Citation

Gupta J, Falb K, Kpebo D, Annan J. BJOG 2012; 119(9): 1058-1066.

Affiliation

Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA Innovations for Poverty Action, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire International Rescue Committee, New York, NY, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1471-0528.2012.03401.x

PMID

22676807

Abstract

Objective  To document the lifetime prevalence of abuse from in-laws (both nonphysical maltreatment and physical violence), the forms of in-law abuse and reproductive control, and the relationship between experiences of in-law abuse and reproductive control among partnered women in rural Côte d'Ivoire. Design  Cross-sectional study using baseline data (October 2010) from a randomised controlled trial examining socio-economic interventions on reduction of violence against Ivorian women. Setting  Rural Côte d'Ivoire. Population  A total of 981 Ivorian women aged 18 years and older who reported having a male partner and a current source of stable income. Methods  Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. Main outcome measures  Lifetime, in-law-perpetrated reproductive control. Results  More than one in four (27.0%) women reported experiencing lifetime in-law abuse. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, in-law abuse was significantly associated with in-law-perpetrated reproductive control (adjusted odds ratio 6.9; 95% confidence interval 3.9-12.2; P < 0.0001). Religion and having fewer pregnancies were also associated with reporting in-law-perpetrated reproductive control. Conclusions  Increased efforts are needed to involve in-laws in programmes that seek to reduce gender-based violence against women and improve women's reproductive health.

Language: en