An assessment of the association between asset ownership and intimate partner violence in Pakistan

Objective This study assessed the association between women's reports of asset ownership (home and land) and experience of three types of intimate partner violence (IPV): physical violence, emotional violence, and husbands' controlling behaviors. Study design Population-based secondary analysis. Method This cross-sectional study used data from a sub-sample of 658 women from the nationally representative Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2012–13. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the association between asset ownership and IPV. Results Results from logistic regressions indicated that when women owned assets their husbands were 2.3 times more likely to use controlling tactics (P < 0.001) which was mitigated only when women had a say in household decisions. Physical or emotional violence, however, was not significantly associated with women's asset ownership. Conclusion The study findings highlight the importance of culture and context in policy implementation.