Domestic Violence Among Married Women Attending Belefia Hospital in Beni Suef Governorate, Egypt

Abstract

Domestic Violence against women is a global issue reaching across national boundaries as well as socio-economic, cultural, racial and class distinctions. Not only is the problem widely dispersed geographically, but its incidence is also extensive, making it a typical and accepted behavior. Only recently, within the past twenty-five years, the issue has been brought into the open as a field of concern and study. International and Egyptian researchers alike have confirmed that violence against women is both varied and widespread in Egypt. According to the 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), forty seven percent of ever-married women reported ever having experienced physical violence since the age of 15. In this study the percentage of women who had experienced any form of violence was 72.6%. Control violence was the most prominent type of violence( 71.8%) while the percentage of threatening and physical violence was 39.55 % and 39.05% respectively. A descriptive cross sectional study started in May 2012 till September 2012 and was conducted among the study group using an interview questionnaire that included questions on different aspects of domestic violence which was modified and used to measure the prevalence of domestic violence experienced in their past year of marriage. In Egyptian society, cultural and religious norms support a husband’s right to practice sexual relation with his wife regardless of her feelings, therefore many women do not consider having sex against their will as abuse. In this study only 2% of the study group was sexually abused frequently. Some people believe domestic violence occurs because the victim provokes the abuser to violent action, while others believe the abuser simply has a problem managing anger. In fact, the roots of domestic violence can be attributed to a variety of cultural, social, economic, and psychological factors. The most independent factors leading to experiencing different forms of violence in this study were low socioeconomic status, young age of wife, high age difference between the couple (more than five years),drug addiction, also illiterate housewives whose husbands were smokers skilled workers and living in rural areas. Domestic violence by intimate male partners has both physical and mental health consequences. In the current study, women who were exposed to domestic violence had suffered from contusions (13.4%), cut wounds (0.7%), fractured bones (1.5%), nasal bleeding (1.99%), and hospital entry (0.5%). 1.7% had abortion and 0.7% of the study group had fetal death. The costs of domestic violence fall into several distinct categories which together contribute to the total cost. So multisectorial action plans that include coordinated community response at the national &local levels can help preventing this problem.