Key Social Norms Take-aways This study demonstrates that normative social contexts—particularly community-level religious norms, early marriage practices, and female education—significantly shape both women’s acceptance of spousal abuse and their risk of experiencing intimate partner physical violence (IPV) in Mozambique. The findings highlight that religious norms in some contexts may protect against IPV acceptance, while early marriage norms increase both acceptance and occurrence of IPV. Notably, higher area-level female education correlates with reduced IPV and less tolerance for abuse. These insights affirm the importance of targeting social norms at the community level to address gender-based violence effectively.
Objectives To examine how area-level normative social contexts influence married women’s attitudes toward spousal abuse and their likelihood of experiencing IPV in Mozambique.
Methods The study used data from 4,864 married or in-union women aged 15–49, drawn from the 2011 Mozambique Demographic and Health Survey. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to assess the impact of area-level predictors—including religion, early marriage, female autonomy, media exposure, and education—on two outcomes: women’s acceptance of spousal abuse and their experience of physical IPV in the past year.
Results Women living in areas with high proportions of Protestant, Evangelical, Zionist, or Muslim affiliation were significantly less likely to accept spousal abuse. In contrast, high prevalence of early marriage in an area was positively associated with both accepting abuse and experiencing IPV. High levels of area-level female education were protective against both outcomes. Interestingly, exposure to media was linked to increased reports of IPV, possibly reflecting backlash against changing gender norms. Living in areas where spousal abuse was commonly justified when women “argue with their husbands” showed a counterintuitive association with lower reported IPV, potentially indicating compliance with traditional roles reducing punitive violence.
Conclusions The role of community-level social norms is critical in shaping both the attitudes and lived experiences of women related to IPV. Interventions aimed at reducing IPV must address these normative contexts—especially those related to religion, early marriage, and education. Strengthening female education and engaging religious and community leaders in norm-shifting work could be pivotal to reducing both the acceptance and perpetration of IPV.