BACKGROUND:
Intimate
partner violence (IPV) is a global public health problem that affects women's
physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Very little data on IPV
experience and FP use is available in resource-poor settings, such as in West
Africa. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence, patterns and
correlates of IPV among clients of an adult Family Planning clinic in Conakry,
Guinea.
METHODS:
The study
data was collected for four months (March to June 2014) from women's family
planning charts and from an IPV screening form at the Adult Family Planning and
Reproductive Health Clinic of "Association Guinéenne pour le Bien-Etre
Familial", a non-profit organization in Conakry, Guinea. 232 women out of
245 women who attended the clinic for services during the study period were
screened for IPV and were included in this study.
RESULTS:
Of the
232 women screened, 213 (92 %) experienced IPV in one form or another at
some point in their lifetime. 169 women reported psychological violence
(79.3 %), 145 reported sexual violence (68.1 %) and 103 reported
physical violence (48.4 %). Nearly a quarter of women reported joint
occurrence of the three forms of violence(24 %).Half of the IPV positive
women were current users of family planning (51.2 %) and of these, 77.9 %
preferred injectable contraceptives. The odds of experiencing IPV was higher in
women with secondary or vocational level of education than those with higher
level of education (AOR: 8.4; 95 % CI 1.2-58.5). Women residing in other
communes of Conakry (AOR: 5.6; 95 % CI 1.4-22.9) and those preferring
injectable FP methods (AOR: 4.5; 95 % CI 1.2-16.8) were more likely to
experience lifetime IPV.
CONCLUSIONS:
IPV
is prevalent among family planning clients in Conakry, Guinea where nine out of
ten women screened in the AGBEF adult clinic reported having experienced one or
another type of IPV. A holistic approach that includes promotion of women's
rights and gender equality, existence of laws and policies is needed to prevent
and respond to IPV, effective implementation of policies and laws, and access
to quality IPV services in Guinea and countries with higher rates of IPV.
Below: Venn diagram illustrating overlaps between lifetime experiences of psychological, physical and sexual violence reported by FP clients in Conakry, Guinea, March to June 2014
Centre National
de formation et de recherche en santé rurale de Maferinyah, Forécariah, Guinea
Department of
Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Conakry, Conakry, Guinea
EngenderHealth,
New York, USA
Association
Guinéenne pour le Bien-Etre Familial, Conakry, Guinea
Ministry of
Health, Conakry, Guinea
EngenderHealth,
Conakry, Guinea
BMC Res Notes. 2015; 8: 814.
Ghazaleh Samandari, Bienvenu Salim Camara, Pernamou Traore, Fatoumata Guilinty Diallo, Sita Millimono, Defa Wane, Maimouna Toliver, Kira Laffe, and Fabio Verani
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