Domestic Violence and its Determinants: A cross-sectional study among women in a slum of Kolkata

Background: Violence against women is one of the major public health and human rights issue in the world today which is prevalent in all human societies irrespective of religion, socioeconomic status, and culture. Therefore, recognized as a significant barrier to women empowerment and their health. Aims & Objectives: The aim of this study was to find out the extent of different type of domestic violence and to identify various risk factors for domestic violence against married women. Material & Methods: The present study is a community based cross-sectional study carried out in a slum of Kolkata. Simple random sampling technique was used for the selection of the samples. The study participants were interviewed using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Result: 97 married women participated in the study. 32.9% of the study population reported some form of domestic violence. In a logistic regression analysis, significant association was found between domestic violence and alcohol abuse by the spouse, level of education of the spouse, per capita income and occupation of the women. Conclusion: This study confirms, high prevalence of all forms of violence against women, which underscores the need for policy makers to increase their recognition of domestic violence as a critical target in public health concerns