Gender Equality Indicators: What Men and Women Think about Domestic Violence. Example of the Maghreb Countries

Demographic and health surveys carried out in Arab countries, in particular MICS (Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys), include several questions likely to capture gender relations, and in particular, a question on opinions and attitudes concerning domestic violence: “In your opinion, is it justifiable for a husband to hit or beat his wife in the following circumstances? :

1. Going out without telling her: perception of male control over the wife's movements and freedom.
2. Neglects children: cultural attitude that women are primarily responsible for childcare.
3. Argues with him: tolerance of violence in the context of marital disputes and the husband's dominant role.
4. Refuses to have sex with him: norms on control of women's bodies and sexual rights in marriage.
5. Burns or spoils food: tolerance of violence for perceived mistakes in domestic chores.

The answers obtained enable us to assess under what circumstances women and men consider a husband justified in using physical violence against his wife. In this way, it provides an insight into social norms and cultural attitudes towards domestic violence.

The results of the MICS-Tunisia-2019 survey show that one man in five approves of physical domestic violence for at least one of the five reasons cited above (15% in urban areas and 30% in rural areas). Among women, this percentage is also significant (15% nationally and reaches 37% for the uneducated. This paper proposes to extend this analysis using MICS surveys carried out in Tunisia between 2010 and 2020, in order to understand the evolution since the Tunisian Spring, and to characterize the people most in favor of such violence.