Prevalence and frequency of intimate partner violence among married women in Multan, southern Punjab, Pakistan

Background: This study were to estimate the prevalence and frequency of physical, psychological and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) among married women living in the district Multan, a city of Southern Punjab, Pakistan.Study setting: This study was conducted in the community of Multan, a district of Southern Punjab, Pakistan.Study design: Analytical cross sectional study design.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\u27s Health and Life Experiences of Violence against Women. A uni variate and multi variate analyses were recorded.Results: The study found that out of all the types of violence, the most reported form of violence was physical (62.93%), followed by psychological (44%), and sexual (24.35%) violence. Out of all the forms of physical violence, the most common type of physical violence reported by women (56.8%)was slapping. While the most frequent form of psychological violence was the insult(62.4%) by the husbands. With respect to sexual violence, the majority of the women (41.3%) reported that they were forced to have sexual contact with their husbands. Intimate partner violence (IPV) incidences among married women were reported to have occurred on three occasions during their life time i.e., last year, last month and last week.Conclusions: This study concluded that intimate partner violence against women is a global challenge with several forms of violence. In a country, like Pakistan differential power in relationship, IPV accepted as a cultural norm and women living in the context of Punjab, are subjected to it routinely, on a daily basis. It is recommended that legal action against IPV should be strengthened and strictly implemented to prevent infringement of women rights