Background: The HIV/AIDS pandemic has largely affected women in Africa. Apart from
the physiological susceptibility to HIV infection, factors such as intimate partner violence
(IPV) are considered to heighten the risk of infection for women. In 2009, sixty percent of all
new infections were contracted within married unions in Zambia. HIV prevalence rates for
women continue to remain high in Zambia while IPV is a rampant social problem in this
society. Thus, this study examines the relationship between intimate partner violence and
HIV status of currently married women in Zambia.
Methods: The study used the 2007 Zambian Demographic and Health Survey data to achieve
the objectives of the study. The study included a sample of 2 895 currently married women
aged 15-49 who participated in the domestic violence module and the HIV test. The main
independent variable of the study was IPV and covariates included: age of respondent, age at
sexual debut, religion, highest education level, household wealth index, place of residence,
the country’s provinces, partners age and partners education. The dependent variable of the
study was HIV status. Data analysis was conducted in three stages. First ly, a univariate
analysis was conducted to show the prevalence’s of HIV and IPV. A bivariate analysis was
also conducted; which illustrate the distribution of the population’s characteristics by the
dependent variable. Secondly, Binomial Logistic regression was used to examine the
relationships between each of the independent variables and dependent variable. Thirdly,
Multivariate Logistic Regression was used to examine the relationship between IPV and HIV
status while controlling for selected covariates.
Results: HIV prevalence of 14 percent was found among currently married women while 43
percent of the women experienced violence from an intimate partner. It was found that
women who experienced both physical and sexual violence were more likely to be HIV
positive. The more educated and affluent the women were; the more likely they were to be
HIV positive. Age of the respondent and partner’s age were also found to have significant
relationships with the HIV status of women.
Conclusion In Zambia, there was a relationship found between IPV and the HIV status of
currently married women. The sustained high prevalence of IPV and HIV amongst women in
Zambia is of social and public health concern and should be addressed if the country wants to
effectively reduce the infection rate of
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/15434 |
| Date | 08 September 2014 |
| Creators | Thwala, Lebo |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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