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Sexual Violence Towards Married Women in Bangladesh

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Abstract

This article explored the magnitude and nature of within marriage sexual violence against women and factors associated with physically forced sex by husbands in urban and rural Bangladesh using population-based survey data from 2001 (n = 2,702). Results showed high prevalence of lifetime sexual violence: 37 % in urban and 50 % in rural areas. An overwhelming majority of the women reported being sexually abused by husbands more than once. Logistic regression analyses revealed that six out of ten independent variables included in the models were significant. The factors positively associated with physically forced sex by husbands during the last 12 months were: history of physical abuse of husband’s mother by his father; level of controlling behavior by husband; and forced or coerced first sex. Women’s age (20–24 compared to 15–19) and dowry demand at marriage increased the likelihood of this violence in the rural area. Urban women in the second and third income quartiles were more likely to be exposed to this violence compared to women in the first quartile. Results highlight the need for prevention programs targeting men, which would help at the same time to break the cycle of intergenerational exposure and thereby transmission of violence. Notions of gender equality; women’s sexual rights; and women’s right to consent and choice need to be widely promoted particularly among men.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Urban Primary Health Care Project of Bangladesh (UPHCP), under the auspices of the Government of Bangladesh and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Grant Number GR-00046. ICDDR-B acknowledges with gratitude the commitment of UPHCP-ADB, the Government of Bangladesh to ICDDR-B’s research efforts. We express our gratitude to the women who provided us with a wealth of information, a fraction of which was used in this study.

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  1. Centre for Equity and Health Systems, ICDDR-B, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh

    Ruchira Tabassum Naved

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  1. Ruchira Tabassum Naved
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Correspondence to Ruchira Tabassum Naved.

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Naved, R.T. Sexual Violence Towards Married Women in Bangladesh. Arch Sex Behav 42, 595–602 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-0045-1

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