Original Research Article
Psychological violence, a commonly missed form of intimate partner violence: Our experience at a tertiary health care facility in South East Nigeria
Uro-Chukwu, H.C1,3,4 and Anyanwu, U.O1,2,5
1National Obstetrics Fistula Centre, Abakaliki.
2Department of Pediatrics, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki Nigeria.
3Department of Community Medicine, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki Nigeria
4King David University of Medical Sciences, Uburu, Nigeria.
5Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.
*Corresponding Author Email: onyinyeanyanwugc(at)gmail.com
Uro-Chukwu, H.C |
Anyanwu, U.O |
Article Number: irjpeh.22.013 | Pages: 104-109 | Vol. 9 (4), August 2022 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.15739/irjpeh.22.013
Received: May 9, 2022 Accepted: June 19, 2022 Published: August 8, 2022
Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a gross violation of human rights and a major challenge faced by females in the developing world. Its consequences are enormous and could result in reduced productivity and even death. There is little empirical evidence on the subject. The aim of this study was to describe IPV using hospital-based data of all clients who present to the hospital on account of gender based violence (GBV). A retrospective hospital-based review of 86 GBV survivors, we extracted data on IPV at one-stop-centre for women and girls of the National Obstetric Fistula Centre from Nov 2020-Feb 2022. Descriptive analysis and correlations were done on the obtained data using IBM SPSS statistics version 25. Results were presented as means, frequencies and correlation coefficient. A p-value of 0.005 was accepted as significant. Of 86 GBV patients seen, 18 had IPV (20.9% prevalence). The mean age of IPV patients was 27.39+7.25years. Of pediatrics age group(<18) were 3 (16.7%) while 15 (83.3%) were adults. Fourteen (77.8%) belonged to the low socioeconomic class. Types of IPV reported were psychological 18(100%), sexual 5 (27.8%) and physical in 13 (72.2%). The perpetrator was married to the patient in 15 (83.3%) of case. Commonest sign of abuse was berating/insults (verbal abuse). Age and marital status were significantly correlated with IPV. While IPV remains prevalent, psychological violence remains a common missed form. All clients with various forms of IPV should be further evaluated for psychological violence and treated as such.
Keywords: Psychological abuse, intimate partner violence, Nigeria.
How to Cite this Article
Uro-Chukwu HC Anyanwu UO (2022). Psychological violence, a commonly missed form of intimate partner violence: Our experience at a tertiary health care facility in South East Nigeria. Int. Res. J. Pub. Environ. Health. 9(4):104-109.
© 2022 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which allow unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.