Does husband’s alcohol consumption increase the risk of domestic violence during the pregnancy and postpartum periods in Nepalese women?

Abstract

Background Domestic violence against women during pregnancy and the postpartum period not only violates the human rights of women but also harms on the health of both mother and child. Domestic violence is entrenching in social norms, customs and structural factors against women in Nepal. The use of alcohol also exacerbates domestic violence. The objective of this study was to determine the association between domestic violence against women and husband’s drinking behavior across the periods of pregnancy and postpartum. Methods This study was a cross-sectional study conducted in the antenatal care and postnatal care clinics of a government hospital in Kathmandu district. Among 660 women (aged 15–49), 165 women were consecutively recruited from each trimester of pregnancy and the postpartum period. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) were computed from a multivariate logistic regression model to determine the association between domestic violence against women and the husband’s drinking behavior. Results Women whose husbands drank alcohol were twice as likely to suffer from domestic violence, compared to those women whose husbands did not drink (AOR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.4–3.2), independently of their socio-demographic status. Women suffered from domestic violence in each period of pregnancy and postpartum due to their husband’s drinking habits, but the most affected period was the second trimester of pregnancy. Among women who suffered from physical, psychological and sexual violence during the pregnancy and postpartum periods, 70.2, 67.9, and 64.2% respectively experienced violence due to their husband’s drinking habit. Other associated factors for domestic violence included the ethnic culture of Janjati ethnicity, illiteracy of the women, duration of marriage 2–5 years (compared to one year or less) and a husband who behaved in a controlling manner. Conclusions Having a husband who has alcohol drinking behavior is an important risk factor for domestic violence against women in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. Screening of alcohol use in husbands will not prevent domestic violence but could lead to a referral to integrated treatment for alcohol and domestic violence treatment.

Lifetime and periodic prevalence and characteristics of violence against women committed by their alcohol-dependent partners - a cross-sectional study

“…When we talk about partners age, we found that older men are more violent, while some other authors identified that violence occurred more often among young married couples and young parents [3,18]. Although in our study we did not inquiry about the timing of the first violent acts that happened during the marital life, other research indicated that is happens early, at the beginning of the union [3,17,18].…”

“…We found that almost half of women/spouses experienced violence in the previous one year (46.2%). Other studies that also addressed alcohol dependent men and their abusive behavior, revealed that even in pregnancy or antenatal period women are not protected from violence: 27% of women who just delivered experienced violence [16], and Bhatta et all [17] found that pregnant women whose partners are alcohol-dependent are exposed to violence as twice as often than women whose partners are not alcohol-dependent. These findings suggest that alcohol dependent partners appeared to present an extremely high risk for perpetuation of violence, and a "red flag" that calls for an action to enhance women's protection and safety, by providing immediate protection and a long-term support.…”

“…The sum of all responses (maximum = 63) represents the intensity of the symptoms of general anxiety. The overall score was graded into four categories: no anxiety (0-9), mild and mild to moderate (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), moderate (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) and severe anxiety (30-64). In later analyses, moderate and severe anxiety were summarized in one category.…”

Impact of Psychosocial Domestic Violence upon Reproductive Health during Corona Virus Pandemic among Women Attending Primary Health Care Centers in Baghdad City

“…A study was conducted by Bhatta and others (2018) surveyed respondents (165 women) reported that the prevalence of domestic violence against women during the postpartum period was 20%. Domestic violence can happen to any woman, regardless of age, economic status, race, and educational background [17] .…”

Developing and validating the Nepalese Abuse Assessment Screen (N-AAS) for identifying domestic violence among pregnant women in Nepal

“…Several studies have introduced tools, instruments, or questionnaires for detecting pregnancy-related DV in Nepal [10, 12, 13]. The Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS), originally developed in the United States [14], has been validated in different countries, including Turkey, Greece, and Spain, demonstrating its effectiveness as a simple tool [15–17].…”