A study of intimate partner violence among females attending a Teaching Hospital out-patient department

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is considered a public health problem with physical and psychological consequences. Aims To describe the prevalence of IPV among married females attending the out-patient department of North Colombo Teaching Hospital and their attitude towards abuse. Methods A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire on physical, verbal, sexual and emotional abuse was given to the first 50 consenting married females attending the out-patient department on each day for five consecutive days. Confidentiality of responses was assured and adequate privacy was provided for the questionnaires to be completed. Results Of the 242 participants 98(40.5%) reported some form of abuse by their male partner. Prevalence of abuse reported was physical abuse 19%, verbal abuse 23%, emotional abuse 23% and sexual abuse 7%. A quarter (26.9%) of those inflicted physical violence sought medical treatment for the injuries but only two of them divulged the reason for the injury to medical staff. More than three quarters (79%) of those abused were in the relationship for more than ten years. The majority of the females surveyed believed that violence by the male partner should be tolerated. Conclusions IPV is a common problem that is poorly divulged to medical personnel. Attitudes regarding IPV have to be changed in order to reduce abuse significantly. DOI: 10.4038/sljpsyc.v1i2.2577 SL J Psychiatry 2010; 1 (2):60-63