Intimate Partner Violence against Women: Various Socio-Cultural Drivers in Malakand, Pakistan

Abstract

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) denotes any form of violence or abuse perpetrated within the context of an intimate relationship. IPV is one of the serious issues which alarmingly affects women's rights. It includes physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. In the present study, intimate partner violence refers to the husband of a woman in her marital relationship. The study aims to investigate the prevalence and various socio-cultural determinants of violence against women in the study area. A quantitative research design was used with a simple random sampling technique. The principal researcher collected data through female research assistants from 384 married women. More than half (52%) of the women were psychologically victimized in their lifetime, 40% were physically victimized in their lifetime, and 8% were sexually victimized in their lifetime by their intimate partner. The study suggests that the community should be sensitized to the physical, psychological, and sexual consequences of IPV, and a behavioral change program should be initiated to prevent the risk of IPV in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.