Domestic Violence against Women and Its Consequence on Child Mortality: Analysis from Five African Countries

Abstract

Domestic violence (DV) is a common social menace that can directly or indirectly affect the health of a child. Despite the attention received by violence against women internationally, only a few studies have probed into its effect on child’s mortality. This study aimed to assess the effect of maternal exposure to domestic violence on under-5 mortality using nationally representative population based data from five African countries. Logistic regression in two different models was used to access the association between maternal exposure to DV and child mortality after adjusting for maternal socio-demographic variables considered in this survey. The prevalence of DV ranged from 35-71% in the five countries with the highest rate seen in Congo DR. Maternal exposure to DV was significantly associated with under-5 death. Decision making autonomy of mother and number of children being catered for, were important determinant of under-5 mortality in the face of DV. There is need to reduce or totally eradicate violence against women especially in Africa. This may help in further reduction of child mortality rates in the continent.