assessment of frequency and types of violence against women and associated factors

assessment of frequency and types of violence against women and associated factors m mardani hamule ,msc h heidari , msc received: 14 april, 2009 accepted: 16 aug, 2009 abstract background & aims: violence against women is now recognized as an important public health problem. the aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and types of violence against women and its associated factors. materials & methods: this is a descriptive–analytical and cross sectional study. the sample consisted of 92 women referring to the amiralmomenin hospital in ahwaz that were selected via a convenience sampling method. data were gathered by questionnaire and were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistics. results: findings showed that 63% of women experienced physical violence, 52.2% sexual violence, and 42.4 % emotional violence. in physical violence slap in the face and burning with 25.9% and 1.7%, in sexual violence, starting sex without consent and the use of force for sex 16.7% and 4.2% and in emotional violence, insulting and threatening be imprisoned at home with 15.4% and 2.6% are the high and least frequency and types of violence. other findings indicated that there was a significant relationship between violence and educational level, citizenship, and family relationship (p<0.05). conclusion: it is recommended to screen such cases routinely in order to recognize abused women for counseling. promoting knowledge of the public will have a significant role on decreasing violence. keywords: violence, behavior, women address: fateme zahra hospital, najaf abad, iran tel: (+98) 9132864077 email: [email protected]