title: Collecting reliable information about violence against women safely in household interviews: experience from a large-scale national survey in South Asia.
abstract: This article describes the first national survey of violence against women in Pakistan from 2001 to 2004 covering 23,430 women. The survey took account of methodological and ethical recommendations, ensuring privacy of interviews through one person interviewing the mother-in-law while another interviewed the eligible woman privately. The training module for interviewers focused on empathy with respondents, notably increasing disclosure rates. Only 3% of women declined to participate, and 1% were not permitted to participate. Among women who disclosed physical violence, only one third had previously told anyone. Surveys of violence against women in Pakistan not using methods to minimize underreporting could seriously underestimate prevalence.
authors.affiliation: CIET Mexico.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cockcroft
authors.forename: Noor
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ansari
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Omer
authors.forename: Ubaid Ullah
authors.initials: UU
authors.lastname: Chaudhry
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Luwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pearson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012945:Social Values; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult