Strategies and help-seeking behavior among Mexican women experiencing partner violence

Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Latin America: A Systematic Review

Attitudes toward intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) are being increasingly recognized as a central issue for comprehensively understanding this complex phenomenon. While IPVAW remains widespread in Latin America, knowledge about it and research on attitudes toward IPVAW are limited. This systematic review synthesized quantitative peer-reviewed studies that address attitudes toward IPVAW in Latin America. The review was conducted between April 2020 and July 2022 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses recommendations using the Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO databases. In total, 52 of the 149 eligible articles were selected based on the inclusion criteria. Four sets of attitudes toward IPVAW were identified: legitimacy, acceptability, attitudes toward the intervention, and perceived severity. Attitude correlates were the most common research topic in more than half of the studies but were generally focused on a single country. Among the few multi-country studies, the sample of Latin American countries was small. The remaining studies were divided into three research themes: attitude as a predictor, interventions for attitude change, and scale validation. Our study aims to motivate future research on the identified knowledge gaps and may be useful for the implementation of appropriate prevention policies and intervention programs to counter IPVAW on a regional scale.

A Systematic Review of Barriers to Formal Supports for Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence in Spanish-Speaking Countries in Latin America

Women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in Latin America (LA)'s Spanish-speaking countries have demonstrated great need for formal services, including medical, legal, and mental health supports. However, women's rates of formal help-seeking for IPV in the Americas remain extremely low. A systematic literature review was conducted to understand barriers to women's help-seeking for IPV in LA's Spanish-speaking countries. Five electronic databases were searched with search terms in English and Spanish related to IPV, help-seeking, and barriers. Articles were included in the review if they were published in peer-reviewed journals; original empirical research; published in English or Spanish; and had participants who were women exposed to IPV or service providers who worked with IPV-exposed women; and were conducted in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. 19 manuscripts were synthesized. Inductive thematic analysis of barriers to formal help-seeking for IPV identified in the articles resulted in five key themes: intrapersonal barriers, interpersonal barriers, organization-specific barriers, systemic barriers, and cultural barriers. Findings demonstrate the need to consider culture as a driving force in why women face extensive barriers to help-seeking across the social ecology. Suggestions for interventions at each level of the social ecology to better support women exposed to IPV in LA's Spanish-speaking countries are discussed.

Examining the Supports and Advice That Women With Intimate Partner Violence Experience Received in Online Health Communities: Text Mining Approach

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an underreported public health crisis primarily affecting women associated with severe health conditions and can lead to a high rate of homicide. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, more women with IPV experiences visited online health communities (OHCs) to seek help because of anonymity. However, little is known regarding whether their help requests were answered and whether the information provided was delivered in an appropriate manner. To understand the help-seeking information sought and given in OHCs, extraction of postings and linguistic features could be helpful to develop automated models to improve future help-seeking experiences.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to examine the types and patterns (ie, communication styles) of the advice offered by OHC members and whether the information received from women matched their expressed needs in their initial postings.

METHODS

We examined data from Reddit using data from subreddit community r/domesticviolence posts from November 14, 2020, through November 14, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. We included posts from women aged ≥18 years who self-identified or described experiencing IPV and requested advice or help in this subreddit community. Posts from nonabused women and women aged <18 years, non-English posts, good news announcements, gratitude posts without any advice seeking, and posts related to advertisements were excluded. We developed a codebook and annotated the postings in an iterative manner. Initial posts were also quantified using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to categorize linguistic and posting features. Postings were then classified into 2 categories (ie, matched needs and unmatched needs) according to the types of help sought and received in OHCs to capture the help-seeking result. Nonparametric statistical analysis (ie, 2-tailed t test or Mann-Whitney U test) was used to compare the linguistic and posting features between matched and unmatched needs.

RESULTS

Overall, 250 postings were included, and 200 (80%) posting response comments matched with the type of help requested in initial postings, with legal advice and IPV knowledge achieving the highest matching rate. Overall, 17 linguistic or posting features were found to be significantly different between the 2 groups (ie, matched help and unmatched help). Positive title sentiment and linguistic features in postings containing health and wellness wordings were associated with unmatched needs postings, whereas the other 14 features were associated with postings with matched needs.

CONCLUSIONS

OHCs can extract the linguistic and posting features to understand the help-seeking result among women with IPV experiences. Features identified in this corpus reflected the differences found between the 2 groups. This is the first study that leveraged Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to shed light on generating predictive features from unstructured text in OHCs, which could guide future algorithm development to detect help-seeking results within OHCs effectively.

