First intimate physical violence and fertility in cameroon

Abstract

Despite the social importance attached to childbearing in Africa, fertility in relation to intimate partner violence has not received considerable attention in research and policy. This chapter examines the association between the number of children and the occurrence of the first intimate physical violence, net of the effect of other socio-demographic variables. The analysis is based on the 2011 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey. The results show that 59.1 % of women in marital unions have been victims of physical marital violence. Results from the proportional hazards model (Cox regression) indicate that while fertility remains an important social factor in the Cameroonian society, it has a detrimental impact on marital relations: Women who have children are significantly more likely to experience the first intimate physical violence in the hands of their husbands or male partners than their counterparts who have no children. Such results suggest that reducing fertility can help lower the occurrence of intimate physical violence against women in Cameroon. Other key contributing factors that are positively associated with intimate physical violence are: Woman’s education (when higher than that of her husband/partner), witnessed parental spousal violence, and having a husband or male partner who drinks alcohol.