Contextual determinants of intimate partner violence: a multi-level analysis in six European cities

Objectives To assess whether city-level characteristics influence the risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization across six European cities. Methods The DOVE study included 3496 participants from Athens–Greece, Budapest–Hungary, London–UK, Östersund–Sweden, Porto–Portugal and Stuttgart–Germany. IPV victimization was assessed using the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales, and several contextual variables were included: GINI coefficient, gender equality index, an index of social support, unemployment rate and proportion of residents with tertiary education. Multilevel models were fitted to estimate the associations (odds ratio, 95% confidence intervals) between each type of victimization and contextual and individual-level variables. Results 62.3% of the participants reported being a victim of IPV during the previous year, with large between-city differences (53.9%–72.4%). Contextual variables accounted for a substantial amount of this heterogeneity. Unemployment rates were associated with psychological (1.05, 1.01–1.08) and physical IPV (1.07, 1.01–1.13). GINI coefficient showed a positive association with any form of IPV (1.06, 1.01–1.11) and sexual coercion (1.13, 1.01–1.25). Conclusions We found significant associations between contextual determinants and IPV, which emphasizes the importance of considering contextual socioeconomic conditions when policy measures are designed to address IPV.