Abstract

Objectives: Domestic violence is the most common form of violence with the highest rate of frequency, lowest rate of report to the police, and highest psychological, social and economic complications and its reduction is a general health priority. The present study was performed to determine the frequency of domestic violence, and its related variables in the city of Kerman. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 20 clusters each consisting 20 households were selected through cluster sampling and by using postal codes from among families in the city of (located in south east of Iran) Kerman. 400 married women were examined ultimately.  Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire with a Cronbach’s Alpha of 92%. Data obtained from the questionnaire were completed using an interview and analyzed using chi-square test. Results: Altogether, 46% of women had been exposed to various types of domestic violence by their partners, including psychological violence (78.6%), physical violence (55.6%), sexual violence (28.6%) and economic violence (34.7%). Domestic violence showed direct relationship with husband educational level (p=0.001) and the wife (p=0.004), husband’s job (p=0.01), living in rural areas until the age of 20 (p=0.002 for males and p=0.023 for females), addiction of husband (p=0.001) and wife (p=0.003), and living with other family members (p=0.001). From the point of view of violence-stricken women, the most prevalent causes of violence were a poor economic state (25.4%) and husbands’ job (8.9%).  Conclusion: Considering the results for the prevalence of domestic violence and its related factors, reinforcing skills such as stress management, anger control and creative thinking, methods of dealing with challenges and difficulties of married life through training couples is highly recommended, in order to reduce the rate of violence and establishing a calm familial environment.