Prevalence of Physical and Sexual Abuse in Women and Children

Background: The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of physical and sexual abuse and its respective factors in women and children referring to medical and health centers of Birjand county. Materials and Methods: A number of 301 women referring to medical and health centers of Birjand were entered into this analytical-descriptive study. Based on the research objectives, a self-administered questionnaire was prepared and approved in terms of content validity by experts of the field. The data were analyzed using SPSS-15, at a significance level of p ?0.05. Results: Results showed that 58.8% and 25.3% of the subjects experienced physical abuse and sexual abuse, respectively. 24.3% confirmed physical abuse and 1.7% confirmed sexual abuse of their children by their husbands. There was a significant relationship between physical and sexual abuse, and the education level, husband’s education level, addiction and commitment of husband, economical disputes, husband’s job, disputes over rearing children, mental disorders of husband, and the weakness of husband in controlling his motions (p=0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of physical and sexual abuse in women and children is relatively high, and based on the investigated related causes, it is necessary to reduce such prevalence through an appropriate planning.