Almost half of women believe men are justified in beating their wives, a new survey shows.
In the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey released yesterday, 42 per cent of women and 36 per cent of men aged 15-49 believe a man is justified in beating his wife.
Supporters believe men can beat their wives if they burn food, argue with them, go out without informing them and neglect children.
Another justification is that a wife should be beaten if she refuses to have sex with her husband.
The survey says neglecting children is the most commonly justified reason for beating a wife.
A total of 31,079 women aged 15-39 and 12,819 men aged 15-54 in selected households across the country were sampled in the survey conducted between May and October 2014.
The survey shows five per cent of women and 44 per cent of men aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence since age 12.
It says 21 per cent of women have experienced physical violence in the past 12 months, with divorced, separated or widowed women being at a bigger risk. Sixty-four per cent of divorced women reported violence since age 15, compared to 32 per cent of never-married women.
The survey says among women who have been married, the most common perpetrators of violence are current or former husbands and partners.
For the women who have never been married, mothers, step-mothers and fathers are the most common perpetrators of violence.
“The main perpetrators of physical violence against women are husbands, whereas the main perpetrators against men are parents, teachers and others,” it says. Fourteen per cent of women aged 15-49 have experienced sexual violence, with eight per cent having been sexually abused in the past year.
Six per cent of men reported having been abused.
“Overall, 39 per cent of women who have been married and nine per cent of men aged 15-49 reported having experienced spousal physical or sexual violence,” the survey says.
“Among women and men who have ever experienced spousal violence (physical or sexual), 39 per cent and 24 per cent respectively reported experiencing physical injuries.”