Who Should versus Who Does: Couple Disagreement in Decision-Making and Domestic Violence in Ghana

Naa Dodua Dodoo, University of Ghana

Using an index of agreement and disagreement between husbands and wives about who should, and who actually does make the final decision in five decision-making areas this paper uses data from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey of 2008 to investigate whether gender equitable attitudes lead to gender equitable behaviours, and whether discrepancies in who should and who does make the final decision have an effect on women’s experience of domestic control and violence issues. There are marked discrepancies between husbands’ statement of who should have ‘final say’ and wives account of who does have ‘final say’ with all the decisions considered. Further, all but the decision on what to do with the wife’s earnings are strongly associated with wives experience of domestic violence, probably a reflection of Ghanaian women’s relatively greater autonomy with regard to their personal finances.