Domestic violence against women seeking induced abortion in China

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence, type and severity of domestic violence (DV), and determine the factors related to DV among women seeking induced abortion in China. A total of 1215 women seeking induced abortion were interviewed. The results show that the prevalence of DV among participants was 22.6%. The violence included 18.1% sexual abuse, 7.8% physical abuse and 3.0% emotional abuse. Among abused women, 46 (16.8%) experienced violence frequently; 4.4% experienced three types of violence (sexual, physical and emotional violence). The number of times of having induced abortion in the abused group was significantly higher than that in the nonabused group (p<.001). There is statistically significant association between the occurrence of DV and relevant factors including fear of partner, quarreling with partner, partner's economic control, receiving the cold shoulder from partner (p<.001, OR 1.8-2.5).