O-13 Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence and Socioeconomic Status among Guyanese Men: An Analysis using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Dataset 2019-20

Methods: The UNICEF 2019-20 Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Individual Men dataset, n=2214, was used to answer research objectives. Logistic regression was used to determine whether socioeconomic factors were associated with the belief that wife-beating is justified for any reason. Independent variables included age, education level, ethnicity, marital status, urban/rural residence, wealth index and alcohol use.

Results: Study participants had an average age of 30.2 years (SD 10.2), 86.5% had secondary or higher education, 56.5% of them were in a union, and there was an even distribution across five wealth classes. Almost half were of East-Indian descent, followed by 26.9% of African descent. Overall, 16.3% of men believed wife-beating was justified for at least one reason, with the most common reason being if the woman has another partner (9.7%). Age, marital status, urban/rural residence and alcohol use were not significantly associated with this belief. Men with higher than secondary education had 58% (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.20, 0.89, p=0.012) lower odds to hold this belief than those with primary or lower education. Those in the richest wealth quintile had 53% lower odds to justify wife-beating than those in the poorest quintile (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.26, 0.84, p=0.011). Finally, Indigenous men had 1.9 times greater odds to justify wife-beating compared with Afro-Guyanese (p=0.014, 95% CI 1.14, 3.00).

Conclusions: Indigenous ethnicity and lower socio-economic status, indicated by limited education and poor wealth, are significantly associated with men’s belief that wife-beating is justified.