual acts, sexual harassment and being touched in intimate places without
consent. Marital rape was a frequently reported case of sexual abuse, not only in the
surveys but also in the focus groups. Of the male respondents, 14% admitted that they
had ever forced their (ex)‐girlfriend or (ex)‐wife into sex. Almost half of the female
respondents that agreed to answer the question reported that a partner had ever forced
them into sex or sexual acts (n=30). Although rape includes an element of force, it was
not always condemned when it happens in the marital context. This was apparent from
the survey and focus groups as well. Remarkable is that more female respondents than
male respondents said that rape inside the marriage does not exist, with 53.8% and 38%
respectively. A significant part of the respondents thus confirmed that a man could not
rape his wife, even when she has not given consent. The male participants to focus
groups 4 said that rape within the house is all right, ‘because marriage is a contract’.
They said they preferred to rape their own wives than to have sex with someone else
outside the marriage. Remarkable is that this reasoning returned in the conversation
with one of the key respondents, Mr Hamela, working at the Ministry of Gender. He said
that if women refuse to have sex with their husbands repeatedly, they more or less
forced them to rape her or to have sex with someone else outside the marriage. When I
asked him if marital rape is not a violation of a woman’s rights because she has the right
to say no, he turned the question around. He asked me if it is not a violation of a
husband’s rights if his wife repeatedly refuses to have sex with him? The male
participants to the focus groups thought about it the same way. They said that they
would accept it if their wives would refuse to have sex on one or two occasions. But if
she would still refuse thereafter, they would force her. Mr Hamela explained that most
parliamentarians felt about it the same way. They argue that marriage includes conjugal
rights, which means that sex is an essential part of marriage and cannot be denied by
one of the parties. A woman can refuse one or two times, but not more than that.
The perception is that men need to have sex and women need to accept this. Signing the
marriage contract means you have agreed with this. This explains why marital rape is

33
not considered to be a crime and why it is not included in the Penal Code. This belief was
apparent from the focus groups with men and women as well. A male participant to
focus group 2 said that the act is not supposed to be punished, because ‘it is in the family
set‐up’. The women in focus group 1 said something similar; they did not see it as a
criminal act because ‘it is within the family’. They said they did not like it but they had to
accept it. However, several women would like to change this mindset. They said that sex
should only happen after mutual agreement. Some men taking part to focus group 2
agreed in some sense: ‘When men want to have sex they should have to discuss’. But
they do not put this into practice. These men admitted they raped their wives, even
though they feel it is wrong: ‘they feel like stopping but they cannot control them selves.
They know it is wrong but they don’t take action’.
Financial Abuse
We included financial abuse as a type of IPV in contrast to the MDHS 2010 and 2012
GBV survey. Based on the prevalence figures of the 2005 IPV survey, we argued that the
impact of this practice might not be underestimated, especially in poor regions like
Phalombe. However, according to our survey relatively little women had been
financially abused in our sample. The majority of female respondents reported that they
were allowed free access to economic resources, to buy things for their selves and to be
employed and have an income on their own. In spite of these positive figures, it is
necessary to mention that six to nine women in the sample reported not to have these
freedoms and thirty‐three women said they were financially dependent on their
partners. Moreover, the relatively positive findings from the quantitative research
contradict with the focus group conversations, which suggested that financial abuse was
very common. For example, the male participants to focus group 4 insisted that the
contribution of women to the family property should stay minimal. In this way, the
family’s income could stay under his control. In other words, he denied her the right to
have an lucrative income of herself, which she could spend the way she wanted, as a way
of keeping her in a position of inferiority. Another participant said it was not good for a
lady to earn more than a man because than she would ‘walk tall’. This clearly reflects
how men feel threatened to lose their dominant position. Restricting her access to the
family finances is a way of preventing this. These men also said that if their wives had
earned more than expected, they must always be able to explain how they had managed

34
to get that much because they might have received it from boyfriends. They also insisted
that their wives asked permission if they wanted to spend money:
“Before purchasing more goods to sale, the lady must call them to say, ‘Baba,
there is a truck passing by here with plenty of chomba fish, I have made so much,
can I buy so that I sale again?’ The guy could say ‘Go ahead’, or ‘No it is dark come
home’ or ‘I would like hot water or Nsima in time.’ Then the lady would put her
money back into her pocket.” (Focus group 4)
The female participants to focus groups 3 criticised the way men claimed to have an
exclusive right on how to spend money. These women wanted to decide on it together.
When asked to describe their ideal partner, they said that he should let his wife have a
say about the finances. However, most men do not comply with that. Several women
from focus group 1 complained that their partners kept all the available money to
themselves, thus denying them access to economic resources. This happened as well
with partners who shared a business and earned money together. One woman said that
she farmed together with her husband. One time he sold the entire harvest without
letting her have a share in the yield. Not long after, the man disappeared with all the
money and never came back.
Apparently, financial abuse often caused other kinds of abuse like physical and
psychological violence as well. The female participants to focus groups 3 said that most
arguments with their partners were about money, in particular because their partners
did not wanted to give them money. During focus group 1, it was said that most men lie
about what they have earned and keep a part of it to themselves for their own use. When
women try to found out where that money is, it might end up in violence.
Another frequently mentioned incident of financial abuse was that men neglect their
partners because they spend all their money on girlfriends. One woman literally said:
“Men put the money in their pockets, off to new girlfriends.” This happened to a woman I
had an in‐depth interview with as well. This woman was considered to be a key
informant, because she offered an insight into a specific case of financial abuse. We
interviewed her on the 9th of March in the Victim Support Unit in Phalombe. She told us
that she had an argument with her partner because she had accused him of having
girlfriends, which he denied. However, she knew for sure because she had found
condoms in his helmet. When she confronted him again, he had left the house with all
their money. She assumed that he had taking it to his ex‐wife. At the moment we spoke,

A Study On Intimate Partner Violence In Malawi

A Study On Intimate Partner Violence In Malawi

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