SPOUSAL CONTROL

Attempts by husbands/partners to closely control and monitor their wives’ behaviour have been found to be important early warning signs and correlates of violence in a relationship. Controlling behaviours most often manifest themselves in terms of extreme possessiveness, jealousy, and attempts to isolate the woman from her family and friends.

To examine the degree of marital control by husbands of their wives, ever-married women were asked whether they had experienced any of the following five controlling behaviours by their husbands:

• he is jealous or angry if she talks to other men;
• he frequently accuses her of being unfaithful;
• he does not permit her to meet her female friends;
• he tries to limit contact with her family; and
• he insists on knowing where she is at all times.

Because the combination of such behaviours is more significant than the display of any single behaviour, the proportion of women whose husbands display at least three of the specified behaviours is highlighted in the survey carried out by the DHS.

Women who are afraid of their husband most of the time are more likely than women who are never afraid of their husband to report that their husbands display at least three controlling behaviours (28 percent versus 9 percent).