Intimate partner violence: The controlling behaviours of men toward women in Northern Ghana

Abstract

This paper examines controlling male partner behaviour and its relation to physical and sexual violence in the northern region of Ghana. Controlling behaviours were conceptualized as part of the continuum of intimate partner violence against women. This domain of domestic violence has received little attention in West Africa. A sample of 443 women between the ages of 19 and 49 years recruited at district health facilities across the region was used for the study. Participants, 46% of whom came from rural areas, were visiting these facilities for various healthcare needs. Data were collected using a structured instrument. Descriptive statistics showed that: 79% of participants had experienced past-year controlling behaviour; 27% reported past-year physical violence; and 34% reported past-year sexual violence. Further, multivariate analysis indicated that physical and sexual violence were significantly related to male controlling behaviours. Given its high prevalence rate, there is need for more attention to men’s controlling behaviours in the continuum of men’s intimate partner violence. Policy and practice implications of the results are discussed.