Intimate Partner Violence – Results from a National Gender-Based Violence Study in Malawi

The report details the experiences of domestic violence victims seeking medical care in Malawi, noting significant delays in treatment and barriers such as lack of transport. It also analyzes the social expectations Malawian men hold for their wives, emphasizing obedience and submission, and explores how men respond to deviations from these expectations through various scenarios.

• Victims of physical and sexual violence in Malawi often experience delays in receiving medical care, with 51% being examined by a practitioner more than two hours after the incident. Only less than 20% were examined within 30 minutes of the incident. The primary reasons for delays exceeding one hour were lack of transport (34%) and the perception that the incident was not important until later (24%), while 13% cited the unavailability of a doctor.
• Medical practitioners in Malawi generally engage with victims of abuse; 77% of doctors or nurses asked who caused the harm, and 77% of women reported telling the truth to the provider. Among those who lied, the main reasons were fear of their partner (59%) or embarrassment (41%). When the truth was told, 91% of respondents felt they were believed, and 77% received advice from the practitioner.
• Malawian men hold specific expectations for their partners' behavior, with 55% stating they have expectations for how a wife should behave after marriage. The most prominent expectations are that she should abide by the husband's rules (28%), care for and love her family (20%), and be submissive (17%). When choosing a partner, the most important characteristic for men is 'good behaviour' (35%).
• Half of the men surveyed believe action should be taken if a woman chooses "not to behave". The most common responses include speaking to her about the problem (47%), divorcing or leaving her (19%), or speaking to her family or advocate (14% each). In a scenario regarding a wife's refusal of sexual services, 63.8% of men said they would complain to a marriage counselor.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). Intimate Partner Violence – Results from a National Gender-Based Violence Study in Malawi. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/INTIMATESEC7.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Intimate Partner Violence – Results from a National Gender-Based Violence Study in Malawi. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/INTIMATESEC7.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Intimate Partner Violence – Results from a National Gender-Based Violence Study in Malawi |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/INTIMATESEC7.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndintimate, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Intimate Partner Violence – Results from a National Gender-Based Violence Study in Malawi}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/INTIMATESEC7.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }