Lineage Resources, Gender Norms, and Intimate Partner Violence among Women in Ghana

Past research has shown a nexus between lineage and intimate partner violence (IPV) among Ghanaian women. The studies suggest patrilineal women are significantly more likely to experience severe forms of IPV than matrilineal women, but they do not explore the mechanisms linking kinship, lineage, and IPV. They also limit their analysis to patrilineal and matrilineal women, ignoring those identifying as bilateral. We interviewed 27 patrilineal, matrilineal, and bilateral Ghanaian women with experiences of IPV. While IPV was pervasive across kin groups, it was experienced differently because of differences in gender norms and access to lineage resources. Patrilineal women experienced severe forms of emotional, economic, and physical IPV because of rigid patriarchal structures and gender ordering. Matrilineal women experienced less severe forms of all types of IPV except sexual violence, which was tied to fluidity in gender norms and access to lineage resources. Bilateral women experienced the least severe forms of IPV. Contextualizing these findings will help policymakers design interventions to address violence across kin groups.