Ten per cent of Guyana’s women believe that a husband is justified in beating a wife if she neglects the children, demonstrates her autonomy ‒ for example by leaving the house without his permission ‒ refuses him sex, argues with him or burns the food. Older women who are married or are in unions account for the highest percentage of those who justify domestic violence of this kind.
The same percentage of men agrees that men should hit their wives, although the numbers vary according to the specific justification. This information was revealed in a recently released Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Round 5 (MICS5) conducted in 2014 by the Bureau of Statistics. The project was part of a global MICS programme and technical support was provided by the United Nations Children’s fund (UNICEF), which also provided financing along with the Inter-American Bank (IDB) and
