Legislation on violence against women: overview of key components

This study aimed to determine if legislation on violence against women (VAW) worldwide contains key components recommended by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations (UN) to help strengthen VAW prevention and provide better integrated victim protection, support, and care. A systematic search for VAW legislation using international legal databases and other electronic sources plus data from previous research identified 124 countries/territories with some type of VAW legislation. Full legal texts were found for legislation from 104 countries/territories. Those available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish were downloaded and compiled and the selection criteria applied (use of any of the common terms related to VAW, including intimate partner violence (IPV), and reference to at least two of six sectors (education, health, judicial system, mass media, police, and social services) with regard to VAW interventions (protection, support, and care). A final sample from 80 countries/territories was selected and analyzed for the presence of key components recommended by PAHO and the UN (reference to the term "violence against women" in the title; definitions of different types of VAW; identification of women as beneficiaries; and promotion of (reference to) the participation of multiple sectors in VAW interventions). Few countries/territories specifically identified women as the beneficiaries of their VAW legislation, including those that labeled their legislation "domestic violence" law ( n = 51), of which only two explicitly mentioned women as complainants/survivors. Only 28 countries/territories defined the main forms of VAW (economic, physical, psychological, and sexual) in their VAW legislation. Most highlighted the role of the judicial system, followed by that of social services and the police. Only 28 mentioned the health sector. Despite considerable efforts worldwide to strengthen VAW legislation, most VAW laws do not incorporate the key recommended components. Significant limitations were found in the legislative content, its application, and the extent to which it provided women with integrated protection, support, and care. In developing new VAW legislation, policymakers should consider the vital role of health services.

Impacto y consecuencias sociales contemporáneas de las políticas de tutela estatal en las reservas indígenas canadienses

Este artículo tiene como objetivo examinar el impacto y las consecuencias sociales contemporáneas del mantenimiento del sistema de organización social denominado «reserva indígena» en Canadá. Mediante un estudio de caso, se explora cómo la política organizacional y la estructura institucional contemporánea en las reservas indígenas canadienses están alimentando problemas psicosociales y de salud mental como, por ejemplo, abuso de sustancias psicoactivas, depresión, negligencia parental o violencia doméstica. Tres características estructurales se identifican como problemas inherentes en la estructura organizacional de las reservas contemporáneas: el desempleo estructural, la dependencia de programas de asistencia social y el faccionalismo comunitario.

Perfil sociodemográfico del feminicidio en España y su relación con las denuncias por violencia de pareja

Objetivo: Analizar las características asociadas al riesgo de feminicidio en España entre mujeres expuestas a la violencia de pareja o análogo y su posible asociación con las denuncias a los agresores. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio de casos y controles para el periodo 2010-2011. Los casos, 135 mujeres mayores de edad, asesinadas por su pareja o análogo durante dicho periodo, se identificaron a través de la página web de la Federación de Asociaciones de Mujeres Separadas y Divorciadas, y de los informes del Consejo General del Poder Judicial. Los controles, 185 mujeres expuestas a la violencia de pareja el último año, proceden de la Macroencuesta de Violencia de Género 2011. La asociación entre la denuncia y el riesgo de feminicidio se estimó mediante modelos de regresión logística multivariada. Resultados: No se encontró asociación entre denunciar al agresor y el riesgo de ser asesinada (odds ratio [OR]: 1,38; intervalo de confianza del 95% [IC95%]: 0,68-2,79). Las mujeres inmigrantes expuestas a la violencia de pareja registraron una mayor probabilidad de ser asesinadas (ref.: mujeres españolas; OR: 5,38; IC95%: 2,41-11,99). Esta asociación también se observó en las mujeres que vivían en zonas rurales (ref: zonas urbanas; OR: 2,94; IC95%: 1,36-6,38). Conclusiones: La denuncia judicial al agresor no parece modificar el riesgo de asesinato entre las mujeres expuestas a la violencia de pareja. Las medidas de protección a las mujeres deberían extremarse en las mujeres inmigrantes y las que viven en el medio rural.

Factors Associated with the Cessation of Intimate Partner Violence in Women Attending Primary Care in Spain

This study aimed to identify factors associated with the likelihood of IPV cessation among women attending Spanish primary healthcare. Of the 2465 women who reported lifetime IPV, 36.1 % stated that violence had ceased. Those women not currently abused had higher levels of education and social support, were workers or students, and had no dependent children. When IPV duration was less than 5 years, the likelihood of cessation was two times higher than when IPV continued beyond 5 years. For women who have experienced physical IPV, the probability of ending the violent relationship was 10 times higher than for those suffering from psychological IPV. The implications of the findings regarding clinical significance and future research are discussed.

