Does Women Mobile Technology Inclusion Shape Their Attitude Towards Intimate Partner Violence? An Empirical Evidence from Sub-Saharan African Communities

This paper investigates the relationship between women’s mobile phone inclusion and their attitude towards Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the context of low- and middle-income countries from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where mobile phones have seen massive adoption in recent years. We conceptualize the said relationship using the Theory of Conjunctural Action, the World Society Theory, and the IT Affordances Theory. This paper utilizes micro-level data from USAID Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and employs Ordinary Least Squares Regression to examine the said relationship. We supplement our micro-level analysis with macro-level cross-country evidence to show that our findings are generalizable to a broader mass. Our identification strategy relies on instrumental variable analyses (both micro- and macro-level) to deal with potential endogeneity concerns. Results from our empirical analysis reveal that communities with a higher proportion of women owning mobile phones possess less tolerant attitudes towards IPV. Our results are consistent for both micro- and macro-level analyses. Findings of our study highlight a vital role of mobile phone technology in challenging pre-existing mental frameworks among marginalized women by instantiating gender-impartial schemas through worldwide connectivity.