Spousal Disagreement in Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence in Kenya

We investigate differences in spousal reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women and men using a sample of 800 couples in rural Kenya. We find that up to one-third of couples disagree but that disagreement varies by violence type and victim's gender. We study the role of gender attitudes in explaining this heterogeneity. We find that couples with more gender-unequal attitudes are more likely to agree on violence against women and less likely to agree on violence against men. This suggests that gender norms govern reporting by the victim. Thus, discrepancies may result even if perpetrators report accurately.