Prevalence and Factors Associated With Intimate Partner Violence Among Women in Haiti: Understanding Household,Individual,Partner,and Relationship Characteristics

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue with detrimental consequences for women’s reproductive, mental, and physical health. In Haiti, IPV is a major obstacle to women’s development. Yet, the determinants of IPV victimization are still not well understood. In this study, we utilized the 2016–2017 Haiti Demographic and Health Survey to determine the prevalence of IPV victimization and its subtypes (emotional, physical, and sexual abuse) among married or cohabiting women (N = 3,805) of reproductive age (15–49) by their current husband/partner. Logistic regression was conducted to explore the association between IPV and household, individual, husband/partner, and relationship characteristics. The prevalence of IPV victimization was 32.5% with the majority reporting emotional (24.7%) followed by physical (16.8%) and sexual (10.5%) violence. Increased odds of IPV victimization were found among women with children in the household (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.03, 2.02]), with attitudinal acceptance of wife-beating (AOR = 1.45, 95% CI = [1.05, 2.02]), and those who witnessed their father beating their mother (AOR = 1.49, 95% CI = [1.18, 2.67]). Higher odds of reporting IPV victimization were also found among women whose partner drank alcohol (AOR = 2.89, 95% CI = [2.29, 3.65]), who were in a polygynous relationship (AOR = 1.76, 95% CI = [1.23, 2.40]), and displayed one or more controlling behaviors (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI = [1.42, 2.59]). Women who reported being afraid of their partner had greater odds of IPV victimization (AOR = 16.22, 95% CI = [8.38, 31.39]). Decreased odds of reporting IPV were associated with women living in rural areas (AOR = 0.73, 95% CI = [0.53, 1.00]) and those unmarried, but living with their partner (AOR = 0.62, 95% CI = [0.43, 0.90]). Our findings identify subgroups of women in Haiti that may be vulnerable to IPV victimization. Thus, we recommend a differentiated approach to IPV prevention strategies and interventions that consider women’s family structure in the household as well as individual, partner, and relationship characteristics.

Keywords

domestic violence and cultural contexts domestic violence predicting domestic violence sexual assault alcohol and drugs adult victims anything related to domestic violence intimate partner violence Haiti

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ali

P. A.

Naylor

P. B.

(2013). Intimate partner violence: A narrative review of the feminist, social and ecological explanations for its causation. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18(6), 611–619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2013.07.009

Allen

Straus

(1975). Resources, power, and husband–wife violence. National Council on Family Relations, 12, 1–29.

Benebo

F. O.

Schumann

Vaezghasemi

(2018). Intimate partner violence against women in Nigeria: A multilevel study investigating the effect of women’s status and community norms. BMC Women’s Health, 18(1), Article 136. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-018-0628-7

Bermudez

L. G.

Stark

Bennouna

Jensen

Potts

Kaloga

I. F.

… Williams

M. L.

(2019). Converging drivers of interpersonal violence: Findings from a qualitative study in post-hurricane Haiti. Child Abuse & Neglect, 89, 178–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.01.003

Blot

Cayemittes

Charles

Rousseau

J. H.

Sévère

Barrère

… Jean

(2018). Enquête mortalité, morbidité et utilisation des services (EMMUS-VI 2016-2017) [Haiti Demographic Health Survey Report 2016-2017: Mortality, Morbidity and Service Utilization Survey, Haiti 2016-2017]. http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR326/FR326.pdf

Bott

Guedes

Goodwin

Mendoza

J. A.

(2012). Violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean: A comparative analysis of population-based data from 12 countries. Pan American Health Organization.

Capaldi

D. M.

Knoble

N. B.

Shortt

J. W.

Kim

H. K.

(2012). A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse, 3(2), 231–280. https://doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.3.2.231

Cayemittes

Busangu

M. F.

de Dieu Bizimana

Barrère

Sévère

Cayemittes

Charles

(2013). Enquête mortalité, morbidité et utilisation des services, Haïti, 2012 [Haiti Demographic Health Survey 2012: Mortality, Morbidity, and Service Utilization Survey, Haiti, 2012]. http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR273/FR273.pdf

Chai

Fink

Kaaya

Danaei

Fawzi

Ezzati

… Fawzi

M. C. S.

(2016). Association between intimate partner violence and poor child growth: Results from 42 demographic and health surveys. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 94(5), 331–339. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4850526/pdf/BLT.15.152462.pdf

10.

Chambliss

L. R.

(2008). Intimate partner violence and its implication for pregnancy. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 51(2), 385–397. https://doi.org/10.1097/GRF.0b013e31816f29ce

11.

