BMJ  2005;331:197-201 (23 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7510.197

Primary care

Factors associated with spousal physical violence in Albania: cross sectional study

Genc Burazeri, lecturer in epidemiology and research methods1, Enver Roshi, lecturer in epidemiology and research methods, head of public health department1, Rachel Jewkes, director2, Susanne Jordan, officer3, Vesna Bjegovic, professor of social medicine, head of the centre4, Ulrich Laaser, professor of international health5

1 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tirana, St "Dibres," N.371, Tirana, Albania, 2 Gender and Health Research Unit, Medical Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa, 3 Unit of Primary Prevention of Addiction, Federal Centre for Health Education, Cologne, Germany, 4 School of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia and Monte Negro, 5 Section of International Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bielefeld, Germany

Correspondence to: G Burazeri gburazeri{at}yahoo.com

Objective To describe the prevalence of intimate partner violence and associated factors among married women in Albania.

Design Cross sectional study.

Setting Tirana, the capital city of Albania.

Participants A representative sample of 1039 married women aged 25-65 living in Tirana and recorded in the 2001 census.

Methods Questionnaire on intimate partner violence and social and demographic characteristics of the women and their husbands.

Main outcome measure Women's experience within the past year of being hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt by the husband.

Results More than a third (37%, 384/1039) of women had experienced violence. Risk was greatest among women aged 25-34 (odds ratio 1.47, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.09), women with tertiary education (3.70, 2.04 to 6.67), women in white collar jobs (4.0, 1.59 to 10.0), women with least educated husbands (5.01, 2.91 to 8.64), and women married to men raised in rural areas (3.31, 2.29 to 4.80). Women were at higher risk if they were more educated than their husbands (4.76, 2.56 to 9.09).

Conclusions In transitional Albania, the risk of spousal violence is high, and more empowered women are at greater risk.


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