The landscape of violence against left-behind women in rural China: prevalence estimates and associated factors

Abstract

Background and objectives Violence against women (VAW) is a critical public health issue, yet the experiences among left-behind women in rural China—resulting from rapid urbanisation—are largely overlooked. This study aimed to uncover the prevalence of VAW within this specific population and identify associated factors. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Henan Province, China, in July 2023. A multistage stratified random sampling method was used to recruit rural left-behind women. Data on VAW were collected through validated questionnaires. To establish the full landscape of violence they might experience, VAW was assessed as intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner violence (NPV). As a new form of IPV, remote-IPV was also assessed. Prevalence estimates for various forms, types and specific items of violence were presented as frequencies with corresponding percentages. Random forest combined logistic regression was used to explore the associated factors of VAW. Results Among 1516 eligible rural left-behind women, the median age was 52.0 years (IQR: 43.0–57.0). Overall, 31.1% reported experiencing VAW in their lifetime, of which 28.2% reported IPV, 5.4% reported remote-IPV and 7% reported NPV. In their past life, physical abuse (19.9%) was the most commonly reported IPV type, social abuse (3.3%) was the most commonly reported remote-IPV type and emotional abuse (5.9%) was the most commonly reported NPV type. VAW was significantly associated with advanced age (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.06, p<0.001), marital dissatisfaction (OR: 3.42, 95%CI: 2.00 to 6.05, p<0.001) and husband’s high-risk lifestyle behaviours (ORs varying from 1.37 to 2.59), including playing card, fighting and quarrelling history. Conclusions VAW is highly prevalent and remains a significant serious public health problem for rural left-behind women in China. Depicting the landscape of VAW forms and types is beneficial to deeply understand the magnitude of the violence and to monitor the progress in addressing VAW.