Prevalence and determinants of discrimination or harassment of women: Analysis of cross-sectional data from Bangladesh

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the prevalence and determinants of discrimination against or harassment among Bangladeshi women. The nationally representative cross-sectional data of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019 were employed in the study. Women aged 15-49 were asked whether they felt discrimination or harassment due to seven potential reasons in the last twelve months before the survey. The outcome was a binary variable indicating whether a woman has experienced discrimination or harassment for any of the seven reasons. Responses were obtained from 64378 women and analysed through bivariate and multivariate procedures. The data had a hierarchical structure since women were nested within the clusters. A mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to analyse the data appropriately. A strong association between discrimination or harassment was seen with the functional difficulties of women. Notably, women with functional difficulties were 1.629 times more likely to experience discrimination or harassment than women without such difficulties. Other significant factors were the respondents’ area, age, education, current marital status, wealth index quintile and ethnicity. The study concludes that education, marital status, functional difficulties and wealth index are the most important determinants of discrimination or harassment of women.