Mauritanians Reject Use of Physical Force Against Women, but View Domestic Violence As a Private Matter

24 September 2024
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Baba Adou

Majority of citizens say a woman will probably be criticised, harassed, or shamed by others in the community if she reports gender-based violence to the authorities.

Key findings

  • Three in 10 Mauritanians (31%) say violence against women and girls is common in their community.
  • More than two-thirds (68%) of citizens say a man is "never justified" in using physical force to discipline his wife, while 31% consider it "sometimes" or "always" justified.
  • Two-thirds (66%) of Mauritanians believe that domestic violence should be handled as a private matter to be resolved within the family rather than a criminal issue.
  • More than half (52%) of respondents say it is "somewhat likely" or "very likely" that a woman will be criticised, harassed, or shamed by others in the community if she reports GBV to the authorities. o But a strong majority (77%) believe that the police are likely to take cases of GBV seriously.

The 2021/2022 Women, Peace and Security Index ranks Mauritania 157th out of 170 countries - 13th worst in the world - in women's status and empowerment (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, 2021). One important reason is widespread gender-based violence enabled by societal taboos and a weak system of legal protections and enforcement (U.S. Department of State, 2023; United Nations General Assembly, 2024).

Amid powerful stigma surrounding gender-based violence (GBV), reliable data on its prevalence are scarce. The U.S. Department of State (2023) highlights "credible reports of ... extensive gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual violence, female genital mutilation/cutting, and other forms of such violence." After a 12-day visit, the United Nations Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls reported "outrageous accounts of gender-based violence, in the family and the community, including a high prevalence of rape against young girls" (United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2023). The Mauritanian Parliament has rejected a draft law addressing GBV in 2018, 2021, and 2023 (Mechergui, 2024).

The government has outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM), but enforcement is almost non-existent and its prevalence remains high (United Nations, 2023): According to a report by the Orchid Project (2023), almost two-thirds of Mauritanian women aged 15-49 have undergone FGM. Another harmful practice, forced feeding of young women being prepared for marriage, persists mainly in rural areas (Ouldzeidoune, Keating, Bertrand, & Rice, 2013; United Nations, 2023).

This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 (2021/2023) survey to explore Africans' perceptions of gender-based violence.

In Mauritania, most citizens say that GBV is not a common occurrence in their community and that a man is never justified in using physical force to discipline his wife. But a majority also consider domestic violence against women a private matter to be resolved within the family rather than a criminal issue requiring the involvement of law enforcement.

While most Mauritanians think the police take reported cases of GBV seriously, more than half say a woman is likely to be criticised, harassed, or shamed if she reports such violence to the authorities.

Baba Adou Baba Adou is a researcher of Political Science at the University of Florida and the UF Sahel Research Group

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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