Masood Ali Shaikh
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health problem and a violation of human rights that affects nearly half of humanity. It inflicts both physical and emotional suffering, imposing an avoidable and preventable burden on health systems and societies. Methods: This study used de-identified data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey to conduct a secondary analysis on the lifetime prevalence of IPV and its associated factors. IPV was defined as violence committed by the current or most recent husband or male intimate partner. The analysis involved twelve socio-demographic and related attributes among women aged 15-49 years. Bivariate analysis was performed using simple binary logistic regression models to identify statistically significant factors. These were then used in the multivariable binary logistic regression model to determine their associations with IPV. Results: Overall, 36.17% of women reported having experienced emotional, physical, and/or sexual violence from a current or most recent husband or intimate partner. The most common form of IPV was emotional violence, affecting 31.32% of respondents, followed by physical violence at affecting 16.85%. In total, 20.62% of women reported to have experienced physical and/or sexual IPV. The educational levels of both the woman and her intimate partner, number of living children, her acceptance of IPV, her partner's alcohol use, awareness of her father having ever beaten her mother, and the level of marital control exerted by her intimate partner were statistically significant association with IPV in the multivariable logistic regression model. Conclusion: IPV is associated with multiple complex factors. About 1.8 women out of every five women in Ghana have experienced IPV in their lifetime. These findings emphasize the urgent need for effective public health and economic strategies to reduce this preventable form of violence for women in Ghana.