Domestic Violence against Married Women in Egypt

Kathryn M. Yount, Emory University
Li Li, Emory University

We explore associations of domestic violence against women (DVAW) with childhood exposures, absolute and relative household resources, and family organization in community context among 5,485 ever-married Egyptian women. A higher female-to-male ratio of ever schooling was associated with marginally lower odds of minor physical violence against women, and indirectly with lower odds of psychological abuse. Women’s maltreatment in childhood was associated with ~1.6 times higher odds of psychological and physical violence. A one-point increase in women’s score for household standard of living was associated with 12–19% lower odds of psychological and physical violence. A U-shaped association between spousal gaps in schooling and DVAW suggests that women’s marital dependency and status inconsistency elevate their risk of such violence. Women married to a paternal cousin had 30–40% lower odds of psychological and physical violence. Simulations expose the dominant roles of childhood exposures, marital dependency, and family organization in DVAW from all classes.