"This study uses household and individual-level data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program to examine the prevalence and correlates of domestic violence and the health consequences of domestic violence for women and their children. Nationally representative data from nine countriesÑCambodia (2000), Colombia (2000), the Dominican Republic (2002), Egypt (1995), Haiti (2000), India (1998-1999), Nicaragua (1998), Peru (2000), and Zambia (2001-2002)Ñare analyzed within a comparative framework to provide a multifaceted analysis of the phenomenon of domestic violence."
"The proportions of ever-married women reporting spousal/intimate partner violence vary across countries. They are highest at 48 percent in Zambia, 44 percent in Colombia, and 42 percent in Peru, and lowest at 18 percent in Cambodia, 19 percent in India, and 22 percent in the Dominican Republic. In Egypt and Nicaragua, about one in three ever-married women reports the experience of domestic violence. Women who had ever been pregnant were asked about their experience of violence during pregnancy. The proportions of women who reported spousal abuse during pregnancy were highest in Colombia and Nicaragua at 11 percent, and lowest in Cambodia at 1 percent, with Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the middle at 5 percent each."
Findings indicate that domestic violence notonly poses a direct threat to women's health, but also has adverse consequences for other aspects of women's well-being and for the survival and wellbeing of children. Starting from conception, children of mothers who have experienced violence are at a disproportionate risk for poor health outcomes.
Contents include:
- Prevalence of Different Types of Domestic Violence
- Risk Factors for the Experience of Domestic Violence
- Domestic Violence and Women's Empowerment
- Domestic Violence and Demographic and Health Outcomes
