Prevalence, socio-demographic and economic determinants of violence against ever-married women in Morocco

Background: Violence against women is a public health issue worldwide, affecting the physical and mental wellbeing of women, children and families. Aim: To determine the socio-demographic and economic factors contributing to violence against women in Morocco and offer recommendations for the prevention and reduction of violence. Methods: Data for this study was obtained from the 2018 National Population and Family Health Survey. We applied the Chi-square test and t-test to study the possible associations between some socio-demographic and economic variables and violence against women. We performed a logistic regression to indicate the simultaneous association of the variables. Results: Among 9969 ever-married women aged 15–49, 15.0% [CI (95%): 14.3-15.7%] had suffered an act of violence in the last 12 months preceding the survey (17.0% in urban and 11.9% in rural areas). Violence against women depended significantly on age, age at first marriage, marital status, total children ever born, educational level, wealth index, being a household head, employment status, decision-maker regarding employment, number of marriages ever had, smoking, relationship with the husband, husband's age, husband's educational level, husband’s polygamy, area of residence, and region of residence (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Violence against women has reached endemic proportions in Morocco and this has serious consequences for population health and the country's economy. There is a need to reinforce and better structure public health programmes to sustainably prevent or reduce violence against women in the country. It is also important to take actions to mitigate the risk factors and provide adequate and quality care for victims.