Intimate partner violence and correlates in pregnant HIV positive Nigerians

To determine the prevalence, types and correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV) in pregnant Nigerian living with HIV. Cross sectional study. HIV positive pregnant women. A large HIV comprehensive treatment centre. A cross sectional study of 652 HIV positive pregnant Nigerians seen at Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos, Nigeria over a 24 months period. Prevalence of intimate partner violence after HIV diagnosis. Among the women interviewed, 423 (65.8%) reported abuse. In 74.0% of abused women, the abuse started after HIV diagnosis. Though having a HIV negative spouse and disclosure of HIV status were associated with abuse, only having a HIV negative partner retained its association with IPV (OR 3.1; CI 2.4-5.3) after controlling for confounding variables. Sixty-two (9.6%) women have not disclosed their HIV status because of fear of rejection. Verbal abuse (51.7%), threat of violence in 97 (22.9%) and sexual deprivation in 91 (21.5%) were the common forms of abuse reported. IPV is common among HIV positive pregnant Nigerians; with a threefold increased risk in women in HIV serodiscordant relationship.