Intimate partner violence among married couples in India and contraceptive use reported by women but not husbands

Abstract

Objective To assess whether intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with discordant reports of contraceptive use (whereby wives but not husbands report such use) among married couples in Maharashtra, India. Methods The present cross-sectional study in rural Maharashtra, India, analyzed survey data collected in 2012 among husbands and wives aged 18-30 years, fluent in Marathi, with no prior sterilization, and with no current pregnancy or plans to conceive. Crude and adjusted logistic regression models assessed husbands' perpetration of IPV in relation to discordant reports of contraceptive use. Results Among 577 couples meeting the eligibility criteria, 207 (35.9%) women reported ever experiencing physical IPV from their husbands, and 183 (31.7%) reported ever experiencing sexual IPV from their husbands. In adjusted logistic regression models, discordant contraceptive use was significantly associated with wives' experiences of physical IPV (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-4.42) and sexual IPV (AOR 1.95, 95% CI 1.08-4.82). Conclusion Women who reported IPV from their husbands might be more likely to use contraceptives without informing their husbands, possibly to redress the reproductive control often exerted by abusive male partners.