Predictors of Discordance and Concordance in Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence From a Large Sample of Rural Ethiopian Couples

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major worldwide health challenge, and addressing this challenge requires high-quality data. This analysis uses a large-scale survey of 5033 households in rural Ethiopia in which both men and women were surveyed about past-year IPV in order to quantify the degree of discordance, including both husband only reporting and wife only reporting, for multiple forms of IPV (emotional, physical, and sexual). In addition, logistic regression is employed to analyze the effects of demographic characteristics and individual norms and behaviors on the probability of discordant reporting. The results suggest that almost half of households (44%) are characterized by discordant reporting in at least one dimension of IPV. Given the high level of discordance, 61.4% of households report any physical and/or sexual IPV using the household-level measure, compared to a rate of 41.9% from the women's data only. In addition, men who report more gender-equitable attitudes and behaviors (failing to concur with justifications for IPV, reporting higher support for gender equitable norms, and reporting a higher level of female engagement in decision-making and intrahousehold task-sharing) are more likely to be members of wife only reporting households: that is, they are less likely to report perpetration of IPV. Women who report more gender-equitable attitudes and behaviors, by contrast, are more likely to be members of husband only reporting households.

Measuring Perceived Severity of Intimate Partner Violence against Women (IPVAW) among the General Population and IPVAW Offenders

Public perceptions of the severity of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) incidents are an important factor that has been linked to key issues regarding this type of violence, such as acceptability or tolerance, personal sense of responsibility, attitudes toward intervention, and the public's, professionals', and victims' responses to IPVAW. The aim of the present study was to provide further validity evidence for the perceived severity of IPVAW scale (PS-IPVAW), by assessing its measurement invariance between gender and age groups, and between men from the general population and male IPVAW offenders. Item response theory was also used to assess the discrimination of the items and their position on the measured latent trait continuum (i.e., perceived severity of IPVAW). To this end, the psychometric properties of the scale were examined in four different samples from the general population (N = 2,627) and in one clinical sample of male IPVAW offenders (N = 200). Our findings showed that the PS-IPVAW scale has excellent internal consistency (α = .89-.90) and a clear one-factor latent structure (CFI = .91-.96, RMSEA = .055-.086), and that partial strict invariance holds across different gender and age groups. We also found that IPVAW offenders' perceptions of the severity of IPVAW may follow a different pattern to that of men from the general population. The PS-IPVAW scale is able to yield accurate assessments of the perceived severity of this type of violence among the general population and IPVAW offenders.

Intimate Partner Violence Dynamics and Help Seeking Among Mexican Women: Results From a 2016 National Household Survey

Using the recent 2016 National Survey on Household Dynamics (N = 98,768 heterosexual Mexican women currently married, cohabiting, separated, divorced, or dating with a noncohabiting partner), this study has three objectives: first, to assess the prevalence of different intimate partner violence (IPV) dynamics, including situational couple's violence (SCV), intimate terrorism (IT), and violent resistance (VR); second, to empirically operationalize VR; and, third, to study women's help-seeking behaviors in public institutions, whether these are associated with violent dynamics and the type of responses offered by public institutions. Descriptive and multivariate logistic analyses show that, in the year prior to the survey, 5.8% of women experienced SCV, 1.2% IT and 0.6% VR. SCV is the most prevalent, but separated and divorced women are involved in IT and VR to a greater extent. Only 8.3% of females involved in IPV sought formal help from public institutions. Help seeking from public institutions is contingent upon violent dynamics and sociodemographic characteristics. Law enforcement and public security institutions fail to accept all IPV complaints and investigate them (especially in the case of VR), perhaps because women who seek help do not meet the social representation of battered women. The need to educate civil servants and service providers on the different dynamics of IPV, and recommendations for guaranteeing women greater access to public institutions that might be instrumental in putting an end to the violence are discussed in the Mexican context.

