WHO Global Study on Domestic Violence: Key Findings

Introduction

In November 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the publication of a seminal study examining the prevalence of domestic violence across 10 countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, and the United Republic of Tanzania. The study was conducted in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) — an international nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington — and national research institutions and women's organizations in the participating countries.

The WHO study was truly ambitious in scope, drawing on interviews with more than 24,000 women from both urban and rural regions of these 10 countries. Not surprisingly, the researchers found that domestic violence has an enormous effect on the health of victims, and that these behaviors carried long-term healthcare consequences that frequently persisted long after the violence ended. To gain further insight into the implications of domestic violence around the world, this paper provides a review and summary of the WHO study, followed by a synthesis of its most important findings in the conclusion.

Scope and Methodology of the WHO Study

Although most people recognize that domestic violence has serious implications for those involved, many fail to appreciate the full extent of the problem or how these behaviors affect the women and children of families experiencing domestic violence. The WHO press release emphasized that "the first-ever [WHO] study on domestic violence reveals that intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence in women's lives — much more so than assault or rape by strangers or acquaintances" (Landmark study on domestic violence, 2006, para. 1). Although domestic violence is not restricted to male-on-female assaults, the entire WHO study focused on this type of violence across the 10 countries studied, and the researchers confirmed the staggering impact that sexual and physical violence has on women in these settings.

Despite the enormous impact on women's health and well-being identified by the study, the researchers also emphasized that current estimates of domestic violence may be understated because such violence remains underreported and hidden in many countries. The press release noted that "for policy makers, the greatest challenge is that abuse remains hidden. At least 20% of women reporting physical violence in the study had never told anyone before being interviewed" (Landmark study on domestic violence, 2006, para. 4). Furthermore, the WHO study found that despite the potentially life-threatening nature of such physical violence, it was rare for victimized women to seek professional help; they relied instead on family members and friends, with only the most severely abused being most likely to seek professional assistance (Landmark study on domestic violence, 2006).

The WHO's director-general, Dr. Lee Jong-wook, noted that women in the countries studied were at far higher risk of experiencing violence at the hands of intimate male partners than from strangers, and characterized the implications as follows: "This study shows that women are more at risk from violence at home than in the street, and this has serious repercussions for women's health. The study also shows how important it is to shine a spotlight on domestic violence globally and treat it as a major public health issue" (quoted in Landmark study on domestic violence, 2006, para. 2).

Health Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence

Some of the study's key findings reveal the troubling extent of the problem. Between 25% and 50% of study subjects had experienced physical injuries as a direct result of being physically assaulted by their male partners. Physical violence was determined by asking respondents whether a current or former partner had ever slapped them; thrown something that could hurt them; pushed or shoved them; hit them with a fist or another object; kicked, dragged, or beaten them; choked or burned them on purpose; or threatened them with, or actually used, a gun, knife, or other weapon against them (Landmark study on domestic violence, 2006).

The 25%–50% of women who reported experiencing physical domestic violence were also twice as likely to suffer poor health, along with mental and related physical problems — including suicidal ideation and attempts, mental distress, and physical symptoms such as pain, dizziness, and vaginal discharge — even in cases where the domestic violence had ceased several years earlier (Landmark study on domestic violence, 2006).

Notwithstanding sociocultural differences among the study's 24,000 respondents, the WHO researchers found consistent similarities in the effects of domestic violence on participating women. Dr. Charlotte Watt of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a member of the core research team, observed: "The degree to which the health consequences of partner violence in the WHO study are consistent across sites, both within and between countries, is striking. Partner violence appears to have a similar impact on women's health and well-being regardless of where she lives, the prevalence of violence in her setting, or her cultural or economic background" (quoted in Landmark study on domestic violence, 2006, para. 3).

Conclusion

In November 2005, the World Health Organization announced the release of a study on domestic violence conducted across 10 countries, in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, PATH, and national research institutions and women's organizations in the participating countries. The WHO study was based on interviews with more than 24,000 women from urban and rural regions. The research identified consistent and serious adverse healthcare outcomes for women across all study sites. Between 25% and 50% of women participating in the study reported experiencing physical domestic violence, and between 4% and 12% reported being physically beaten even while pregnant. Finally, the results highlighted the hidden nature of the problem, indicating that the actual scale of domestic violence may be far worse than even these disturbing statistics suggest.

References

Landmark study on domestic violence. (2006, November 24). World Health Organization. Retrieved from