| dc.description.abstract | Background: Violence Against Women is a significant public health problem, as well as fundamental violation of women‟s rights. In Uganda many women and girls suffer from both sexual and gender based violence by state actors like military services, rebel armies and also from non-state actors with in a family or community. And the leading cause of Domestic Violence in the community is the inequality between men and women in a household, where men feel the ability to dictate all areas of decision making in a home and when a woman disagrees, violence erupts.
Main objective: This study was aimed at assessing the effects of Domestic Violence on women in mulago III parish, Kawempe division. Methods: this is a descriptive cross-sectional study aimed at investigating the different effects of domestic violence on women‟s health. The study involved all women aged 15-45 years who are/were victims of abuse or have been witnesses to Domestic Violence happening to a fellow woman residing in Mulago III parish. The study involved 147 respondents using self administered and interviewer administrated questionnaires.
The results: The study revealed that 93.9% of the victims of domestic violence sustained physical injuries, 36.1% suffered pregnancy related complications, 15.6% of the sexually abused women acquired STDs and 10.9% resorted to substance abuse. Majority (96.6%) of the abused women developed fear for the abusive partner, 56.6% became severely depressed, 78.2% of the women became isolated from friends and family, 71.4% suffered family breakups where as 85.0% found it difficult to maintain a job.
Conclusion: Violence Against Women is still a big problem in the community; it leaves a remarkable scar on both the physical and psycho-social well-being of a woman. Women‟s lack of knowledge about their legal rights, shame, and fear for social stigma has led to their suffering in silence.
Recommendation: The government should strengthen the policies regarding Violence Against Women, increased mass sensitization on matters relating to domestic violence, a friendly & simpler legal system should be put in place to handle cases relating to abuse of women. | en_US |
