Association Between Exposure to Political Violence and Intimate-Partner Violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: a Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Intimate-partner violence might increase during and after exposure to collective violence. We assessedwhether political violence was associated with male-to-female intimate-partner violence in the occupied Palestinianterritory.

Methods

A nationally representative, cross-sectional survey was done between Dec 18, 2005, and Jan 18, 2006, by thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. 4156 households were randomly selected with a multistage random clusterdesign, from which 3815 ever-married women aged 15–64 years were identified. We restricted our analysis to presentlymarried women (n=3510, 92% participation rate), who completed a short version of the revised conflict tactics scalesand exposure to political violence inventory. Exposure to political violence was characterised as the husband's directexposure, his indirect exposure via his family's experiences, and economic effects of exposure on the household. Weused adjusted multinomial logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for association between politicalviolence and intimate-partner violence.

Findings

Political violence was significantly related to higher odds of intimate-partner violence. ORs were1·89 (95% CI 1·29–2·76) for physical and 2·23 (1·49–3·35) for sexual intimate-partner violence in respondents whosehusbands were directly exposed to political violence compared with those whose husbands were not directly exposed.For women whose husbands were indirectly exposed, ORs were 1·61 (1·25–2·07) for physical and 1·97 (1·49–2–60)for sexual violence, compared with those whose husbands were not indirectly exposed. Economic effects of exposurewere associated with increased odds of intimate-partner violence in the Gaza Strip only.

Interpretation

Because exposure to political violence is associated with increased odds of intimate-partner violence,and exposure to many traumas is associated with poor health, a range of violent exposures should be assessed whenestablishing the need for psychosocial interventions in conflict settings.