title: The prevalence and psychological costs of household violence by family members against women with disabilities in Cambodia.
abstract: Women with disabilities (WWDs) are at triple jeopardy due to the combined risks associated with gender, disability, and violence. Not only are WWDs marginalized socially but the violence against them in their own homes is largely neglected in domestic violence research. Evidence from developing countries is particularly sparse. A cross-sectional survey conducted in Cambodia found rates of violence by household members besides intimate partners were significantly higher among WWDs than non-disabled women. This violence engendered increased levels of psychological distress and higher rates of physical injury but low rates of disclosure to health workers and other formal sources of potential support. Community-based strategies are recommended to radically change social and cultural attitudes, beliefs, and responses to WWDs who are victims of household violence to reduce negative social reactions toward them and to make it safer for them to disclose and receive psychosocial, legal, and other necessary support for this underreported type of violence.
authors.affiliation: Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia jill.astbury@vu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Astbury
authors.affiliation: University of Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.
authors.forename: Fareen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Walji
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002160:Cambodia; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cultural contexts; domestic violence; predictors of household violence; vulnerability to abuse; women with disabilities