Driving Factors and Actions Taken by Women to Confront Violence: Qualitative Research Based on Art

This qualitative study based on art aimed to analyze the critical path of women in coping with situations of violence in the city of Santa Maria/Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in these women's perspective. It has as settings the Women's Police Station (DEAM) and the institutional care service for women in situations of violence, named Casa Abrigo (Shelter House). The "talking map" creativity and sensitivity technique was used in conjunction with the in-depth interview to analyze the critical path of 12 women in situations of violence. The driving factors of the critical path of women in coping with situations of violence were related to their knowledge about the DEAM's assistance, their perceptions about the experience of different types of violence, the fact that they can no longer stand the violence and that they worry about their children, as well as the support of their family, of the ex-husband's or ex-partner's relatives, and of their female friends. The decisions executed and actions taken by the women included reporting the aggressor, requesting a restraining order, seeking help from the guardianship council and family members, getting back together with the aggressor, and leaving home. There is a need to strengthen the decision-making process of women in situations of violence to break the silence and the situation of violence. For this purpose, it is urgent to broaden the information for and knowledge of women about where and how to seek help, through access to clear and precise information in all places that compose the assistance network for these women.

Factors influencing help-seeking by those who have experienced intimate partner violence: Results from a New Zealand population-based study

Background

There is limited information about what influences help-seeking following experience of intimate partner violence (IPV). This study investigated determinants of formal and informal help-seeking by those who had experienced lifetime physical, sexual or psychological IPV.

Methods

A cross-sectional population-based New Zealand study conducted from 2017 to 2019 recruited 2,887 participants (1,464 women and 1,423 men) aged 16 years and older. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. Of these, 1,373 participants experienced physical, sexual or psychological IPV. Two series of logistic regressions were conducted: 1) comparing those who sought help with those who did not, and 2) comparing those who had not sought help with those who sought informal help only, or with those who also sought formal help.

Results

Of the 1,373 participants who reported experience of physical, sexual or psychological IPV 835 participants (71.3% of women and 49.0% of men) sought some form of help. In both genders self-reported physical and mental health or work-related IPV impacts were significantly associated with help-seeking. Experiencing only one form of IPV was associated with lower odds of seeking formal help by women (Adjusted odds ratio = 0.38; 95%CI = 0.15, 0.92 for physical/sexual only and AOR = 0.37, 95%CI = 0.22, 0.64 for psychological only) compared to those experiencing concurrent types of IPV.

Conclusion and implications

Although there were gender differences in help-seeking, for both women and men the experience of greater impacts associated with IPV exposure increased the likelihood of help-seeking. Agencies providing services for people who are experiencing IPV need to be equipped to identify and respond to multiple forms of IPV, and prepared to address the suite of impacts experienced.

An Estimation of the Effect of Women's Employment on the Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence in Mexico

Female labor force participation is important for women, children, and societies, but also may have unintended impacts including an increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV is a global health, human rights, and development problem with far-reaching economic and societal consequences. Mexico has a very high prevalence of IPV: 43.9% of Mexican women have reported experiencing IPV at the hands of their current partner. The literature on women's economic participation reveals mixed evidence on whether women's employment is associated with higher levels of IPV or whether it is protective against IPV. As the effect of women's work operates differently across contexts, we aim to estimate the effect of women's employment on their risk of experiencing IPV in rural and urban Mexico. Utilizing the nationally representative 2016 Mexican National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships (ENDIREH), we employ propensity score matching (PSM) to address the potential selection bias between women who are employed and/or receiving a cash transfer with women who are not. We additionally implement inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) to explore this relationship and compare the results with the PSM findings. Three different measures of women's economic participation are analyzed: whether they had engaged in any productive work outside of the home in the past year, whether they received conditional cash transfers through Mexico's Prospera program, and whether they received Prospera and worked. Given the high levels of IPV in Mexico and the greater levels of economic participation borne of an increased number of women in the workforce, our results have important potential implications for targeting support to survivors of violence who receive cash transfers and undertake employment in both urban and rural areas.

Intimate partner violence types and symptoms of common mental disorders in a rural community of Chiapas, Mexico: Implications for global mental-health practice

This paper examines the scope and characteristics of male-to-female intimate partner violence in southern rural Chiapas, Mexico, and its association with depression and anxiety symptoms, highlighting the role of partner controlling behaviors. Participants were selected by random sampling. One-hundred and forty-one women >15 years participated in the study. Data was obtained through an adapted version of the National Survey of the Dynamics of Household Relationships (ENDIREH) intimate partner violence scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depression symptoms and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 for anxiety symptoms. Quantitative results indicated a 66.4% lifetime prevalence of physical and/or sexual IPV among ever-partnered women 15 years or older (95% CI: 57.5-74.5%). Forty percent (95% CI: 32.0-49.7%) of them reported having experienced physical and/or sexual violence with high partner control (HC-IPV), and 25.8% (95% CI: 18.5-34.3%) reported having experienced physical and/or sexual violence with low or moderate partner control (MC-IPV). Lifetime experience of HC-IPV was significantly associated with moderate-severe depression symptoms (RR = 5.8) and suicidality (RR = 2.08). While partner alcohol abuse was associated with a 3.06 times higher risk of lifetime physical and/or sexual IPV, 30.9% of women mentioned that their partners were never drunk when violence occurred. Interestingly, high partner alcohol abuse was more frequent among women who reported HC-IPV compared to MC-IPV. Implications for global mental health practice are discussed.

