The World Bank

To study risk factors for perpetration of spousal violence among men in Bangladesh, self-reported Demographic and Health Surveys data from 2,780 married men using bivariate and multivariate techniques are analyzed. Of the respondents, 74 % report having ever been violent toward their wives; 37 % report violence in the past year. Nonnormative behaviors increase the risk for violence: Men who marry more than once, men who use drugs, and men who are unfaith-ful to their wives are all significantly more likely to report violence against their spouses. Egalitarian attitudes toward women do not decrease the risk for vio-lence. However, attitudes explicitly about wife-beating are the strongest predic-tor of violence: Men who believe wife-beating is acceptable are more than 4 times as likely to report recent violence against their wives. While men’s self-reports of spousal violence indicate that wife-beating is prevalent in Bangladesh, the results indicate opportunities for programmatic intervention