Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is predominant in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with nearly 40 percent of women reporting IPV at some point in time. In this study, we investigated whether a supportive attitude towards IPV is associated with past-year experience of IPV among women in sexual unions in SSA. This study involved a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) of 23 countries in SSA. Bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between attitude towards IPV and past-year experience of IPV. The regression results were presented in a tabular form using crude odds ratio (cOR) and adjusted odds ratio (aOR) at 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In the pooled countries, we found that women who had supportive attitude towards IPV were more likely to experience IPV compared to those who rejected IPV (cOR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.64, 1.79), and this persisted after controlling for maternal age, marital status, wealth, maternal education level, place of residence, and mass-media exposure (aOR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.64, 1.79). The same trend and direction of association between attitude towards IPV and experience of IPV was also found in all the 23 studied countries. This study has demonstrated that women who accept IPV are more likely to experience IPV. Hence, we recommend that efforts to end IPV must focus primarily on changing the attitudes of women. This goal can be achieved by augmenting women’s empowerment, education, and employment interventions, as well as sensitizing women in relation to the deleterious ramifications of accepting IPV. Furthermore, reducing IPV is critical towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3.
Highlights
This article is an open access articleIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive social injustice and significant public health concern [1,2,3]
IPV;(Figure the highest was recorded in Maliin
We found that women who had a supportive attitude towards IPV were more likely to experience IPV compared to those who rejected
Summary
This article is an open access articleIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive social injustice and significant public health concern [1,2,3]. Available evidence suggests that IPV, which refers to any behavior within an intimate relationship that inflicts physical, psychological, and sexual harm [4], can be regarded as a pandemic, as one in every three women in the world have experienced. (SSA), with nearly 40 percent of women who have ever been in an intimate relationship having reported IPV at some point in time [6]. The negative effects of IPV cannot be understated. It is a clear violation of the rights of women and has been shown to be significantly associated with several adverse health outcomes among women [9,10,11,12]. Women who experience IPV have been found to suffer numerous negative mental-health outcomes including low self-esteem, anxiety, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and depression [13]. There is the tendency for women who experience IPV to have suicidal ideation and attempt [14]
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