Patterns of Surveillance, Control, and Abuse Among a Diverse Sample of Intimate Partner Abuse Survivors

Using a mixed-methods design, the present study examined intimate partner surveillance among a diverse sample of intimate partner abuse (IPA) survivors (n = 246), including women of Mexican (n = 83), Korean (n = 50), Vietnamese (n = 49), and European descent (n = 64). Most survivors (57%) described surveillance in either survey or interview; inductive thematic analysis revealed seven forms of surveillance. Finally, two-step cluster analysis identified two patterns of victimization most clearly differentiated by surveillance, but ethnic group differences in rates and patterns of abuse did not emerge. Implications for both clinicians and researchers are discussed.

Socioecological determinants of community resource utilisation among low-income women in Mexico City who experienced male-to-female intimate partner violence

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) face multiple barriers to seeking help from community resources, but little research has examined the impact of ecological influences on community resource utilisation among women living in low- and middle-income countries. The current study investigated individual-, relationship-, family-, and community-level influences on community resource utilisation among Mexican women experiencing IPV. Using baseline data from 950 women in Mexico City enrolled in a clinic-based randomised controlled trial, multilevel regressions were performed to assess associations between socioecological factors and women's community resource utilisation. 41.3% women used at least one resource. At the individual-level, every additional resource that women were aware of, was associated with a 20% increase in the total number of resources used (p < .001). Every additional lethal risk factor was associated with a 5% increase in the total number of resources used (p = .004). At the family-level, women who reported having an in-law encourage IPV used 46% more resources (p < .001). At the community-level, stronger supportive norms around community resource utilisation was associated with a 6% increase in the total number of resources (p = .01). These findings suggest the importance of addressing family and community factors in the broader ecological context of Mexican women's help-seeking behaviours.

Critical path of women in situation of violence: an integrative literature review

OBJECTIVE

To identify Brazilian and international scientific evidence on the critical path of women in situations of violence.

METHOD

Integrative literature review developed in four databases and two electronic portals, in January 2017. Twenty-one full articles in English, Portuguese or Spanish from original researches were included in the time cut from 1994 to 2016, and which presented critical path elements, even without using this concept.

RESULTS

The critical path of women in situations of violence is constituted of elements related to their perceptions, actions and previous experiences regarding availability and quality of services, social representations of public servers and community and the results obtained in the search for help.

CONCLUSION

Critical path elements are decisive for the women, and can promote, inhibit or delay the beginning of the route and consequently the end of situations of violence experienced by these women.

Mexican Immigrant Women's Reconstruction of Punishment and Victimhood in Intimate Partner Violence

Utilizing 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Mexican immigrant women in Southern California, we argue that participants employ a bifocal lens to develop perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV). By drawing on existing knowledge from Mexico as reference points, the findings show that participants construct law enforcement as the appropriate intervention in the United States. As a result, they construct new norms for victims on how to address IPV. Ultimately, this research suggests that perceptions of laws and law enforcement as change agents in ending IPV within the United States may create, in fact, a false sense of security in Mexican immigrant women.

Barriers to help-seeking for elder abuse: A qualitative study of older adults

The identification of barriers to older adults' help-seeking can help develop effective preventive and supportive strategies. The present descriptive qualitative study seeks to explore the barriers to help-seeking for elder abuse in Iran. Eighteen older adults with a history of abuse were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was performed concurrently with data collection using the conventional content analysis. The barriers to help-seeking for abuse were categorized into three main categories, namely personal attitude toward abuse, the inefficiency of support systems, and dependence on others. Training programs can help promote the knowledge of older adults and their families about abuse and facilitate its prevention. Policy-makers and executive managers can also use the findings of the present study to develop supportive strategies for older adults.

