Violence against women Health consequences - who.int

1 Violence against womenHealth consequencesViolence against women and girls increasestheir risk of poor Health . A growing number ofstudies exploring Violence and Health consist-ently report negative effects. The true extentof the consequences is difficult to ascertain,however, because medical records usuallylack vital details concerning any violentcauses of injury or poor consequencesHomicideNumerous studies report that most womenwho die of homicide are killed by their partneror study of 249 court records in Zimbabwerevealed that 59% of homicides of womenwere committed by the intimate partner ofthe cultures where the giving of a dowry ispractised.

2 The custom can be fatal for thewoman whose parents are unable to meetdemands for gifts or money. Violence thatbegins with threats may end in forced suicide , death from injuries, or injuriesThe injuries sustained by women because ofphysical and sexual abuse may be extremelyserious. Many assault incidents result ininjuries, ranging from bruises and fractures tochronic disabilities. A high percentage ofthese require medical treatment. For example,in Papua New Guinea, 18% of all urbanmarried women had to seek hospital treatmentfollowing domestic in Cambodia found that 50% ofall women reporting abuse had s national survey on violenceagainst women revealed that 45% of wife-assault incidents resulted in injuries, and ofthe injured women , 40% subsequentlyvisited a doctor or a during pregnancyRecent research has identified violenceduring pregnancy as a risk to the Health of bothmothers and their unborn foetus.

3 Research inthis area has shown increased levels of avariety of a three-year study of 1203 pregnantwomen in hospitals in Houston andBoston, United States, abuse duringpregnancy was a significant risk factor forlow birth weight, low maternal weight gain,infections and to childrenChildren in violent families may also be victimsof abuse. Frequently, children are injuredwhile trying to defend their one study of abused women in Bogot ,Colombia, 49% reported that their childrenhad also been and early pregnancyViolence against women may result inunwanted pregnancy, either through rape orby affecting a woman s ability to negotiatecontraceptive use.

4 For example, some womenmay be afraid to raise the issue ofcontraceptive use with their sexual partnersfor fear of being beaten or who are abused, or who havebeen abused as children, are much less likelyto develop a sense of self-esteem andbelonging than those who have notexperienced abuse. They are more likely toneglect themselves and engage in riskybehaviours such as early or unprotectedsexual intercourse. A growing number ofstudies suggests that girls who are sexuallyabused during childhood are at much greaterrisk of unwanted pregnancy during United States study found that womenwho experienced childhood sexual abuseare nearly three times more likely than non-victimized youth to become pregnantbefore the age of greater risk of unwanted pregnancybrings with it many additional problems.

5 Forinstance, it is well documented that childbearingduring early or middle adolescence, beforegirls are biologically and psychologicallymature, is associated with adverse healthoutcomes for both the mother and may be premature, of low birth weight,or be small for gestational an unwanted pregnancy occurs, manywomen try to resolve their dilemma throughabortion. In countries where abortion is illegal,expensive or difficult to obtain, women mayresort to illegal abortions, at times with a study in Bombay, India, 20% of allpregnancies of adolescent abortion seekersoccurred because of forced sex, 10% fromrape by a male domestic servant, 6% fromincest, and 4% from other including HIV/AIDSAs with unwanted pregnancy, women arevulnerable to contracting sexually transmitteddiseases (STDs)

6 Because they are unable tonegotiate Thailand, researchers found that one inten victims of rape had contracted a STDbecause of the with STDs have a higher risk ofcomplications during pregnancy, includingsepsis, spontaneous abortion and prematurebirth. Some STDs increase a woman svulnerability to the HIV virus, as well. Violentsexual assault may also increase their risksbecause resulting tears to delicate vaginaltissue allow the virus easier entry into thebloodstream. With HIV/AIDS, theconsequences are usually fatal for thewoman, and possibly for her children as to diseaseCompared with non-abused women , womenwho have suffered any kind of Violence aremore likely to experience a number of serioushealth in Norway revealed that chronicpelvic pain is significantly associated witha history of domestic major study in the United States foundthat having been the victim of childhoodabuse or violent crime doubled a woman slikelihood of suffering from severe menstrualproblems, a sexually transmitted disease.

7 Or a urinary tract infection; domesticviolence tripled her research from the United States hasshown that patients with irritable bowelsyndrome, compared with those with theless serious inflammatory bowel disease,were more likely to have suffered severesexual trauma, severe childhood sexualabuse or some form of has been suggested that abused women sincreased vulnerability to illness may be duepartly to lowered immunity because of stressresulting from the abuse. In addition, self-neglect and increased risk taking have alsobeen implicated.

8 It has been found, forinstance, that abused women are morelikely to smoke than women without a historyof consequencesSuicideFor women who are beaten or sexuallyassaulted, the emotional and physical straincan lead to suicide. These deaths aredramatic testimony to the paucity of options forwomen to escape from violent in the United States has shownthat battered women , as compared towomen not living with violent men, are fivetimes more likely to commit Health problemsResearch suggests that abused womenendure enormous psychological sufferingbecause of Violence .

9 Many are severelydepressed or anxious, while others displaysymptoms of post-traumatic stress may be chronically fatigued, butunable to sleep; they may have nightmaresor eating disorders; turn to alcohol anddrugs to numb their pain; or become isolatedand and childhood sexual abuse can causesimilar psychological damage. One occurrenceof sexual aggression may be sufficient tocreate long-lasting negative effects, especially ifthe child-victim does not subsequently receiveappropriate support. Like Violence againstwomen in the family, child abuse often continuesfor many years and its disabling effects can carryover into adult life.

10 For example, the reducedself-esteem of women who have been abused inchildhood may result in their making little effort toavoid situations where their Health or safety arein study carried out in Boston, Los Angelesand San Diego in the United States, Juarez,Mexico, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, showeda strong link between sexual abusevictimization in early life, and involvementlater in life in sexual behaviours that placewomen at risk of contracting of witnessing Violence on childrenResearch has shown that children whowitness domestic Violence often suffer manyof the same symptoms as children who havebeen physically or sexually abused who witness their father s or step-father sviolent treatment of their mother are also morelikely to accept Violence as a normal part ofmarriage than girls from non-violent who have witnessed the same Violence ,on the other hand.