Wife Beating and Modernization: The Case of Papua New Guinea

This paper examines the relationship of modernization to wife beating, using data from a unique set of standardized questionnaire surveys conducted by the Law Reform Commission of Papua New Guinea to investigate the nature and extent of domestic violence throughout the diverse cultures of that country. Wife beating is found to be widespread throughout Papua New Guinea. The data cast doubt on the hypothesis that modernization increases wife beating or that wife beating is more common in westernized, industrialized societies. However, modernization may produce new pressures, expectations, and changes in the support systems available to beaten wives. The survey findings are compared with other studies from modernizing and fully industrialized societies. It is concluded that, while the specific stresses leading to wife beating are local and various, the following underlying theme is common across cultures: a husband’s perceived right to control his wife and a social structure that allows him to assert this ‘right’ through violence.