Validación de la versión española del cuestionario Physician Readiness To Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS)

Fundamentos: El Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS) es uno de los cuestionarios más completos en el contexto internacional para la valoración de la capacidad de respuesta frente a la violencia del compañero íntimo por los profesionales de Atención Primaria de Salud. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la fiabilidad, consistencia interna y validez de constructo de la versión española de este cuestionario. Métodos: Tras la traducción, retrotraducción y valoración de la validez de contenido del cuestionario, se distribuyeron en una muestra de 200 profesionales de medicina y enfermería de 15 centros de atención primaria de 4 Comunidades Autónomas en 2013 (Comunidad Valenciana, Castilla León, Murcia y Cantabria). Se calcularon los coeficientes alfa de Cronbach, los de correlación intraclase y rho de Spearman (test-retest). Resultados: la versión española del PREMIS incluyó 64 ítems. El coeficiente α de Cronbach fue superior a 0,7 o muy cercano a ese valor en la mayoría de los índices. Se obtuvo un coeficiente de correlación intraclase de 0,87 y un coeficiente de Spearman de 0,67 que muestran una fiabilidad alta. Todas las correlaciones observadas para la escala de opiniones, la única tratada como estructura factorial en el cuestionario PREMIS, fueron superiores a 0,30. Conclusiones: el PREMIS en español obtuvo una buena validez interna, alta fiabilidad y capacidad predictiva de las prácticas auto-referidas por médicos(as) y enfermeros(as) frente a casos de violencia del compañero íntimo en centros de atención primaria.

Violence against young women attending primary care services in Spain: prevalence and health consequences

Background. There are a significant number of studies assessing the negative health consequences of violence against women. However, a limited number of studies analyse the health consequences of violence committed against young women by different types of aggressors. Objectives. The goal of this study is to assess the prevalence of interpersonal violence against young women in Spain and analyse its impact on the physical and mental health of the victims. Methods. A total of 1076 women aged 18–25 years attending Spanish primary care services were selected. We estimated the prevalence of interpersonal violence and compared the health data and demographic characteristics of abused and non-abused young women, multi-logistic regression models were fitted. The Wald test was used to assess whether there were differences in the negative health consequences of intimate partner (IPV) versus non-IPV. Results. As many as 27.6% young women reported a history of abuse, of whom 42.7% had been assaulted by their partner, 41.1% by someone other than their partner and 16.2% both by their partner and another person. The distribution of social and demographic characteristics was similar for IPV and non-IPV victims. Young abused women were three times more likely to suffer psychological distress and have somatic complaints, and they were four times more likely to use medication as compared to non-abused women. Conclusion. Our results suggest that all forms of violence compromise young women’s health seriously. Including patients’ history of abuse in their health record may help make more informed clinical decisions and provide a more integrated care.

Intimate partner violence among women in Spain: the impact of regional-level male unemployment and income inequality

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a complex worldwide public health problem. There is scarce research on the independent effect on IPV exerted by structural factors such as labour and economic policies, economic inequalities and gender inequality. Objective: To analyse the association, in Spain, between contextual variables of regional unemployment and income inequality and individual women’s likelihood of IPV, independently of the women’s characteristics. Method: We conducted multilevel logistic regression to analyse cross-sectional data from the 2011 Spanish Macrosurvey of Gender-based Violence which included 7898 adult women. The first level of analyses was the individual women’ characteristics and the second level was the region of residence. Results: Of the survey participants, 12.2% reported lifetime IPV. The region of residence accounted for 3.5% of the total variability in IPV prevalence. We determined a direct association between regional male long-term unemployment and IPV likelihood (P = 0.007) and between the Gini Index for the regional income inequality and IPV likelihood (P < 0.001). Women residing in a region with higher gender-based income discrimination are at a lower likelihood of IPV than those residing in a region with low gender-based income discrimination (odds ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence intervals: 0.55–0.75). Conclusions: Growing regional unemployment rates and income inequalities increase women’s likelihood of IPV. In times of economic downturn, like the current one in Spain, this association may translate into an increase in women’s vulnerability to IPV.

Factors Associated With Women’s Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence in Spain

In Spain, in 2013, the 20% of women who were murdered by their partner had reported him previously. We analyze the 2011 Spanish-Macrosurvey on Gender Violence to identify and analyze the prevalence of and the principal factors associated with reporting a situation of intimate partner violence (IPV) and the main reasons women cite for not filing such reports, or for subsequently deciding to withdraw their complaint. Overall, 72.8% of women exposed to IPV did not report their aggressor. The most frequent reasons for not reporting were not giving importance to the situation (33.9%), and fear and lack of trust in the reporting process (21.3%). The main reasons for withdrawing the complaint were cessation of the violence (20.0%), and fear and threats (18.2%). The probability of reporting increased among women with young children who were abused, prevalence ratio (95% confidence interval [CI]): 2.14 [1.54, 2.98], and those whose mother was abused, prevalence ratio (95% CI): 2.25 [1.42, 3.57]. Always focusing on the need to protect women who report abuse, it is necessary to promote the availability of and access to legal resources especially among women who use them less: women who do not have children and women who do not have previous family exposure to violence.