ABSTRACT
Background. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is actual or threatened physical; sexual; psychological; emotional or stalking abuse by an intimate partner. Despite the high prevalence of IPV in South Africa (SA); there is a paucity of data on university students training in fields where they are likely to have to manage the after-effects of such events in their personal capacity in the future. Objectives. To ascertain the prevalence of IPV in an SA tertiary institution population with a diverse demographic profile.Methods. Students from the faculty of health sciences and the faculty of humanities; social work department; completed an anonymous questionnaire. Students were made aware of psychological counselling available to them.Results. Responses were obtained from 1 354 of 1 593 students (85.0%) (67.8% female; 45.9% black; 32.7% white; 16.6% Indian; 4.8% coloured). Of the respondents; 53.0% indicated that they were in a relationship. The prevalence of any type of IPV (sexual; physical or emotional abuse) among all respondents was 42.6%. Emotional abuse was reported by 54.9% of respondents; physical abuse by 20.0% and sexual abuse by 8.9%. Thirty-five females (6.5% of respondents who had suffered IPV) indicated that they had been emotionally; physically and sexually abused. Fourteen percent identified themselves as perpetrators of abuse; but only three perpetrators of sexual abuse reported having also been victims of sexual abuse. Most respondents (58.7%) knew where to get help.Conclusion. The extent of IPV among the medical and social work students sampled was found to be unacceptably high; both as victims and as perpetrators. As a result of their exposure to IPV; these individuals may have difficulty in managing patients who have been subjected to abuse