Prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence among family planning clients in Conakry, Guinea

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health problem that affects women’s physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Very little data on IPV experience and FP use is available in resource-poor settings, such as in West Africa. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence, patterns and correlates of IPV among clients of an adult Family Planning clinic in Conakry, Guinea. METHODS: The study data was collected for four months (March to June 2014) from women’s family planning charts and from an IPV screening form at the Adult Family Planning and Reproductive Health Clinic of “Association Guinéenne pour le Bien-Etre Familial”, a non-profit organization in Conakry, Guinea. 232 women out of 245 women who attended the clinic for services during the study period were screened for IPV and were included in this study. RESULTS: Of the 232 women screened, 213 (92 %) experienced IPV in one form or another at some point in their lifetime. 169 women reported psychological violence (79.3 %), 145 reported sexual violence (68.1 %) and 103 reported physical violence (48.4 %). Nearly a quarter of women reported joint occurrence of the three forms of violence(24 %).Half of the IPV positive women were current users of family planning (51.2 %) and of these, 77.9 % preferred injectable contraceptives. The odds of experiencing IPV was higher in women with secondary or vocational level of education than those with higher level of education (AOR: 8.4; 95 % CI 1.2–58.5). Women residing in other communes of Conakry (AOR: 5.6; 95 % CI 1.4–22.9) and those preferring injectable FP methods (AOR: 4.5; 95 % CI 1.2–16.8) were more likely to experience lifetime IPV. CONCLUSIONS: IPV is prevalent among family planning clients in Conakry, Guinea where nine out of ten women screened in the AGBEF adult clinic reported having experienced one or another type of IPV. A holistic approach that includes promotion of women’s rights and gender equality, existence of laws and policies is needed to prevent and respond to IPV, effective implementation of policies and laws, and access to quality IPV services in Guinea and countries with higher rates of IPV.