Invited Commentary: Disclosure of Gender-Based Violence in Developing Countries

The evolving concept of gender-based violence (GBV) is a multifaceted issue of public health significance. Until recently, most studies examining GBV have been conducted in North America. In this issue of the Journal, Palermo et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2014; 179(5): 602-612) report their secondary analyses involving approximately 300,000 women from 24 developing countries who participated in Demographic and Health Surveys between 2004 and 2011. The focus of their article is on the prevalence and determinants of disclosure of GBV to formal authorities, including health care or legal professionals, police, and nongovernmental organizations. Their results indicate a wide gap between prevalence of GBV (40%) and GBV disclosure (7%), implying an underestimation of GBV that ranges from 11- to 128-fold, depending on the region and type of reporting. The extent of underreporting of GBV also varied according to personal characteristics such as age, marital status and urban or rural residence. GBV has been linked to a myriad of health problems, and it has been shown that health care utilization is considerably higher among women who have experienced GBV. Primary and secondary prevention efforts should continue to target GBV, and creative ways of addressing GBV nondisclosure should take into account regional variations and personal characteristics of affected women.