Physical Violence and Its Associated Factors Among Married Women in Multan, Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Physical violence is considered as a routine matter and is a neglected issue in the heavily populated society of Pakistan. The study aimed to estimate the physical violence and its associated factors among married women living in the district Multan, a city of Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: A Cross-Sectional study was conducted among 375 married women living in the community of six towns of Multan. The data was collected from March 2013 to May 2013, through a questionnaire, based on the World Health Organization Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Life Experiences of Violence against Women. A univariate and multivariate analyses were recorded. Results: Out of 375 women surveyed, 62.93% reported physical violence. In the univariate analysis, women's age (28-60 years), women's occupation (non-professional,) and family categories, (combined/extended) were found to be significant, at 95% confidence interval (CI). In multivariate analysis, women's employment status, as non-earning (OR; 0.57CI:0.33, 0.98) was significant in last year, and in life time multivariate analysis, husband's nonprofessional status (OR; 1.06; CI: 0.635 1, 0.793) and women's non-earning status (OR; 0.57; CI: 0.33, 0.98) became significant. The combined family system (OR; 1.795, CI: 1.120, 2.878) was found to be significant in multivariate analyses. Conclusion: Physical violence of different forms is considered as a social and cultural norm by intimate partner. There is a pressing need for appropriate mechanisms particularly in primary health care, to identify and deal with physical violence

Intimate partner physical violence and associated factors in reproductive age married women in Aksum Town, Tigray, Ethiopia 2018, and community based study

“…Women’s being daily laborer in their occupation was 4 times more likely to experience intimate partner physical violence than women’s in women’s association leader occupation. This was in line with study findings in Shanghai, China [19], Nepal [20] and Pakistan [28].…”

“…Being a housewife in their occupation was 4 times more likely to experience intimate partner physical violence than women’s in women’s association leader occupation. Since housewife’s are most of the time economically dependent on their husband, they are more vulnerable to intimate partner physical violence and this is consistent with studies finding in Nigeria [22], Nepal [20], Pakistan [28], and in contrast with study finding in Southwest Ethiopia, this could be as women’s exposure to the larger society, husband/partner might be violent on the working women just to prevent women from working outside the home as a way of controlling them and involvement of women in economic activity might be considered as a challenge in power sharing with man in the home [24].…”

Community stakeholders’ views on reducing violence against women in Pakistan

“…Globally, an estimated 4-49% of females between the ages 14-71 years reported of being subjected to physical and other forms of violence from their spouse or intimate partners [2,3]. In Pakistan, 70-90% of the married women experiences any form of violence from their intimate partners [4,5].…”

“…The women in Pakistan are generally expected to rear children, perform household chores, be submissive, and obey their husbands and families. It has been observed as a common practice for husbands and in-laws to restrict women's autonomy and limit their rights and participation in decision-making, consequently, increasing the likelihood of women and girls becoming the victim of violence [5,8]. Domestic violence is considered as a private matter, leading to normalization, denial and resilience among the victims in these areas which further entails inadequacy in reporting and documentation of such incidents in Pakistan [9].…”

Intimate-partner violence and its association with symptoms of depression, perceived health, and quality of life in the Himalayan Mountain Villages of Gilgit Baltistan

“…In agreement with previous reports, findings from our work suggest that discord within the ‘extended family system’ increases the risk of violence towards married women [ 44 , 45 ]. Himalayan societal expectation of the mother-in-law within the ‘extended family system’ is that a married woman must comply and never disagree with the husband and with men in general [ 46 , 47 ].…”