The Global Problem of Intimate Partner Violence

The sequelae of intimate partner violence are well known; however, most studies have been clinic-based and conducted in developed countries. In a population-based study of 24,000 women (age range, 15–49) spanning urban and rural locations in 10 countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, and Tanzania), investigators documented the incidence of intimate partner violence and its physical and psychological outcomes. Trained women conducted in-depth interviews in participants’ native languages.

The prevalence of reported intimate partner violence ranged from 15% to 71% for ever-partnered women; among physically abused women, 19% to 55% stated that they had been injured. Women who reporte…