“As long as he can provide” : A qualitative case study exploring women’s and men’s attitudes towards economic intimate partner violence in Livingstone, Zambia

Sammanfattning: Background: Zambia has one of the highest rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the world. While the focus has been put on the prevalence and the consequences of physical, sexual and psychological violence, economic abuse has been a neglected area in research. Studies have shown that accepting attitudes toward IPV are the most prominent predictor of the occurrence of IPV while men’s attitudes toward IPV have not gained equal attention in research as women.  Aim: To explore women’s and men’s attitudes towards economic abuse in Livingstone, Zambia.  Methods: This study used a qualitative case study method consisting of semi-structured interviews with 17 women and men in four villages in Livingstone town. Transcripts were analyzed through a thematic analysis using the software NVivo 12 as an aid in facilitating the coding process.  Results: The husband not providing for the family was not acceptable by the respondents. As a result of this, men expressed constant feelings of societal pressure of being a good provider. Mixed and contradicting attitudes concerning preventing the wife from working or taking money without consent were shown. Preventing the wife from working or taking money were often justified as long as the husband could provide.  Conclusion: This study concludes that people’s overall attitudes towards economic abuse are strongly affected by traditional gender roles, where societal norms and expectations put on men should be questioned. Therefore, reducing the prevalence of economic abuse requires interventions targeting irresistible stereotypical norms concerning expectations on masculinities and femininities.