Domestic violence and health correlates among women in Coimbatore

Violence against women is one of the most widespread human rights violations worldwide. High social, health and economic costs to the individual and society are associated with violence against women. Violence in intimate relationships is the most common form of gender-based violence experienced by women across the globe-nearly one in three women globally have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime (Heise, et.al, 1999). Considering the aforementioned factors, the study throw lights on to gather valid estimates of the prevalence and frequency of different forms of violence against women particularly those perpetrated by intimate partners; to assess the extent to which violence by intimate partners is associated with health outcomes and to propose strategies to deal with the domestic violence. The study used purposive sampling technique and data collected from 100 women during January-February, 2018 and the inferences were made using factor analysis and path model. The study found that the women in the lower strata of the society physical abuse is an acceptable part of their life and hence not given much weightage by them. Results supported a model in which perceived psychological abuse exerted a significant negative effect on health status of women.