Painful sex: Exploring the relationship between sexuality and violence among reproductive age women in Northern Mexico

Dyspareunia or pelvic pain during sexual intercourse is a major gynecologic complaint among women of reproductive age. Sexual dysfunctions in Mexican women have been scarcely documented. This study reports on the prevalence of dyspareunia and on the association between dyspareunia and sexual violence reported in a population-based survey of 1,183 Mexican women aged 25 to 54 years in the Northern region of Mexico. The 12-month prevalence of dyspareunia was 12.3% (95% CI: 10.5-14.4). After adjusting for occupational status, age, history of sexually transmitted diseases and/or pelvic inflammatory diseases, history of chronic urinary tract infections and colitis, women who experienced sexual violence were more likely to report dyspareunia. Women who reported sexual violence before age 15 had 3.7 increase in the odds of pelvic pain during sexual intercourse (95% CI: 1.90, 7.27) when they were compared with those whose did not report sexual violence. The odds of reporting dyspareunia also increased three-fold in women who experienced sexual violence both before and after age 15 (adjusted OR= 2.92; 95% CI: 1.33, 6.41). Two out of 5 women with dyspareunia reported reducing the frequency of sexual activity as a result of having painful sex. It is necessary to increase the clinical evaluation of both sexual dysfunctions and sexual violence for women in developing countries