Intimate partner violence among obstetric population at university of Abuja teaching hospital, Abuja, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) did not spare pregnant women despite their physiological and anatomical changes in pregnancy. The epidemiology and outcomes of IPV change with time in the society. STUDY OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors associated with IPV among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional, hospital-based study conducted at the Antenatal Clinic of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study involved 403 pregnant women. The Hurt, Insult, Threaten and Scream (HITS) questionnaire was used to collect information and data recorded and analysed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-squared, Fisher's test and logistic regression) were used. Level of significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of IPV in pregnancy was 56.3% and the modal score was 4. About 11.9% of the women had a positive (severe) HITS score while 38.4% of the women experienced insult as the most common form of violence. There was a statistically significant association between the level of the score and marriage settings (P < 0.001), education of the woman (P < 0.001), education status of the husband (P < 0.001), occupation of the woman (P < 0.001), occupation of the husband (P < 0.001) and social habit of the husband (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of IPV was high from this study. Improvement in education status of the husband and employment status of both the wife and the husband can significantly affect violence against women positively in our society.

Prevalence and pattern of sexual assault in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: Sexual violence is an important public health problem of growing concern all over the world. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and pattern of sexual assault managed in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Sokoto, Nigeria. METHODS: It was a retrospective study that looked into cases of sexual assault admitted into the hospital between January 2010 and December 2014. Information on patients' biodata, and relevant details on the cases were extracted from the patients' case files and analyzed. RESULTS: Out of the 5317 gynecological admissions during the period under study, 45 (0.84%) were cases of sexual assault. Of these, only 34 case files were available for data extraction. The patients' ages ranged from 2 to 37 years (mean = 12.6 + 8.3). About two thirds (61.8%) of those affected were young children (aged 12 years and below). In majority of cases (70.6%) the assault was penetrative, and in most of the cases (91.2%) only a single assailant was involved. In close to two thirds of cases, the assailant was either an acquaintance (38.2%) or a family member (20.6%). Although law enforcement agents were informed in majority (58.8%) of cases, arrests were made in less than half (41.2%). CONCLUSION: Although the prevalence of sexual assault in this study appears to be low, a major cause for concern is the fact that those affected were predominantly young children. Parents should be more vigilant in monitoring their children's movement, and stringent laws should be enacted and enforced to curb this heinous act.