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Factors affecting domestic violence in women during their pregnancies in northeast India.

Sharatchandra Haobijam, Manipur University
Kshetrimayum Anand Singh, Manipur University

An intimate partner's violence against a woman is a major public health and human rights issue. In India, the prevalence of violence against pregnant women is 3.9%, rural areas with 4.1%, and urban women with 3.4%. The present study considers ever-married women who have experienced violence during pregnancy. This study aims to determine the prevalence and the associated factors of domestic violence against pregnant women in North-East India. The North-eastern region of India, Manipur and Sikkim, has the highest and the least prevalence of domestic violence in the whole country. About 2% of women experienced domestic violence during any pregnancy in the region. During any pregnancy, the main perpetrators of violence are the husbands, i.e., (74.1%), and former husband or partner, i.e., 10.5%. The main risk factors for abuse during pregnancy were alcohol use by the husband and the low-income group. A logistic regression analysis using the significant covariates in the bivariate analysis computes the relative risks of categorical variables via the odds ratios. In urban areas, women experienced more violence than rural women. Women who were divorced and no longer lived with their husbands in North-Eastern India experienced more abuse during pregnancy than women still living with their husbands.

Keywords: Gender, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P21.