[Critical pathway of women facing violence: an integrative reviewLa ruta crítica que recorren las mujeres en situación de violencia: revisión integradora]

Objective

To identify the critical pathway taken by women facing domestic violence in the world in their search for help.

Method

An integrative review was performed. LILACS, MEDLINE/ PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched until year 2017. The following were inclusion criteria: full text available online, Portuguese, Spanish, or English as language of publication, focus on the theme of interest, and answering the guiding question (Which critical path is taken by women facing domestic violence?).

Results

Thirty-eight articles published from 2001 to 2017 were included. Factors driving the search for help included economic empowerment and increased schooling, severity of the violence, and presence of structured and qualified support services. Factors inhibiting the search for help were immigrant status, cultural gender norms, feelings of guilt, fear, and shame, lack of confidence and little knowledge and/or limited availability of formal support services. Children as well as family and community support may function as both inhibitors or drivers of the search for help. The types of formal help most often sought are police and health care services, whereas family, community, and religious leadership provide informal support.

Conclusion

The critical pathway of women facing domestic violence in the world includes both formal and informal elements. Therefore, it is necessary to address sociocultural, community, and family issues so as to encourage women to break free from the violent environment and seek qualified formal support networks.

Critical path of women in situations of intimate partner violence

Objective:

To know and analyze the critical path followed by women subjected to intimate partner violence until reaching a Reference Center of a Brazilian city, from the perspective of these women.

Method:

Qualitative research, based on the concept of critical path. Participant observations of the support group of the Reference Center and interviews with ten women in situations of violence who were followed up in this service.

Results:

the motivating factors for women to seek help were the increase in the severity of the aggressions, the impact of the violence on their children and support from their family. They go to several sectors and services before reaching the Reference Center, such as the police and legal counsel, health and social services. They find little effective responses from the services, and care is indicated as the most relevant response factor to face the situation.

Conclusion:

the assistance is fragmented and dependent on the posture of the professional. The Reference Center is recognized as an important place of support for women. In addition to governmental efforts to maintain the network structured, the permanent education of the working professionals is also fundamental.

"My Partner Will Change": Cognitive Distortion in Battered Women in Bolivia

This study examines the role of cognitive distortion in women's decision to stay with or leave their violent partner in a sample of Bolivian women. Our study is based on a consistency model: Cognitive distortion is assumed to play an important role in maintaining cognitive consistency under threatening conditions. Eighty victims of partner violence aged 18 to 62 years who sought help in a legal institution were longitudinally assessed three times over a time period of 6 months. Measures were taken from previous studies and culturally adapted through qualitative interviews. Nearly half of the participants decreased their intention to leave the violent partner in the time span of 1 month between the first and second interview. Women who had decreased their leaving intention had concurrently increased their cognitive distortion: They blamed their partner less, were more convinced that they could stop the violence themselves, and were more likely to believe that their partner would change. Cognitive distortion was not observed among women who remained stable in their intention to leave. Women whose intention of leaving decreased and who displayed more cognitive distortion after 1 month were more likely to live with the violent partner 6 months later than women whose leaving intention remained stable or increased. Socio-demographic variables were not related to cognitive distortion or stay-leave decisions in this study. We conclude that cognitive distortion plays a role for women's decision to stay, enhancing their risk of re-victimization.

Women's Decisions to Stay in or Leave an Abusive Relationship: Results From a Longitudinal Study in Bolivia

This study examined Bolivian women's decisions to stay with or leave their violent partners. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used as the theoretical framework. One hundred thirty-four women were assessed 3 times over 6 months. The TPB constructs were measured at T1 and T2; relationship status was assessed at T3. At T2, attitudes about staying and leaving predicted the intention to leave. Intention to leave at T2 but not at T1 predicted relationship status at T3. These results suggest that the decision to leave was consolidated between T1 and T2, and attitudes toward staying were most relevant to this decision.

Prevalence and predictors of help-seeking for women exposed to spousal violence in India - a cross-sectional study

Background

Spousal violence against women is prevalent in India (29%). Studies from various countries have shown that few women exposed to intimate partner violence or spousal violence seek help, especially in low-income countries. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and predictors of help-seeking among women in India who have experienced various types of spousal violence.

Methods

Cross-sectional data on 19,125 married, separated, divorced or widowed women in India who had experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of their husbands were obtained from the India National Family Health Survey III 2005–2006. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out.

