Objective

To assess whether intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with discordant reports of contraceptive use (whereby wives but not husbands report such use) among married couples in Maharashtra, India.

Methods

The present cross-sectional study in rural Maharashtra, India, analyzed survey data collected in 2012 among husbands and wives aged 18-30 years, fluent in Marathi, with no prior sterilization, and with no current pregnancy or plans to conceive. Crude and adjusted logistic regression models assessed husbands' perpetration of IPV in relation to discordant reports of contraceptive use.

Results

Among 577 couples meeting the eligibility criteria, 207 (35.9%) women reported ever experiencing physical IPV from their husbands, and 183 (31.7%) reported ever experiencing sexual IPV from their husbands. In adjusted logistic regression models, discordant contraceptive use was significantly associated with wives' experiences of physical IPV (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-4.42) and sexual IPV (AOR 1.95, 95% CI 1.08-4.82).

Conclusion

Women who reported IPV from their husbands might be more likely to use contraceptives without informing their husbands, possibly to redress the reproductive control often exerted by abusive male partners.

Objective

Evidence has linked economic hardship with increased intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration among males. However, less is known about how economic debt or gender norms related to men's roles in relationships or the household, which often underlie IPV perpetration, intersect in or may explain these associations. We assessed the intersection of economic debt, attitudes toward gender norms, and IPV perpetration among married men in India.

Methods

Data were from the evaluation of a family planning intervention among young married couples (n=1,081) in rural Maharashtra, India. Crude and adjusted logistic regression models for dichotomous outcome variables and linear regression models for continuous outcomes were used to examine debt in relation to husbands' attitudes toward gender-based norms (i.e., beliefs supporting IPV and beliefs regarding male dominance in relationships and the household), as well as sexual and physical IPV perpetration.

Results

Twenty percent of husbands reported debt. In adjusted linear regression models, debt was associated with husbands' attitudes supportive of IPV (b=0.015, p=0.004) and norms supporting male dominance in relationships and the household (b=0.006, p=0.003). In logistic regression models adjusted for relevant demographics, debt was associated with perpetration of physical IPV (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1, 1.9) and sexual IPV (AOR=1.6, 95% CI 1.1, 2.1) from husbands. These findings related to debt and relation to IPV were slightly attenuated when further adjusted for men's attitudes toward gender norms.

Conclusion

Findings suggest the need for combined gender equity and economic promotion interventions to address high levels of debt and related IPV reported among married couples in rural India.

Objectives The social positioning (i.e. social status and autonomy) of women in the household facilitates women's access to and decision-making power related to family planning (FP). Women's access to spending money, which may be an indicator of greater social positioning in the household, may also be greater among women who engage in income generating activities for their families, regardless of women's status in the household. However, in both scenarios, access to money may independently afford greater opportunity to obtain family planning services among women. This study seeks to assess whether access to money is associated with FP outcomes independently of women's social positioning in their households. Methods Using survey data from married couples in rural Maharashtra, India (n = 855), crude and adjusted regression was used to assess women's access to their own spending money in relation to past 3 month use of condoms and other forms of contraceptives (pills, injectables, intrauterine device). Results Access to money (59 %) was associated with condom and other contraceptive use (AORs ranged 1.5-1.8). These findings remained significant after adjusting for women's FP decision-making power in the household and mobility to seek FP services. Conclusion While preliminary, findings suggest that access to money may increase women's ability to obtain FP methods, even in contexts where social norms to support women's power in FP decision-making may not be readily adopted.