Violencia doméstica contra la mujer: Una encuesta en consultorios de atención primaria

according to pan american health organization nearly 50% of women suffer chronic domestic violence in latin america. we evaluated the prevalence of gender based violence (gbv) in women assisted in a university outpatient clinic in buenos aires. we used a survey originally developed by the international planned parenthood federation (ippf) in spanish. the survey was distributed to a consecutive sample of women more than 18 years of age who attended the clinic. participants were randomized to fill out the questionnaire anonymously (self-administered) or during an interview with the physician in order to test the sensitivity of these two different modalities of data collection. of 360 eligible women 270, (75%) completed the questionnaire. the respondents had a median age of 45.4 years, only 33% had more than 7 years of formal education and 48% did not live with a partner. of the 270 respondents, 120 (44%) women reported mistreatment at least once during their lifetime. of these, 108 (40%) reported psychological gbv, 53 physical gbv and 45 reported sexual gbv. most of the respondents suffered more than one type of violence. 46 (17%) women reported sexual abuse during childhood, 219 (81%) of participants never had been asked by their physician about domestic violence. women interviewed by the physician reported gbv more frequently than those completing the self-administered survey (p <0.005). the survey developed by the ippf is considered a useful tool for screening in a clinical setting.