Violence against women in an urban context: a study on the spatial distribution of violence in the City of Sao Paulo

Author(s)

Ligia Bittencourt Kiss

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina (FM/SBD)
• Defense date: 2009-09-11

Examining board members

Lilia Blima Schraiber; Estela Maria Motta Lima Leão de Aquino; Ivan França Junior; Maria Carmen Moldes Viana

• Advisor: Lilia Blima Schraiber; Nelson da Cruz Gouveia
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health
• Indexed in: Banco de Dados Bibliográficos da USP-DEDALUS; Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações - USP
• Location: Universidade de São Paulo. Biblioteca Central da Faculdade de Medicina; FM W4.DB8 SP.USP FM-2 2009; K66vi

Abstract

Since the 1990s, violence against women has been recognized as a public health matter because of its magnitude and health consequences for individuals. Although research acknowledges the influence of neighbourhood factors on intimate partner violence (IPV), few studies investigate how the context and the woman\'s participation in personal and social networks affect her individual probability of experiencing this type of violence. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of IPV against women and its relations with social inequalities, urban violence, and social capital in the City of Sao Paulo. Datasets used included: the WHO multi-country study on women\'s health and domestic violence against women; the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) census; and homicide rates from PROAIM (Program for the Improvement of Mortality Data). Data was analyzed using multilevel modeling techniques. The findings show that there is no significant variation in IPV between neighbourhoods. The study also found that socioeconomic deprivation, high rates of homicides, and low levels of social capital in a neighbourhood were not associated with a woman\'s individual probability of experiencing IPV. Among the individual-level variables, IPV was associated with partner behaviors and having a mother who experienced IPV. These results reinforce the assumption that gender is a core concept to understanding violence, and suggest that in Sao Paulo, neighbourhood factors have limited influence in the dynamics of intimate relationships. (AU)