The landscape of violence against left-behind women in rural China: prevalence estimates and associated factors.

IF 6.1 2区医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

BMJ Global Health Pub Date : 2025-09-25 DOI:10.1136/bmjgh-2025-020501

Leying Hou, Shiyi Shan, Zeyu Luo, Wenhan Xiao, Jiayao Ying, Jing Wu, Wen Liu, Peige Song

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background and objectives: Violence against women (VAW) is a critical public health issue, yet the experiences among left-behind women in rural China-resulting from rapid urbanisation-are largely overlooked. This study aimed to uncover the prevalence of VAW within this specific population and identify associated factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Henan Province, China, in July 2023. A multistage stratified random sampling method was used to recruit rural left-behind women. Data on VAW were collected through validated questionnaires. To establish the full landscape of violence they might experience, VAW was assessed as intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner violence (NPV). As a new form of IPV, remote-IPV was also assessed. Prevalence estimates for various forms, types and specific items of violence were presented as frequencies with corresponding percentages. Random forest combined logistic regression was used to explore the associated factors of VAW.

Results: Among 1516 eligible rural left-behind women, the median age was 52.0 years (IQR: 43.0-57.0). Overall, 31.1% reported experiencing VAW in their lifetime, of which 28.2% reported IPV, 5.4% reported remote-IPV and 7% reported NPV. In their past life, physical abuse (19.9%) was the most commonly reported IPV type, social abuse (3.3%) was the most commonly reported remote-IPV type and emotional abuse (5.9%) was the most commonly reported NPV type. VAW was significantly associated with advanced age (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.06, p<0.001), marital dissatisfaction (OR: 3.42, 95% CI: 2.00 to 6.05, p<0.001) and husband's high-risk lifestyle behaviours (ORs varying from 1.37 to 2.59), including playing card, fighting and quarrelling history.

Conclusions: VAW is highly prevalent and remains a significant serious public health problem for rural left-behind women in China. Depicting the landscape of VAW forms and types is beneficial to deeply understand the magnitude of the violence and to monitor the progress in addressing VAW.

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中国农村对留守妇女的暴力：发生率估计及相关因素。

背景和目的：对妇女的暴力行为（VAW）是一个重要的公共卫生问题，然而，由于快速城市化，中国农村留守妇女的经历在很大程度上被忽视了。本研究旨在揭示这一特定人群中VAW的患病率，并确定相关因素。方法：于2023年7月在中国河南省进行横断面调查。采用多阶段分层随机抽样方法对农村留守妇女进行调查。通过有效的问卷收集对妇女暴力的数据。为了全面了解她们可能遭受的暴力，对暴力侵害行为进行了评估，分为亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）和非伴侣暴力（NPV）。作为IPV的一种新形式，对远程IPV进行了评价。对各种形式、类型和具体暴力项目的流行率估计以频率和相应百分比表示。采用随机森林联合logistic回归分析VAW的相关因素。结果：1516名符合条件的农村留守妇女中位年龄为52.0岁（IQR: 43.0 ~ 57.0）。总体而言，31.1%报告在其一生中经历过VAW，其中28.2%报告IPV， 5.4%报告远程IPV， 7%报告NPV。在他们过去的生活中，身体虐待（19.9%）是最常见的IPV类型，社交虐待（3.3%）是最常见的远程IPV类型，情感虐待（5.9%）是最常见的NPV类型。对妇女的暴力侵害与高龄显著相关（OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02 ~ 1.06）。结论：对妇女的暴力侵害非常普遍，仍然是中国农村留守妇女严重的公共卫生问题。描绘暴力侵害形式和类型的概况有助于深入了解暴力的严重程度，并监测解决暴力侵害问题的进展情况。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

BMJ Global Health Medicine-Health Policy

CiteScore

11.40

自引率

4.90%

发文量

429

审稿时长

18 weeks

期刊介绍： BMJ Global Health is an online Open Access journal from BMJ that focuses on publishing high-quality peer-reviewed content pertinent to individuals engaged in global health, including policy makers, funders, researchers, clinicians, and frontline healthcare workers. The journal encompasses all facets of global health, with a special emphasis on submissions addressing underfunded areas such as non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It welcomes research across all study phases and designs, from study protocols to phase I trials to meta-analyses, including small or specialized studies. The journal also encourages opinionated discussions on controversial topics.