Violence against women index in Peru

Abstract

The Violence Against Women Index is a measure that evaluates the evolution of violence in a given context to understand the severity of the problem, which is a public health issue. Objective: This study aimed to measure the violence against women index in Peru according to sociodemographic variables. Method: The study was descriptive, comparative, quantitative, and cross-sectional; 1565 women who had experienced violence participated and were intentionally sampled. A validated measurement instrument was used to assess the rate of violence against women. Results: A moderate level (54.1%) of violence against women was found with a tendency to increase severely (33.7%, significant indices). In addition, differences were found in the index of violence according to sociodemographic variables of women (p < 0.05). Conclusion: violence does not distinguish women from being victims because of their social, family, economic, educational, cultural, or residential status; however, there is a greater probability of severe violence in adult women with a low level of education.