Abstract:

Background: Domestic Violence refers to violence emanating from the household and within relationships defined by familial or emotional (former or present) attachment. It is the most common form of violence against women and affects women across the life span, from sex-selective abortion of female fetuses to forced suicide and abuse of older women. Domestic violence is evident to some degree in every society in the world. The main objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and consequences of domestic violence among married women. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Zage from December, 2018 to February, 2019. Data was collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. Result: From 300 respondents 45% were physically abused, among these hand and leg accounts for 65.3% and 7% had ever been harmed with sharp materials. Of all the participants 35% were sexually abused, among these 61.7% had sexual intercourse against their will two to five times per year. In this study the prevalence of psychological abuse was 95%. The study noted that nearly three in four women were experienced at least one incident of domestic violence in their lifetime. Conclusion: Alarmingly, more than three quarter of women who experienced any physical violence had severe acts that could threaten them in their lifetime. This needs an urgent attention at all levels of societal hierarchy including policymakers, stakeholders and professionals to alleviate the situation.

Keywords: Prevalence, consequences, Domestic, violence, Married women, Zage, Kano.

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