ABSTRACT OBJETIVE To estimate the
prevalence of psychological, physical, and
sexual violence perpetrated against
women by their intimate partner (IP) in
Quilombola communities located in Espírito Santo
State,
Brazil.
METHODS The data is from a
population-based
cross-sectional study of Quilombola
women conducted from 2017 to 2018. In-
person interviews collected information on
women's sociodemographic characteristics,
behaviors, and their experience of
violence perpetrated by their IP. The
analysis used
chi-square test and hierarchical
logistic regression. RESULTS 219
women (94.8% of the invited ones) agreed to participate in the study. 59.0% (95%CI 5.25-65.5) reported psychological
violence; 41% (95%CI 34.5-47.5)
physical violence; and 8.2% (95%CI 4.6-11.8)
sexual violence. Psychological
violence was associated with having three or more
sexual partners in
life, when compared to those
who had up to two partners (p = 0,009), and previous
violence involving other people outside of
family increased the chance of suffering psychological
violence by an IP more than nine times (p ≤ 0.001). Regarding
physical violence, the
association with use of
barrier contraception (p = 0.031) and having a partner with other
sexual partners (p = 0.024) were
protective factors for IP
violence. Having 3 or more
sexual partners in the last 12 months (p = 0.006), partner using
illicit drugs (p = 0,006), and
alcoholism in the
family (p = 0,001), increased the chance of suffer
physical violence by the partner.
Sexual violence perpetrated by the IP was associated with
miscarriage (p = 0.016), partner using
drugs (p = 0.020), and gynecological symptoms (p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS These results showed the high frequency of
intimate partner violence in Quilombola
women and highlight the importance of reducing social and
race inequities for interrupting the
culture of
violence against women.