title: Domestic violence in rural Uganda: evidence from a community-based study.
abstract: Although domestic violence is an increasing public health concern in developing countries, evidence from representative, community-based studies is limited. In a survey of 5109 women of reproductive age in the Rakai District of Uganda, 30% of women had experienced physical threats or physical abuse from their current partner--20% during the year before the survey. Three of five women who reported recent physical threats or abuse reported three or more specific acts of violence during the preceding year, and just under a half reported injuries as a result. Analysis of risk factors highlights the pivotal roles of the male partner's alcohol consumption and his perceived human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk in increasing the risk of male against female domestic violence. Most respondents--70% of men and 90% of women--viewed beating of the wife or female partner as justifiable in some circumstances, posing a central challenge to preventing violence in such settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. mkoenig@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Koenig
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lutalo
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nalugoda
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wabwire-Mangen
authors.forename: Noah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kiwanuka
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wagman
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Serwadda
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wawer
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gray
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology