Health consequences of wives’ violence against husbands in Northern Ghana: A knowledge and perceptions study

This study contributes to the literature on the consequences of wives’ intimate partner violence (IPV) in northern Ghana. In a survey with 310 participants (55% male, mean age 24.7), there were high perceptions and knowledge of the physical, mental, and social health consequences of wives’ IPV, including incidents of death. Qualitative themes identified specific examples of these health problems. Among physical health problems were bruises, cuts, fractures, high blood pressure, malnutrition, and prostate cancer, while mental health problems attributed to wives’ IPV included anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and alcohol/substance dependence. A gender effect emerged where, surprisingly, results of logistic regression analyses showed that females had 2.53 times the odds of perceiving that some husbands are physically sick/injured due to a wife’s IPV, and 2.33 times more likely to know such a husband. Female participants also had 1.88 times the odds of perceiving that some husbands are mentally sick due to a wife’s IPV, and 1.97 times the odds of knowing such a husband. The results also showed that participants who were single/never married had 2.52 times the odds of knowing a husband who is physically sick/injured due to a wife’s IPV, and participants in college/university Year 4 were 3.56 times more likely to know a husband who has died due to IPV. Qualitative findings further showed that wives’ IPV against husbands negatively affects the socioeconomic well-being of families by straining relationships, breaking down homes, lowering productivity, and leading to the collapse of family business ventures. Implications of the findings are discussed.