Tolerance for Domestic Violence in Uzbekistan: Issues of Martial Status and Gender

Cynthia Buckley, University of Texas at Austin
Tricia S. Ryan, University of Texas at Austin
Todd Harvey, University of Texas at Austin
Jennifer Barrett, University of Texas at Austin
Maryann Bylander, University of Texas at Austin

There is widespread reported tolerance for wife beating in Uzbekistan. Using the 2002 Uzbekistan Health Examination Survey, we examine social correlates of tolerant attitudes toward wife beating, focusing on singles and married couples. We ask 1) whether marital status alters patterns of reported tolerance between men and women, 2) whether marital duration or other socioeconomic factors alter tolerance for either men or women, and 3) whether marital duration is related to the degree of similarity between partners in tolerance for domestic violence. Women report higher tolerance levels of domestic violence overall, and tolerance increases once in a marital union, while it declines for men. Among married couples, discrepancies appear in more than half of all married couples, although the size of the discrepancy declines with duration. Our results have important implications for policy makers and non-governmental organizations working on domestic violence issues in Uzbekistan and Central Asia.