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Affiliation
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Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. |
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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with violence against women with HIV in a mid-sized city in the South of Brazil.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 161 users of an HIV Specialized Care Service in a city with high prevalence of Aids in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. To determine the prevalence and forms of violence, 13 questions of the World Health Organization Violence Against Women (WHO VAW) instrument, adapted and validated for Brazilian Portuguese, were used. The presence of lifetime psychological, physical, and sexual violence perpetrated by intimate partners or former partners, family members, acquaintances, friends, neighbors, colleagues, or strangers was investigated. Statistical analysis employed the chi-square test and Poisson multiple regression.
RESULTS: Psychological violence was reported by 117 women (72.7%), physical violence by 88 women (54.6%), and sexual violence by 41 women (25.4%). The adjusted prevalence of violence was 11.5 times higher in women living with HIV for more than 5 years as compared to those living with HIV for < 5 years; 9.5 times higher in those with more than three children vs. three or fewer children; and 7.2 times higher in those who had sex before before the age of 15 years vs. at 15 years of age or older (P < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of all types of violence was high in this group of women with HIV. Health care professionals should understand and address issues relating to prejudice and provide comprehensive care, asking about the presence of violence in the life of women.
Language: pt |