[Women and violence: an everyday fact]

In comparison with other countries, Mexico lacks information on the issue of violence against women, especially regarding the incidence and prevalence of battering and emotional abuse. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and distribution of violence against women among both rural and urban populations in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. A cross-sectional study was conducted among two groups randomly selected; 1,163 rural women (RW) and 427 urban women (UW). Variables included: frequency of violence of family members against women and vice versa, socioeconomic variables and reason for violence. The results were: a) 44.2 per cent and 56.7 per cent rural and urban female population, respectively, suffered some form of violence; b) the principal aggressor was the husband in more than 60 per cent of the cases in both rural and urban areas. Significant statistical difference (p < 0.05) were found between rural and urban groups in relation to low education, middle-age and family size over 7 members.