Intimate partner violence among women in Togo: a generalised structural equation modeling approach

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the magnitude and identify associated factors with intimate partner violence (IPV) in Togo. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Togo. PARTICIPANTS: Women of reproductive age (15-49 years). PRIMARY OUTCOME: Intimate partner violence. METHODS: This study used data from the 2013 Togolese Demographic and Health Survey. A total of 4910 married or partnered women were included. A Generalised Structural Equation Model (GSEM) was performed to identify significant factors associated with IPV. Results of the GSEM were reported as adjusted ORs (aOR) with their corresponding 95% CIs. RESULTS: The pooled prevalence of IPV was 35.5% (95% CI: 34.2% to 36.8%). Emotional violence and physical violence were the most reported forms of IPV (29.7% and 20.2%, respectively), while sexual violence was the least common, with a prevalence of 7.5%. Additionally, the results indicated that the following factors related to women, men and households were significantly associated with IPV in Togo: ethnicity, region, religion, wealth index, working status, age at the first union, having attitudes toward wife-beating, participation in household decision-making, education level, alcohol use and controlling behaviour. CONCLUSION: IPV is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon in Togo. The Togo government as well as women's human rights organisations should consider these factors when designing IPV programmes.