ABSTRACT
Violence against women [VAW] represents a staggering public health problem which refers to many types of harmful behavior directed at women and girls because of their sex in forms ranging from verbal abuse to homicide throughout the life cycle and derives essentially from some cultural patterns that perpetuate the lower status accorded to women in the family, the workplace, the community and society. Obviously, VAW is considered a profound health problem which may cause a range of bad outcomes as adverse mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, poor physical health consequences, such as gynecological complications, Physical injuries, chronic headaches, sleep disturbances, nausea, behavioral problems that further damage their health or risk their lives, such as substance abuse, alcoholism, and increased risk of suicide attempts and increased use of health services up to homicide. In Arab and Islamic countries, domestic violence has an increasing frequency and serious consequences. Surveys in Egypt, Palestine, and Tunisia show that at least one out of three women is beaten by her husband. Knowledge about VAW causes, consequences, and protective measures are needed to be studied. To examine awareness of University female students about violence, and to explore their knowledge and attitude towards VAW. A cross sectional study of a total of 152 students from education and nursing faculties completed a self administered questionnaire including Sociodemoraphic characteristics of respondents; parents, knowledge perception, attitudes of causes of violence, history of self experience to violence; friends and/or relatives exposure to a violence. Their believes about what causes violence and their opinions regarding methods to prevent it. Out of 152, 68.4% of the students agreed that cirumcision is a type of violence and 80% of them reported that it causes physical, psychic and sexual harm. Almost 85% of the sample considered early marriage, as a form of violence, and about 88% stated that low education is another form of violence against women. The majority of the respondants 94.7% and 98% agreed that physical abuse and rape respectively are forms of violence. About half of these students are exposed to some sort of violence [53.7%]. More than half of these females beileved that the most common reason for violence is low socioeconomic level [62%]. Nearly half of the female students [52.%] believed that VAW is on the rise [upward trend] than before. About 39.5% of study sample believed that female work, low socioeconomic status, weak religious belief, TV drama and addiction, altogether, are the causes of this increase. The police were informed about violence experienced by others by only 19.8% of the sample. Nearly all these students [95.4%] believed that protection from VAW can effecetively be done through religious institutions and increase female education [90.8%]. Most female university students in El-Minia University are aware about most types of VAW. About half of these students are exposed to some sort of violence [53.7%]. Women work, low socioeconomic level, weak religious belief, different media and addiction are the causes of increased VAW. Educating girls to their fullest potential, victims of violence need reliable counseling and support programmes, women should be educated about their human rights and empowered to protect their own safety