Intimate partner violence and its associated factors among pregnant women in Bale Zone, Southeast Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a major public health concern in low income countries. Violence against pregnant women has adverse effects on maternal and newborn outcomes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of intimate partner violence in Southeast Ethiopia pregnant women. Methods Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted on pregnant women who were attending antenatal care (ANC) in Bale Zone health institution during study period. Face to face interviews were conducted using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Data related to socio-demographic characteristic, pregnancy and reproductive history, intimate partner behavior and IPV encountered during recent pregnancy was gathered for this study. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were used for the data analysis. Odds ratio with 95% CI was computed to determine the presence and strength of associated factors with IPV. Results A total of 612 pregnant women participated in the study. Of these, 361 (59.0%) pregnant women faced at least one type of IPV during the recent pregnancy. Physical violence (20.3%), sexual violence (36.3%), psychological/emotional violence (33.0), controlling behavior violence (30.4%) and economic violence (27.0) were the type of IPV encountered by participants. An intimate partners who were drank alcohol [AOR = 2.9; 95% CI: (1.5–5.4)], partners who were chewed Khat [AOR = 1.7; 95% CI: (1.1–2.6)], partners who were smoked cigarette [AOR = 2.6; 95% CI: (1.4–4.9)], partners who had aggressive behavior [AOR = 2.8; 95% CI: (1.7–4.6)], having partner age ≥30 year old [AOR = 1.8; 95% CI: (1.2–2.9)], unwanted pregnancy [AOR = 3.3; 95% CI: (1.9–5.5)] and history of adverse pregnancy outcome [AOR = 2.1; 95% CI: (1.2–3.6)] that were the factors that significantly associated with IPV of the pregnant women. Conclusion The prevalence of IPV during pregnancy was high among the study participants. Intimate partners’ use of substance, intimate partners’ aggressive behavior, older intimate partners, unwanted pregnancy and history of adverse birth outcome were identified as associated factors for IPV. IPV needs to be considered during ANC service and integrated into the sexual and reproductive health education. Community-based interventions should be advocated as a way of health promotion. Counseling, awareness creation, service provision and program design on IPV is mandatory to minimize the victim.

High rate of partner violence during pregnancy in eastern Ethiopia: Findings from a facility-based study

“…This finding is similar to the previous study conducted in Gondar Hospital, which reported a prevalence of sexual IPV of 2.4% [42]. However, a higher prevalence of sexual IPV among pregnant women was reported by other studies from Ethiopia that were conducted in Jimma (30%) [16], Debre-Berhan (19.8%) [17], Hulet Ejju Enessie district (14.8%) [43], and Bale Zone (36.3%) [18]. The low prevalence of sexual IPV in the current study might be attributed to women's strong disapproval of sexual violence as more than 99% of women in this study believed that women had the right to refuse sex.…”

“…The prevalence of IPV in this study was similar to that of previous Ethiopian studies that were conducted in Jimma (45%) [16] and Tigray (41%) [35] and findings from other countries that were conducted in Jordan (40.9%) [36], Kenya (37%) [30], Egypt (44.1%) [37] and Portugal (43.4%) [38]. However, it was lower than that of previous studies from Ethiopia that were conducted in Addis Ababa (75.2%) [5] and Bale Zone (59%) [18], but higher than that of previously conducted research in southern Ethiopia (21%) [39]. The lower prevalence of IPV in the current study compared to the previous study from Bale Zone might be due to the difference in measurement of IPV as the study from Bale Zone used a wider definition of IPV that included economic violence, whereas in our study the definition of IPV was limited to physical, sexual, and emotional violence.…”

“…The few available studies from other regions of Ethiopia have indicated IPV during pregnancy ranged from 12% in southern Ethiopia [13] to 75.2% in central Ethiopia [5]. Differences in forms of IPV studied can be a reason for the discrepancy as some of the studies only assessed physical violence [13,14], while others examined physical, emotional and sexual IPV [5,[15][16][17][18]. Furthermore, a systematic review and meta-analysis of eight studies conducted in Ethiopia reported that 26.1% of women had experienced IPV during pregnancy [19].…”

Khat use and intimate partner violence in a refugee population: a qualitative study in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia

“…Importantly, our findings highlight the association between khat use and IPV and shed light on the mechanisms through which khat use may be a risk factor for IPV. Our findings are consistent with several other studies that report a significant association between male perpetration of IPV and substance use (including khat) [29][30][31]39]. For example, one study among Somali refugee community workers in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya reported khat use as a driver of GBV [39].…”

“…While research on khat use is limited, some evidence suggests adverse health impacts including behavioral and mental health problems [26][27][28]. Several studies have also demonstrated associations between khat use and IPV perpetration [29,30], including among Somali populations [31]. However, there are limited data on mechanisms through which khat use may lead to IPV, and how this relationship may be influenced by displacement.…”