Abstract
Introduction: Domestic violence meaning thereby violence rendered on women at home has come out to be a major suppressive factor affecting the mental health of women across the world. It has greater significance in rural areas of few states in India, where it is compounded with low socio-economic conditions as well as low levels of education and alcoholism.
Methodology: The current cross sectional study is an excerpt of a larger study conducted under the aegis of Department of Health Research (DHR/ICMR-India), wherein women of reproductive age groups i.e., 18-49 years were selected in three categories i.e., pregnant, lactating and nonpregnant and nonlactating (NPNL) and interviewed for sociodemographic , family and individual factors to eventually score their mental health by using a validated scoring questionnaire i.e., General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ12). The study is underway and 5 districts across the state have been covered with a total sample of 900.
Results: The prelim results were assessed for prevalence of domestic violence in sample. In all the 3 categories domestic violence was reported in over 10% of the sample, maximum being in the lactating women i.e., 17.9%. It was observed from the results of univariate analysis that the risk of domestic violence among casual employed women is 2.19 (95% CI: 1.12 – 4.29) times higher than the unemployed women. Similarly women belonging to the occasional alcoholic and frequent (twice or thrice a week) alcoholic spouses have 4.17 (95% CI: 2.77 – 6.27) and 6.0 (95% CI: 3.20 – 11.18) times higher risk of domestic violence respectively than those women with non-alcoholic partners. Women education and education of the principal bread earner emerged as protective factors. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that alcohol abuse by the spouse and educational status of principal bread earner are the major determinants for domestic violence against women and hence considered as independent factors.
Conclusion: The study strongly brings out that evil of domestic violence exits in the rural areas and lack of education, both among men and women and use of alcohol by spouses were the major perpetrators of the evil. A daunting task lays ahead of us to address this at all possible levels.
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Women's Health and Complications 