Prevalence and risk factors for domestic violence against infertile women in a Turkish setting

Our objective was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors for domestic violence among women seeking infertility treatment at an IVF center.

This cross-sectional study was conducted with 423 infertile women who referred to the IVF Center in the southwest of Turkey between 1 January and 31 July 2016. The women were interviewed without their male partners by using the questionnaire and Infertile Women's Exposure to Violence Determination Scale.

A total of 306 participants (72%) declared having experienced domestic violence. It was found that 30% of the women exposed to violence stated that they were subject to physical violence, 6% to sexual violence, 62% to emotional violence, and 19% to economic violence. It was determined that the total mean score obtained by the women exposed to violence from Infertile Women's Exposure to Violence Determination Scale was 120.04 ± 12.69 and when it was evaluated based on the total mean scores to be obtained from the scale, level of violence experienced by the women was found to be severe.

The rate of exposure to violence was determined to be high in women included in the study. The most common type of domestic violence is psychological violence.