Abstract:
Background: Both intimate partner violence and food insecurity are becoming the most
critical public and social health problems in developing nations. There are compelling
reasons that link food insecurity to partner violence in the setting where both are common.
Yet, little is known about the association with of food insecurity with intimate partner
violence in Soddo Zuria Woreda, SNNPR
Objective: To assess the magnitude of intimate partner violence and its associated factor
among married women in Soddo Zuria Woreda, Wolaita Zone, SNNPR
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design among 15 randomly selected kebeles
was conducted from March 15 to 30 2014. A total of 845 married women were selected by
using systematic random sampling technique. The data were analyzed using Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. Data were entered, cleaned and descriptive
and inferential statistics were computed. Both bivariate and multivariate regression analyses
were done. A 95% confidence interval and a P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered to determine
statistically significant association between independent and dependent variables.
Result: The life time and 12 months prevalence of intimate partner violence was 68.9% and
66.4%, respectively. About 65.4%, 55.7% and 53.9% women reported physical, sexual and
psychosocial violence, respectively. The magnitude of household food insecurity was 60.1%
in the previous 30 days. Variables such as household food insecurity [AOR=3.6, 95%CI=2.5,
5.2], women who had maternal intimate partner violence [AOR=1.9, 95%CI= 1.4, 2.7], being
pregnant [AOR =1.7, 95%CI = 1.2, 2.4], age of the partner [AOR=.24, 95CI=.127,.46], male
headed household [AOR =2.2, 95%CI=1.2,4.2], alcohol consumption by husband [AOR
=1.9,95%CI= 1.3,2.6] were significantly associated with intimate partner violence.
Conclusion: The finding of this study indicated that intimate partner violence was found to
be high in the study area. There are factors associated with intimate partner violence. Thus,
any public health interventions designed in the study to avoid intimate partner violence
should take into account improvement of household food security status and there is need for
public education on intimate partner violence prevention thorough behavioral change
strategies.
