Wife beating is one of the most common forms of violence against women by husbands or other intimate male partners. Although violence against women is pervasive, there are only few studies documenting the magnitude of the problem especially among the working class. The civil service comprises of persons from all socio-economic levels and different backgrounds. They act in advisory capacity and assist those responsible for making state policy. Thus, 431 civil servants of the Oyo State government service were interviewed using a 44-item self-administered questionnaire. Results revealed that prevalence of wife beating was 31.3%. Ninety one (42.5%) men had been perpetrators, while 44 (23.5%) women had been victims. Consuming alcohol and growing up in an environment where parents fight publicly were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with men beating their wives; while being young, unmarried and a parental background of fighting was significantly associated with women being beaten (p < 0.05). Female respondents justified reasons for various types of domestic violence, including beating, more than the males (p < 0.05). Younger respondents had significantly worse attitudes (p < 0.05), while married and educated respondents had better attitude (p < 0.05). "Not wanting the children to suffer" (60.7%) and "hoping that partner will change" (28.8%) were reasons given for remaining in abusive relationships. There is an urgent need for education of the women on their rights, sensitisation of the men on gender-based violence and punishment for perpetrators. Supportive care and counselling services should also be provided for victims of violence. RÉSUMÉLa violence domestique est une des formes de violence contre la femme par les maris ou par les autres partenaires mâles intimes les plus communes. Quoique la violence contre la femme soit faite sentir un peu partout, il existe très peu d'études qui documentent l'ampleur du problème surtout parmi la classe ouvrière. La fonction publique comprend les gens de toutes les couches socio-économiques et de tous les milieux différents. Leur rôle est de donner des conseils et d'aider ceux qui sont chargés de formuler la politique de l'état. Ainsi, 431 fonctionnaires dans le service du gouvernement de l'état d'Oyo ont été interviewés à l'aide d'un questionnaire auto-administré qui comportait 44 points. Les résultats ont montré que la fréquence de la violence domestique était de 31,3%. Quatre-vingt-et-onze hommes (42,5%) avaient été des auteurs alors que 44 femmes avaient été des victimes. La consommation de l'alcool et le fait de grandir dans un milieu où les parents se battent en public étaient associés de manière importante (p<0,05) à la violence domestique perpertrée par les hommes contre leurs femmes; alors que le fait d'être jeune, célibataire et d'être issu d'une famille où l'on se bat, étaient associés de manière importante à la violence domestique contre la fermme (p<0,05). Les femmes interviewées ont trouvé plus des justifications que les hommes pour les différents types ...

Gender-based violence is common in our environment. Health-care providers should routinely screen for gender-based violence during antenatal visits in order to protect the health of both mother and child.

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Context.—Despite the crucial role that autopsy plays in the development of the science and practice of medicine, autopsy rates have been declining throughout the world in recent decades. Objective.—To identify factors influencing the acceptance of autopsies in Nigeria. Design.—Cross-sectional survey of the knowledge, attitude, and perceptions of doctors and relatives of deceased patients on factors influencing acceptance of autopsy at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Results.—Only 38% of relatives had satisfactory knowledge about autopsy and about 50% of doctors knew that physicians' desire for autopsy should not override patients' consent. Doctors identified difficulty in obtaining consent from relatives of deceased patients, administrative problems in requesting autopsy, and delay in obtaining autopsy report as major reasons responsible for the decline in autopsy requests, whereas relatives of the deceased cited fear of mutilation, concerns about delaying the funeral, and objection by the patient before death as reasons for refusal to grant permission for an autopsy. Sociodemographic factors such as age, occupation, religion, ethnicity, and level of education significantly influenced willingness to give consent for autopsy. Conclusions.—There is need for concerted effort on the part of clinicians, pathologists, the public, and the government to resuscitate and sustain the practice of autopsy in Nigeria.

An intervention study was carried out among hawkers, drivers, instructors, police and judicial officers to reduce the incidence of violence against young female hawkers in three states of south-western Nigeria. Knowledge and experience of violence among the hawkers before and after the interventions were then compared. Findings show that they had greater knowledge of the different types of violence (p < 0.05), were more aware of their vulnerability to violence (99.4% after compared to 82.7% before intervention) and sought help or redress (76.3% after compared to 45.8% before intervention) following violent acts. Sexual violence was the commonest type experienced (30.4% and 15.7% at base line and end line respectively). The rate of violence also decreased. We conclude that multidisciplinary interventions that empower women economically and educationally and involve all stakeholders are effective in preventing violence against women.

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Background: There has been a significant reduction of abortion rates in high-income countries, while the rates remain unchanged in low-and middle-income countries. In Ethiopia, for example, the number of women of reproductive age seeking an induced abortion is increasing. However, there is limited information concerning the reasons why the occurrence of this procedure is increasing. Thus, this study aimed to identify factors associated with having induced abortion in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: An unmatched case-control study was conducted using a semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire from October to December 2017. The cases were 147 women of reproductive age who underwent abortion in a health facility or presented with complications due to induced abortion conducted outside the health facility. The controls were 295 women who came for antenatal care and who reported never having had an induced abortion. The cases were selected by consecutive sampling from nine health facilities, whereas the controls were selected by systematic sampling from the same health facilities. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed using STATA version 14 to identify factors associated with induced abortion. Results: The mean age of cases was 26.5 ± 5.7 years, while for the controls it was 28.1 ± 4.8 years. Being unmarried (AOR = 9.6; 95% CI: 1.5-61.7), having primary (AOR = 5.3; 95% CI: 1.5-18.3) and tertiary (AOR = 5.7; 95% CI: 1.6-21.1) education, earning monthly income 100-300 USD (AOR = 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1-0.4) and > 300 USD (AOR = 0.1; 95% CI: 0.0-0.2), initiating first intercourse between ages of 15 and 19 (AOR = 4.7; 95% CI: 1.4-15.6), marrying before the age of 18 (AOR = 2.9; 95% CI: 1.3-6.7), and having two children (AOR = 4.7; 95% CI: 1.8-12.7) were independent predictors of induced abortion. Conclusion: Family planning programs hoping to reduce the occurrence of induced abortion should specifically target unmarried women, low income, and those who have two children. The government should also work on preventing early marriage and providing sexual and reproductive health education to help adolescents delay age at first sexual experience.

Background The nature of training and work of the military personnel and civil servants may affect their relationships with their intimate partners in different ways. Objectives The objective of this study was to assess and compare the prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV) against female partners among male military personnel and civil servants in Ibadan, South-western Nigeria. Methods A cross sectional study was carried out using a multi-stage sampling technique. A self administered questionnaire was used in data collection. χ 2 test was used to assess association between categorical variables and predictors of perpetration of IPV were determined using logistic regression at level of significance of 5%. Result A total of 1240 respondents, 631 in the military and 609 in the civil service were interviewed. About 75% were currently married. The prevalence of perpetration of any form of IPV in the last 12 months of the study was 77.8% and 66% among the respondents in the military and civil service, respectively. Significantly higher proportions of respondents in the military had perpetrated various types of IPV except sexual violence. The predictors of perpetrating any form IPV include being a military personnel, childhood exposure to parental IPV, having a negative attitude towards wife beating and use of alcohol. Civil servants were more likely to perpetrate sexual violence against their female partners. Significance Intimate partner violence was quite prevalence in both groups but significantly more among the military personnel. There is a need for educating these men through multidisciplinary approach and different strategies in the two groups. A178Inj Prev 2012;18(Suppl 1):A1-A246