Women on the Other Side of War and Poverty : Its Effect on the Health of Reproduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) defined domestic violence as “the range of physically, psychologically and sexually coercive acts used against adult and adolescent women by current or former male intimate partners” (1). Domestic violence is an important health problem in the countries, which devastates the configuration of communities and threatens the individual’s life, health and happiness (2,3) Therefore, evaluation of the association between the different types of domestic violence and health consequences is required (4). In general, almost 40% to 50% of women reported some levels of domestic violence in their lives (5). Domestic violence threatens the psychological and physical health and sometimes leads to suicide (6). According to a statement by the WHO, preventing domestic violence against women has been presented as one of the most important health priorities (1). According to a national plan conducted in 28 provinces in Iran, 66% of the studied households reported experiencing violence at least once after marriage and the violence was severe and serious in 30% and 10% of the cases, respectively. The study also showed that violence caused a temporary or permanent damage to women (7). Among the main causes of domestic violence are low occupation level, low-income level of families and low education level (8) as well as addiction and criminal conviction of the spouse (9). Other causes of violence may include inadequate family support, substandard dowry given to the bride, smoking, women’s lack of an independent source of income, marital dissatisfaction and the absence of consanguineous marriage (10). Furthermore, duration of marriage and being away from family (11), unwanted pregnancy (12), pregnancy more than 6 times, having 4 or more female children and being forced to give birth to a son were reported to be related to violence (11). Among other factors contributing to violence against women are sexual dysfunction, history of psychiatric disorders and experience of violence in childhood (5,11). Domestic violence causes a turbulent relationship between husband and wife which may harm the family relationship and impair psychological health and marital satisfaction (13). Based on the family systems theory, family members can both influence each other and be affected by other members. Therefore, any problem related to a member causes a challenge and a change in the family system (14). Violence and abuse in families occur frequently with significant impact on children of all ages (15). Studies have Abstract Objectives: The domestic violence rate is increasing. It is influenced by many factors. The present study aimed to determine the domestic violence level among Iranian women in Bandar Abbas in 2015. Materials and Methods: The present study is an analytical cross-sectional research based on non-random sampling. The study was performed on 400 women who referred to the health centers in Bandar Abbas, from January to the end of September 2015. The study data were collected using demographic, obstetric and domestic violence questionnaires and were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Results: The total degree of domestic violence was 54%. The most prevalent physical, psychological and sexual violence were shouting and swearing (41.4%) followed by request to have intercourse without your consent (30.8%) and slapping (25.7%). A significant relationship was observed between domestic violence and husband’s age, marital duration, the wife’s independent income as well as the family’s income, wife’s educational degree and wife’s job, husband’s addiction, marital satisfaction, a record of criminal conviction, and experience of violence in childhood (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The most frequent type of violence against women was psychological violence in Bandar Abbas. Therefore, screening is recommended for women to improve their health condition.