Conserve

D. F.

Whembolua

G. L.

Surkan

P. J.

(2016). Attitudes toward intimate partner violence and associations with condom use among men in Haiti: An analysis of the nationally representative demographic health survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(6), 989–1006. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514564065

12.

Copp

J. E.

Giordano

P. C.

Longmore

M. A.

Manning

W. D.

(2019). The development of attitudes toward intimate partner violence: An examination of key correlates among a sample of young adults. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(7), 1357–1387. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260516651311

13.

Dardis

C. M.

Dixon

K. J.

Edwards

K. M.

Turchik

J. A.

(2015). An examination of the factors related to dating violence perpetration among young men and women and associated theoretical explanations: A review of the literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 16(2), 136–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838013517559

14.

Dobash

R. E.

Dobash

R. P.

(1979). Violence against wives: A case against the patriarchy. Free Press.

15.

Edwards

K. M.

(2015). Intimate partner violence and the rural–urban–suburban divide: Myth or reality? A critical review of the literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 16(3), 359–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838014557289

16.

Ellsberg

Arango

D. J.

Morton

Gennari

Kiplesund

Contreras

Watts

(2015). Prevention of violence against women and girls: What does the evidence say? The Lancet, 385(9977), 1555–1566. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(14)61703-7

17.

Flake

D. F.

Forste

(2006). Fighting families: Family characteristics associated with domestic violence in five Latin American countries. Journal of Family Violence, 21(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-005-9002-2

18.

Flanzer

(2005). The status of health services research on adjudicated drug-abusing juveniles: Selected findings and remaining questions. Substance Use & Misuse, 40(7), 887–911. https://doi.org/10.1081/JA-200058862

19.

Gage

A. J.

(2005). Women’s experience of intimate partner violence in Haiti. Social Science & Medicine, 61(2), 343–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.11.078

20.

Gage

A. J.

Hutchinson

P. L.

(2006). Power, control, and intimate partner sexual violence in Haiti. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35(1), 11–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-006-8991-0

21.

Garcia-Moreno

Zimmerman

Morris-Gehring

Heise

Amin

Abrahams

… Watts

(2015). Addressing violence against women: A call to action. The Lancet, 385(9978), 1685–1695. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(14)61830-4

22.

Gautam

Jeong

H. S.

(2019). Intimate partner violence in relation to husband characteristics and women empowerment: Evidence from Nepal. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(5), 709–730. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16050709

23.

Gibson

Callands

T. A.

Magriples

Divney

Kershaw

(2015). Intimate partner violence, power, and equity among adolescent parents: Relation to child outcomes and parenting. Maternal and Child Health, 19(1), 188–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1509-9

24.

Heise

L. L.

(1998). Violence against women: An integrated, ecological framework. Violence Against Women, 4(3), 262–290. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801298004003002

25.

IBM Corporation. (2017). IBM SPSS statistics for Windows (Version 24.0).

26.

Kimuna

S. R.

Djamba

Y. K.

(2008). Gender based violence: Correlates of physical and sexual wife abuse in Kenya. Journal of Family Violence, 23(5), 333–342.

27.

Lichter

E. L.

McCloskey

L. A.

(2004). The effects of childhood exposure to marital violence on adolescent gender-role beliefs and dating violence. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28(4), 344–357. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00151.x

28.

McCloskey

L. A.

Williams

Larsen

(2005). Gender inequality and intimate partner violence among women in Moshi, Tanzania. International Family Planning Perspectives, 31(3), 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1363/3112405

29.

Miller

Jordan

Levenson

Silverman

J. G.

(2010). Reproductive coercion: Connecting the dots between partner violence and unintended pregnancy. Contraception, 81(6), 457–459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2010.02.023

30.

Miller

Silverman

J. G.

(2010). Reproductive coercion and partner violence: Implications for clinical assessment of unintended pregnancy. Expert Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 5(5), 511–515.

31.

Priestley

(2014). The prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence in Jamaica. Social and Economic Studies, 63(1), 153–196. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24384102

32.

Renner

L. M.

Slack

K. S.

(2006). Intimate partner violence and child maltreatment: Understanding intra- and intergenerational connections. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(6), 599–617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.12.005

33.

Rutstein

S. O.

Johnson

(2004). The DHS Wealth Index. ORC Macro.

34.

United Nations Development Programme. (2018). Human development indices and indicators: 2018 statistical update.

35.

United Nations General Assembly. (1993, December 20). Declaration on the elimination of violence against women [Conference session]. Proceedings of the 85th Plenary Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland.

36.

Wathen

C. N.

Macmillan

H. L.

(2013). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence: Impacts and interventions. Paediatrics & Child Health, 18(8), 419–422.

37.

World Health Organization. (2001). Putting women first: Ethical and safety recommendations for research on domestic violence against women.

38.

World Health Organization. (2017). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women