Prevalence of violence against women living in rural areas and associated factors: a cross-sectional study based on the 2019 National Health Survey

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the prevalence of violence against women living in rural areas, explore associated factors, and characterize cases of violence according to perpetrator, place of occurrence, and frequency. Based on data from the 2019 National Health Survey, using Poisson’s regression we calculated crude and adjusted prevalence ratios for violence committed during the last 12 months against women living in rural areas across Brazil, focusing on the following variables: sociodemographic characteristics, income, social support, and self-reported health status. The prevalence of psychological, physical, and sexual violence was 18%, 4.4%, and 1.5%, respectively. Perpetrators were mainly people known to the victim and violence was mainly committed at home and repeated over time. Prevalence was highest among young women (24.2%), single and divorced women (20% each), women who had complete elementary school till not complete higher education (22% each), women with very poor (34%) and poor (30%) self-perceived health status; and women with a mental health problem (30%). After adjustment, the following variables were retained in the model: women aged 30-39 years and 40-49 years; married women; women with very poor, poor, and fair perceived health; and women diagnosed with a mental health problem.