title: Physically and sexually violent experiences of reproductive-aged women displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Measure the frequency of physical and sexual abuse in a sample of reproductive aged women displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and compare those experiences to the year before Hurricane Katrina.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-six English-speaking women aged 18-49 years residing in Louisiana Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) housing were screened for physical and sexual abuse seven to nine months after Hurricane Katrina, using modified 30x7 cluster sampling methodology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three percent (95% confidence interval [CI], 14, 34%) of women reported being hit or verbally threatened since Hurricane Katrina. Abuse had increased for 33% (95% CI, 13, 63%) and decreased for 13% (95% CI, 4, 37%) of women. Twenty percent (95% CI, 6, 51%) of abused women were with a new partner, while 13% (95% CI, 4, 39%) reported new abuse with the same partner. Four women reported sexual abuse since Hurricane Katrina. Compared to before the storm, the frequency of sexual abuse was the same for two women, and one reported new abuse with the same partner.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physical abuse was not uncommon among displaced women following Hurricane Katrina. Increasing and new abuse were the most commonly reported experiences. Violence against women should not be overlooked as a continued, and perhaps escalating, occurrence requiring attention following displacement after disasters of such magnitude as Hurricane Katrina.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Carla W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Picardo
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Naponick
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana; D008875:Middle Aged; D012742:Sex Offenses; D012747:Sexual Partners; D014754:Violence