Results

Less than one fourth (23.7%) of married, separated, divorced or widowed women in India who had experienced some form of physical or sexual spousal violence had sought help, but only 1% had sought help from formal institutions. Help-seeking was most prevalent in women who had been exposed to a combination of physical, sexual and emotional abuse (48.8%) and the least prevalent in women who had experienced sexual violence only (1.5%). Experience of severe violence and violence resulting in injury were the strongest predictors of help-seeking. Having education, being Christian or an acknowledged adherent of another minority religion - mainly Buddhism and Sikhism (Islam not included), getting married after the age of 21 and living in the South region were also associated with seeking help. Women in the North and Northeast regions were less likely to seek help, as were women with children and women who thought that a husband could be justified in hitting his wife.

Conclusions

Very few Indian women who experience spousal violence seek help. The characteristics of the violence are the strongest predictors of help-seeking, but sociodemographic factors are also influential. We recommend efforts to ensure educational attainment for girls, prevention of child marriages, and that police officers and health care staff should be educated about intimate partner violence and in how to respond to women who seek help. It is important to tackle norms and attitudes surrounding violence against women, as well as attitudes to women who disclose violence.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12905-017-0453-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Clouding the Judgment of Domestic Violence Law: Victim Blaming by Institutional Stakeholders in Cambodia

This article examines victims' purported complicity in the judicial failures of domestic violence law to protect them in Cambodia. It is based on 3 years (2012-2014) of research in Siem Reap and Pursat Provinces on the everyday politics of the 2005 "Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of the Victims" (DV Law). The project questioned why investments in DV Law are faltering and took a multi-stakeholder approach to do so. In addition to 40 interviews with female domestic violence victims, the research included 50 interviews with legal and health professionals, NGO workers, low- and high-ranking police officers, religious figures, and local government authority leaders who each have an occupational investment in the implementation and enforcement of DV Law. Forming the backbone of the article, the findings from this latter sample reveal how women are construed not only as barriers "clouding the judgment of law" but also as actors denying the agency of institutional stakeholders (and law itself) to bring perpetrators to account. The findings suggest that DV Law has the potential to entrench, rather than diminish, an environment of victim blaming. In turn, the article signals the importance of research on, and better professional support of, intermediaries who (discursively) administrate the relationship between DV Law and the victims/citizens it seeks to protect.

Prevention of domestic violence against women and children in low-income and middle-income countries

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Violence against women and children is increasingly recognized as an important and urgent public health, social and human rights issue cutting across geographical, socioeconomic and cultural boundaries. There is a large and growing body of literature that demonstrates the negative impact of such violence on the victim's mental and physical health, as well as several other consequences on them, their families and communities. However, this literature for the most part comes from the so-called 'developed countries'. This review, at the opposite, focused on current literature on prevention of domestic/family violence against children and women in low and middle income countries (LMICs).

RECENT FINDINGS

Establishing effective prevention programmes for domestic violence against women and children in LMICs requires an understanding of the sociopolitical, economic and cultural settings and a multilevel collaboration among various stakeholders.

SUMMARY

This review confirms the lack of research in the so-called 'developing countries' and provides suggestions for further research and prevention efforts in this setting.

Latina immigrants, interpersonal violence, and the decision to report to police

Interpersonal violence (IPV) occurs across all ethnic and racial groups and affects women of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. Battered women of Latin American descent are less likely to seek help from either formal or informal sources and these women are more likely to stay longer in an abusive relationship before seeking help. To contribute to the growing body of literature on IPV, this research will examine particular situational and individual-specific characteristics of IPV incidents experienced by Latina immigrant women living in a metropolitan area in the Southern United States. Based on a sample of 568 immigrant Latina women collected over a 6-year period, this research explains whether particular situational and individual-specific characteristics of IPV incidents affect the decisions of Latina victims to report to the police.

[Effective coverage to manage domestic violence against women in Mexican municipalities: limits of metrics]

The study estimated the effective coverage of health services in primary care for the management of domestic violence against women in three municipalities in Mexico. We estimated the prevalence and severity of violence using a validated scale, and the effective coverage proposed by Shengelia and partners with any modifications. Quality care was considered when there was a suggestion to report it to authorities. The use and quality of care was low in the three municipalities analyzed, used most frequently when there was sexual or physical violence. Effective coverage was 29.41%, 16.67% and zero in Guachochi, Jojutla and Tizimín, respectively. The effective coverage indicator had difficulties in measuring events and responses that were not based on biomedical models. Findings suggest that the indicator can be improved by incorporating other dimensions of quality.