Wife Battering: Victims Reported Following Physical Violence at Teaching Hospital Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Wife battering has been extensively researched in specific regions of Sri Lanka and other countries. The goal of this study is to examine the pattern of injuries as well as the impact of demographic and socioeconomic factors. A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study of 155 victims was conducted in 2021 and 2022. Results showed that 83% (n=129) of victims and 68% (n=106) of perpetrators were under the age of 25; 78% (n=121) of victims and 87% (n=135) of perpetrators had studied up to grade 11; and while 72% (n=111) victims were housewives, 79% (n=122) perpetrators were blue-collar workers. One hundred twenty-seven (82%) households were nuclear families, and 91 (59%) families earned less than Rs.30,000 (USD 100) per month. 79% (n=123) of the perpetrators were alcoholics, whereas 19% (n=29) consumed illegal narcotics. As the method of battering in 120 (77%) victims, bare hands were used, while more than half (57%, n=88) were assaulted with weapons. The most involved anatomical sites were the head (74%, n=114) and upper limbs (39%, n=60), and the most common injuries sustained were contusions (66%, n=102), followed by abrasions (31%, n=48) and lacerations (17%, n=27). Most victims (90%) sustained injuries that were not life-threatening. The sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors that influenced this crime, as well as the nature, distribution, and weapon used in the injuries, have remained unchanged since the previous study conducted in the same region four decades ago.