Analysis of notifications of intimate partner violence against women, Brazil, 2011-2017

Abstract

Objective: To analyze notifications of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women.

Methods: Cross-sectional study on IPV against women (≥ 15 years old) registered in Brazilian Notification Disease Information System (Sinan) from 2011 to 2017, analyzed using the chi-square test (χ2) and Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate proportion ratios (PR) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).

Results: A total 454,984 cases of violence perpetrated by men against women were reported, of which 62.4% were IPV. The most reported types of violence were physical (86.6%), psychological (53.1%) and sexual (4.8%) abuse. IPV was positively associated with women aged 20-39 years (PR = 1.70; 95%CI 1.68; 1.71), pregnant women (PR = 1.07; 95%CI 1.06; 1.08), marital partnership (PR = 1.55; 95%CI 1.54; 1.56), occurrence at home (PR = 1.80; 95%CI 1.79; 1.81), recurrence of violence (PR = 1.77; 95%CI 1.76; 1.78) and alcohol intake by the aggressor (PR = 1.12; 95%CI 1.12; 1.13). Physical violence was associated with the 20-39 age group (PR = 1.03; 95%CI 1.02; 1.03). Psychological violence predominated among women ≥ 40 years old (PR = 1.33; 95%CI 1.31; 1.35). Sexual violence was reported in greater proportion among pregnant women (PR = 2.71; 95%CI 2.59; 2.83) and women with disabilities or disorder (PR = 2.30; 95%CI 2.17; 2.44).

Conclusion: Most reports of violence against women recorded in health services were perpetrated by an intimate partner, especially physical, psychological and sexual violence. It was possible to identify factors associated with IPV such as age, education, pregnancy, occurrence at home, recurrence and alcohol consumption by the aggressor.