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Abstract

This study examines the issue of domestic violence against women; specifically, men’s attitudes toward wife beating. The data used was obtained from the 2011 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). The results presented in this study come from a total 3,052 males from across all the 10 regions in Ghana. It is interesting to note that, although majority of the participants do not endorse wife beating, there was a significant number of these men who thought wife beating was justified for various reasons. That is, the attitude of men toward wife beating is complex to explain as the participants had divergent views regarding the issue. For example, while some were of the opinion that wife beating is justified, others thought otherwise.

The results also established that there is a direct relationship between men’s level of education and their attitudes toward wife beating. That is, those who were highly educated did not endorse wife beating as compared to those who were not highly educated. Furthermore, men who were in consensual unions or customary marriages were found to be in favour of wife-beating as compared to their counterparts in other types of marriage. It is therefore recommended that institutions that could help reduce domestic violence particularly wife beating in Ghana such as, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) will need to focus their attention on men with relatively low education as well as those in consensual and customary marriages.

Author Biography

Dr. Ellen Mabel Osei-Tutu is a Lecturer at the Department of Adult Education and Human Resource Studies of the School of Continuing and Distance Education of the University of Ghana, Legon. She holds a Ph.D in Population Studies, M. Phil. in Population Studies, M. A. in Population Studies and B. A. in Sociology with Political Science all from the University of Ghana, Legon. Her main research areas are marriage and fertility. She joined the Department with over 19 years work experience in the field of population having worked as the Regional Population Officer (Greater Accra Region) for the National Population Council Secretariat and an Assistant Registrar with the Births and Deaths Registry. She has also worked as Assistant Programme Officer with Ghana Wildlife Society. During this period, she worked on advocacy, youth and gender issues.

Dr. Ernest Ampadu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Education from University of Cape Coast, Ghana, Research Master’s Degree in International and Comparative Education from Stockholm University, Sweden, a Master of Arts degree in Adult Learning and Global Change from Linkoping University, Sweden and a PhD in Education (Mathematics) from Anglia Ruskin University, United Kingdom. Dr. Ampadu currently works as an online faculty with Laureate Online Education (Roehampton University, UK) and as a lecturer at the department of Teacher Education, University of Ghana. Before joining Roehampton University and the University of Ghana, he worked at the Richmond International University in London as assistant professor of mathematics developing and teaching undergraduate mathematics materials and also working as academic advisor to students. He also worked at Leeds Metropolitan University as a lecturer teaching Mathematics courses to students enrolled in the International Foundation Year programme (IFYP) and in-service teacher training programmes.

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