Prevalence of domestic violence in the city of Durango, Mexico

Objective. To characterize and determine the prevalence of the different types of gender-associated violence in the city of Durango, Mexico. Material and methods. With a transversal design, 384 women residents of the city of Durango, either living with or having lived with someone before, were interviewed. The sample was proportionately distributed in 6 city sectors which were randomly chosen and representative of the high middle and low socioeconomic levels. Sixty-four interviews were conducted in each city sector. The questionnaire consisted of 184 closed and 22 open questions, including identification, sociodemographic and reproductive data, as well as specific questions on physical, emotional and sexual violence. Results. Median age of the studied group was 41.5 years, ranging from 12 to 48 years. Prevalence of domestic violence was sexual 42%; physical 40%; emotional 39%. Conclusions. The problem of violence, in its different forms, is a highly prevalent factor wich jeopardizes the welfare of the family nucleus. Higher prevalence values of domestic violence were detected in the presence of factors such as violence antecedents, alcoholism and/or drug consumption by some member of the family.