Cultural or Institutional? Contextual Effects on Domestic Violence against Women in Rural China
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Cultural or Institutional? Contextual Effects on Domestic Violence against Women in Rural China Yueping Song 1
&
Jingwen Zhang 2 & Xian Zhang 1
Accepted: 27 August 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Domestic violence against women is a critical social problem due to its long-lasting harmful effects on women’s health and wellbeing. Previous studies have examined the individual and household-level determinants of domestic violence, yet there remains limited research on the effects of community-level factors, especially in rural China. To address this research gap, this study investigated the relationship between cultural and institutional factors and the risk of domestic violence against women in this context. Drawing data from the nationally representative China Women Social Status Survey (CWSS), multilevel modelling was used to identify the significant contextual factors and their interaction effects on domestic violence. Both cultural and institutional factors in a community are associated with the risk of domestic violence against women. Moreover, institutional measures are significantly related to the risk of domestic violence where patriarchal cultural norms are dominant. Findings revealed the importance of changing the patriarchal norms and promoting gender equality in combatting domestic violence in rural China. Keywords Domestic violence . Contextual effect . Rural China . Gender . Multilevel modelling
Domestic violence against women is an enduring public health issue and social problem worldwide. Evidence has shown that it has detrimental effects on victims’ physical, mental, and sexual health (Campbell 2002; Wang 2006; Sarkar 2008), endangering the wellbeing of individuals and the stability of families, communities, and societies (Fineman 2013; Holt et al. 2008). As in other countries, the prevalence of domestic violence in China cannot be ignored (WHO, 2019). A nationwide survey conducted by the All-China Women Federation showed that more than a quarter of women have suffered domestic violence at least once in their lifetime, although a number of offences may go unreported (Yang et al. 2019). Domestic violence against women in rural China is more serious than in urban areas due to patriarchal traditions and gender inequality (Xu and Ye 1999). Given the
* Yueping Song [email protected] 1
School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
2
School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
prevalence of domestic violence and its far-reaching negative effects, more in-depth empirical research is needed to understand its determinants in rural China. Previous studies have primarily examined the risk factors of domestic violence against women at the individual and family levels (Goode 1971; Jewkes 2002; Vyas and Watts 2009). Recently, guided by the social-ecological model, research has shed light on its contextual factors, suggesting that community and societal factors have a si
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