Married Women's Risk of STIs in Developing Countries: The Role of Intimate Partner Violence and Partner's Infection Status

• NCJ Number: 240377
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 18 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2012 Pages: 829-853
• Author(s): Sunita Kishor
• Date Published: July 2012
• Length: 25 pages
• Grant Number(s): GPO-C-00-08-00008-00
• Sponsoring Agency: US Agency for International Development
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Data for nationally representative samples of cohabiting couples in six developing countries show that intimate partner violence (IPV) increases the risk of self-reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for currently married women (ORs = 1.4-2.2) in all six countries, and that the strength of this relationship is not diminished by controls for proximate determinants such as husband's self-reported STI status and men's and women's higher-risk behaviors.

Abstract

Data for nationally representative samples of cohabiting couples in six developing countries show that intimate partner violence (IPV) increases the risk of self-reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for currently married women (ORs = 1.4-2.2) in all six countries, and that the strength of this relationship is not diminished by controls for proximate determinants such as husband's self-reported STI status and men's and women's higher-risk behaviors. The robustness of the IPV-STI relationship suggests the need to acknowledge IPV as an STI risk factor for women on par with other recognized risk factors such as multiple sexual partners and unprotected sexual intercourse. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.