NCJ Number
227196
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 15 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2009 Pages: 720-735
Date Published
June 2009
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined physical violence during pregnancy among women attending selected reproductive health clinics throughout Jordan.
Abstract
Results indicate that slightly more than one in seven (15.4 percent) women attending selected family planning clinics in Jordan reported having been physically abused during pregnancy. A majority of the cases of violence during pregnancy were perpetrated by the respondent's husband. In terms of risk and protective factors for violence, the protective effect of women's higher education was consistent with reviews of the literature. Characteristics that clearly increased the respondents' risk of reporting violence during pregnancy included a greater frequency of quarreling and the husband's use of alcohol, also consistent with previous literature. Overall, 73 percent of the respondents in this study could justify wife abuse under at least one circumstance. The research that has been conducted suggests that many women are at risk of experiencing domestic violence. Missing, however, was an examination of the prevalence of violence during pregnancy. This study sought to estimate the lifetime prevalence of physical violence during pregnancy and examined risk and protective factors among women attending reproductive health clinics in Jordan. Tables and references