Risk factors associated with and factors that influence intimate partner violence, a case study of South Africa

Abstract

This study aimed to identify factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) against women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in South Africa. We used the dataset from 2016 South Africa Demographics and Health Survey. The survey logistic regression, which is an integral part of the GLM family, was used. In this study, it was found that risk factors that influence IPV are: partner’s age, marital status, region, woman’s age, media exposure, size of the family, sex of the household head, wealth index, pregnancy termination status, contraceptive use, body mass index, cohabitation duration, partner’s desire for children, woman’s employment status, woman’s earnings compared to partner’s earnings, knowledge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), wife-beating attitude, partner’s alcohol drinking status, and whether the woman’s father ever beat her mother. The findings of the risk factors in the current scientific setting can aid public health workers and institutions responsible for gender monitoring to design effective strategies to reduce the intimate partner violence levels directed against women.

Keywords

• intimate partner violence
• south africa
• women
• survey logistic regression