ABSTRACT
Violence against women is a global phenomenon that cuts across all social and economic classes, it has recently drawn attention in the medical field as a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. The present study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of domestic violence, to identify socio-demographic and behavioral risk factors and to investigate the relationship between the women's psychological health status and violence exposure. This is a comparative cross-sectional study using a multistage random sampling technique. The sample comprised 500 women aged 18-50y. Data was collected via a structured interview questionnaire including the socio-demographic characteristics of the women and their husbands, some of the husbands' habits, attitude and history of chronic illnesses. Also, the questionnaire assesses different forms of domestic violence, women's reaction to it and its consequences on psychological well-being of women. A depression anxiety scale was used to assess the women's psychological status. The study revealed that the overall prevalence of domestic violence among the studied group was [62.2%]; the commonest form [74.0%] was psychological abuse, followed by social [26.8%] one, then the physical [22.4%] and lastly sexual abuse [19.6%]. On studying the socio-demographic variables, a significantly higher percentage of younger [