Intimate Partner Violence and the Sex of the Firstborn Child among Egyptian Women

Research Article

Intimate Partner Violence and the Sex of the Firstborn Child among Egyptian Women

Tharwat Taha O1*, Abdelhamid M2 and Mohamed Ghoneim H1

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Suez Canal University, Egypt

²Department of Community Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt

*Corresponding author: Omima Tharwat Taha, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ring road, kilo 4.5, Ismailia, Egypt

Received: May 08, 2020; Accepted: June 04, 2020; Published: June 11, 2020

Abstract

Objective: To determine the relationship between the gender of the firstborn child and intimate partner violence towards Egyptian women.

Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted at the outpatient clinics of Suez Canal university hospitals from January 2017- January 2019. We recruited patients aged 18- 45 years with a firstborn child of 1 year or older in a stable marital relationship. Patients were asked about intimate partner violence using Arabic validated NorVold Domestic Abuse Questionnaire.

Results: A male firstborn child was reported by 48% of the recruited women. Most of the couples had a middle socioeconomic level (79.1%). Nearly half of the patients were exposed to domestic violence (497, 49.7%). Emotional abuse was the most common form of violence reported by the participants. Participants with a female firstborn child were exposed to domestic violence more than those with a male firstborn child [253(50.91%) and 244 (49.09%), respectively] yet were not statistically significant (p-value 0.491). The gender of the firstborn child was not a co-factor incorporated in domestic violence.

Conclusion: Egyptian women are exposed to domestic violence in a considerable proportion. Son preference is a major social problem in Egypt, yet not considered as a contributing risk factor for violence against women.

Keywords: Intimate partner violence; Son preference; Egypt

Key message:

- Egyptian women are exposed to domestic violence in a considerable proportion.

- Many factors contributing to domestic violence exist.

- Son preference is a major social problem in Egypt, yet not considered as a contributing risk factor for violence against women in Egypt.

Introduction

Domestic violence against women is a global public health problem and human rights crime [1]. Globally, 1 in 3 (35%) worldwide experienced abuse (physical/sexual) according to WHO estimates. Most of this violence is intimated partner violence. Violence is a leading cause of death in women where up to 38% of women were murdered by their intimate partner [2]. The actual prevalence of domestic violence can’t be estimated accurately. Some countries consider it as normal behavior, while others consider it an embarrassing event to declare which results in underestimation of the true prevalence [3,4].

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) refers to behavior by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviors, as defined by the WHO 2018 [2]. Intimate partner violence is one of the most sensitive issues among the Egyptian women. They commonly feel shame to talk about this event or even report it. Different risk factors to increase the chance of a woman to be exposed to IPV exist; however, these were not appropriately evaluated in Egypt. One of the significantly reported risk factors was infertility [5].

An important risk factor for domestic violence is son preference; which is an attitude of preference of boys other than girls who are considered to be of a lesser value than boys. They are regarded as being transiently available and will leave home with her future husband. On the contrary, the boy is regarded as the social and financial support for the family and the guarantee for the continuation of the family line [6]. In Egypt, there is evidence of sex differentiation according to data collected on health, nutrition, education and socialization with overt discrimination against girl children and even women [7]. This problem was not evaluated before in Egypt. As an eastern community with a strong attitude of son preference, it was suggested that the sex of the firstborn child would be a risk factor for IPV. This study aimed at evaluation of the relation between IPV and the sex of the firstborn child.

Patients and Methods

This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the outpatient clinics in Suez Canal University hospitals from January 2017- January 2019. We recruited women attending the obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinic for any concerns according to the following inclusion criteria: a) women aged 18-45 years, b) married women, c) delivery of the first baby while married, d) continuous marital relationship. Women who refused to participate in our research or divorced were excluded.

Patients were evaluated regarding their demographic parameters, including age, level of education, occupation, parity, age at delivery of the first child, and residency. Partners’ data included age, level of education, occupation, socioeconomic level, smoking or addiction and history of multiple wives.

Women were asked to complete the Arabic validated NorVold Domestic Abuse Questionnaire (NORAQ). The NORAQ measures four types of abuse: emotional, physical, sexual, and violence in the health care system, the last one being excluded. The NORAQ-Arabic version evaluated measurements of the three kinds of lifetime abuse – emotional (12 items), physical (11 items), and sexual abuse (12 items). The content of the questions ranged from mild to severe lifetime abuse. Women who reported more than one degree of a specific kind of abuse were categorized according to the most severe abusive act. Emotional, physical, and sexual abuses were defined by an affirmative answer to one or several of the three or four questions about each kind of violence in NORAQ. If a woman had experienced abuse, she was instructed to go on answering more detailed questions, e.g., who the perpetrator was, and if she ever had told anyone about what happened. She was also asked to estimate how much she currently suffers from abusive experiences. Current suffering is measured on a 10-point scale: “0 = no suffering, 10 = suffering terribly”. The questionnaire closes with specific questions about abuse, such as having reported abuse to the police or fearing that one will become a victim of abuse in future [8].

Statistical analysis

Data were statistically described in terms of mean and standard deviation, frequencies (number of cases) and percentages when appropriate. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. All statistical calculations were done using computer program SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) release 22 for Microsoft Windows. Parametric tests were used for variables with a normal distribution. Nonnormally distributed data were tested using non- parametric tests. Multiple logistic regressions were used to evaluate risk factors for DV. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 31.85 ± 5.80, and the husbands’ age was 38.84 ± 6.30 with an age difference of 6.98 ± 2.24. The majority of the participating women had middle education, 533 (53.30%) as well as the male partner 617 (61.7%). A male firstborn child was reported by 48% of the recruited women. Most of the couples had a middle socioeconomic level (79.1%) (Table 1).