Prevalence and Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence among HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing Clients in Northern Tanzania

Background. HIV infection has been associated with intimate partner violence (IPV), especially in high seroprevalence regions. We investigated IPV among women at an HIV voluntary counseling and testing center in Northern Tanzania. Methods. We assessed clients' lifetime history of physical or sexual IPV and performed bivariate and ordered logistic regression analyses to identify risk factors for IPV and IPV frequency. Frequency was described by ordinal values assigned to each IPV response level (“never,” “sometimes,” “frequently”) and summated, creating a total violence score. Results. Of 2,486 women presenting between June 2005 and January 2008, 18% reported IPV during their lifetime. Older, unemployed, less educated women, and those with children were more likely to have experienced IPV (all p<0.05). IPV exposure differed by marital status (p<0.001), with 11% of single, 22% of married, and 30% of divorced women reporting IPV. Married women had 1.48 (95% CI 1.07-2.04) greater odds, and divorced women had 2.28 (95% CI 1.66-3.13) greater odds, of more frequent IPV compared to single women, adjusted for other sociodemographic characteristics. HIV seropositivity rates did not differ by IPV exposure category; however, 23% of single women with IPV were HIV-infected vs. 15% without IPV (p<0.032), and 50% of divorced women with the highest rates of IPV were HIV-infected. Conclusion. IPV is prevalent among women in northern Tanzania and is associated with HIV among single women. Rates of IPV are likely underreported, and the association between marital status and IPV may help identify women in need of support services.