Tolerant attitudes towards domestic violence against women in Burkina Faso

Violence against women is a significant human rights violation, with intimate partner violence (IPV) being a major form. In Burkina Faso, cultural norms and structural inequalities contribute to the acceptance of IPV. This study examines the determinants of this acceptance using data from the 2021 Burkina Faso Demographic and Health Survey, focusing on ever-married women aged 15–49 and their attitudes towards IPV. The outcome variable – whether women justified or rejected IPV – was based on five indicators. Descriptive statistics, bivariate tests and multilevel logistic regression identified individual and contextual effects. Results show that 49 per cent of women justified IPV in at least one circumstance. Acceptance was higher among rural residents (43.8 per cent) than urban women (30.2 per cent), and among those with no formal education (52.7 per cent) compared to those with secondary education or higher (21.6 per cent). Women in the poorest wealth quintile (51.1 per cent) were more likely to justify IPV than those in the richest quintile (17.4 per cent). Regional disparities were pronounced, with the Cascades (57.2 per cent) and Centre-East (54.6 per cent) regions showing the highest prevalence, while the Central Plateau had the lowest (18.3 per cent). Multilevel analyses revealed that limited participation in household decision-making, a greater number of live births and wider spousal age gaps increased acceptance of IPV. In contrast, higher education, improved economic status and joint decision-making were protective. These findings underscore the need for gender-transformative, regionally responsive interventions to challenge patriarchal norms and promote progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 5.2

Domestic violence · Inequality · Logistic regression · Multilevel model · Poison control · Poverty · Psychological intervention · Survey data collection · Global Maternal and Child Health · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment