• Tendai Kwaramba, Jinny J Ye, Cyrus Elahi, Joseph Lunyera, Aline Chotte Oliveira, Paulo Rafael Sanches Calvo, Luciano de Andrade, VissociJoao Ricardo NickenigJRN0000-0001-7276-0402Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Surgery, Duke Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United St, and Catherine A Staton.
• Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
• Plos One. 2019 Jan 1; 14 (11): e0224204.

BackgroundIntimate partner violence is a global health burden that disproportionately affects women and their health outcomes. Women in Brazil are also affected by interpersonal violence. We aimed to estimate the lifetime prevalence of three forms of interpersonal violence against women (IPVAW) and to identify sociodemographic factors associated with IPVAW in one urban Brazilian city.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional design, we interviewed women aged ≥18 years in the urban Brazilian city, Maringá, who currently have or have had an intimate partner. The 13-item WHO Violence Against Women instrument was used to ask participants about their experiences with intimate partner violence, categorized into psychological, physical and sexual violence. We estimated associations between IPVAW and sociodemographic characteristics using generalized linear models.Results And ConclusionsOf the 419 women who were enrolled and met inclusion criteria, lifetime prevalence of IPVAW was 56%. Psychological violence was more prevalent (52%) than physical (21%) or sexual violence (13%). Twenty-eight women (6.4%) experienced all three forms of IPVAW. Women were more likely to experience violence if they were employed, did not live with their partner or had 4 or more children. Educational level, household income, age and race were not significantly associated factors. Our findings highlight a high prevalence of IPVAW in a community in southern Brazil.

12 keywords...

hide…