TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of intimate partner violence
T2 - findings from the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence
AU - Garcia-Moreno, Claudia
AU - Jansen, Henrica AFM
AU - Ellsberg, Mary
AU - Heise, Lori
AU - Watts, Charlotte H.
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported with funding provided to WHO from the Governments of the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK, and the Rockefeller Foundation (who also provided the use of their meeting place in Bellagio in May, 2004, for a meeting of the WHO VAW Study team). WHO provided the funding for the implementation of the study in 6 of the 8 initial countries: Brazil, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Thailand, and the United Republic of Tanzania, with some of these countries receiving additional funds from local sources. In Bangladesh, the study was funded by the Urban Primary Health Care project of the Government of Bangladesh; in Ethiopia by the Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC/Sida); in Samoa, by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA); and in Serbia and Montenegro, by Trocaire.
PY - 2006/10/7
Y1 - 2006/10/7
N2 - Background: Violence against women is a serious human rights abuse and public health issue. Despite growing evidence of the size of the problem, current evidence comes largely from industrialised settings, and methodological differences limit the extent to which comparisons can be made between studies. We aimed to estimate the extent of physical and sexual intimate partner violence against women in 15 sites in ten countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, and the United Republic of Tanzania. Methods: Standardised population-based household surveys were done between 2000 and 2003. Women aged 15-49 years were interviewed and those who had ever had a male partner were asked in private about their experiences of physically and sexually violent and emotionally abusive acts. Findings: 24 097 women completed interviews, with around 1500 interviews per site. The reported lifetime prevalence of physical or sexual partner violence, or both, varied from 15% to 71%, with two sites having a prevalence of less than 25%, seven between 25% and 50%, and six between 50% and 75%. Between 4% and 54% of respondents reported physical or sexual partner violence, or both, in the past year. Men who were more controlling were more likely to be violent against their partners. In all but one setting women were at far greater risk of physical or sexual violence by a partner than from violence by other people. Interpretation: The findings confirm that physical and sexual partner violence against women is widespread. The variation in prevalence within and between settings highlights that this violence in not inevitable, and must be addressed.
AB - Background: Violence against women is a serious human rights abuse and public health issue. Despite growing evidence of the size of the problem, current evidence comes largely from industrialised settings, and methodological differences limit the extent to which comparisons can be made between studies. We aimed to estimate the extent of physical and sexual intimate partner violence against women in 15 sites in ten countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, and the United Republic of Tanzania. Methods: Standardised population-based household surveys were done between 2000 and 2003. Women aged 15-49 years were interviewed and those who had ever had a male partner were asked in private about their experiences of physically and sexually violent and emotionally abusive acts. Findings: 24 097 women completed interviews, with around 1500 interviews per site. The reported lifetime prevalence of physical or sexual partner violence, or both, varied from 15% to 71%, with two sites having a prevalence of less than 25%, seven between 25% and 50%, and six between 50% and 75%. Between 4% and 54% of respondents reported physical or sexual partner violence, or both, in the past year. Men who were more controlling were more likely to be violent against their partners. In all but one setting women were at far greater risk of physical or sexual violence by a partner than from violence by other people. Interpretation: The findings confirm that physical and sexual partner violence against women is widespread. The variation in prevalence within and between settings highlights that this violence in not inevitable, and must be addressed.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69523-8
DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69523-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 17027732
AN - SCOPUS:33749249923
SN - 0140-6736
VL - 368
SP - 1260
EP - 1269
JO - Lancet
JF - Lancet
IS - 9543
ER -