Pattern of domestic violence among pregnant women in Jos, Nigeria

Background: Domestic violence is a global concern. Domestic violence refers to violence inflicted on a partner (mostly females) within the context of the family or an intimate relationship. It is known to be responsible for numerous hospital visits undertaken by women, although they mostly fail to complain of abuse. There is paucity of data on domestic violence mainly due to underreporting and lack of investigation. Methods: We set out to investigate the pattern of violence among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at ECWA Evangel Hospital, Jos, Nigeria. In all 215 women who were screened using the modified Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) survey instrument (developed by McFarlane) had experienced domestic violence. Results: Results showed verbal, physical, sexual and emotional violence at prevalence rates of 38.0%, 26.5%, 10.7% and 1.4%, respectively. A total of 14.0% had experienced a combination of physical and verbal abuse while 7.0% had experienced a combination of physical and sexual violence. Fulltime housewives and self-employed women were most abused, of which 82.7% had no definite timing pattern. Conclusion: The results suggest that the major forms of domestic violence are verbal, physical, sexual and emotional, and the violence has poor timing specificity.