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

This report excerpt presents findings from a national gender-based violence study in Malawi, focusing on the medical treatment of victims of physical and sexual violence and the expectations and attitudes of men regarding their partners' behavior.

• Medical assistance for victims of physical and sexual violence is often delayed, with 51% of respondents being examined by a medical practitioner more than two hours after the incident. Only 13.5% were examined between 30 minutes and one hour after the abuse, and less than 20% were examined within 30 minutes. Delays exceeding one hour were primarily attributed to a lack of transport (34%) or the victim not perceiving the incident as important until later (24%), while 13% cited the unavailability of a doctor.
• Regarding medical interactions, 77% of doctors or nurses asked who caused the harm, and 77% of women reported telling the truth. Among those who lied, the primary reasons were fear of their partner (59%) and embarrassment (41%). When the truth was told, 91% of respondents felt they were believed, and 77% received advice from the medical practitioner.
• Male respondents identified specific desired attributes in a partner, ranking 'good behaviour' as the most important (35%), followed by being 'trustworthy, loving and caring' (17%) and 'hard working' (14%). Additionally, 55% of men held specific expectations for a wife's behavior after marriage, most notably that she should abide by the husband's rules (28%), care for and love her family (20%), and be submissive (17%).
• Half of the men surveyed believed action should be taken if a woman chose "not to behave". The most common responses were speaking to her about the problem (47%), divorcing or leaving her (19%), and speaking to her family or advocate (14% each). Only 19% would tell friends about the problem, which the report suggests reflects a desire to maintain authority and masculinity within the community.

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} }