Disclosure and help seeking behavior of women exposed to physical spousal violence in Dhaka slums

BACKGROUND: Despite high prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and its adverse social and health consequences, the rate of help seeking for IPV is generally low. Although the level of IPV is much higher in urban slums of Bangladesh, the level and nature of help seeking of the victims are unknown. This paper aims to address this gap in the literature. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional survey conducted between August 2011-February 2012, we explored disclosure of violence, help seeking behavior, and their correlates among randomly selected currently married women aged 15-29 in Dhaka slums (n = 2604). RESULTS: About 60 % of the currently married women reported past year spousal physical violence, but only 21 % disclosed and 19 % sought…