Citation

Kwaramba T, Ye JJ, Elahi C, Lunyera J, Oliveira AC, Sanches Calvo PR, de Andrade L, Vissoci JRN, Staton CA. PLoS One 2019; 14(11): e0224204.

Affiliation

Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Surgery, Duke Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0224204

PMID

31725729

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Intimate 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.

METHODS: Using 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 CONCLUSIONS: Of 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.

Language: en