Abstract

Domestic violence is a global plague that destroys families and societies and threatens people’s health. The present study was conducted in the city of Rasht to investigate types and causes of domestic violence along with coping strategies to deal with it from the perspective of its victims. The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 110 women referring to family courts in Rasht during the year 2014. The samples were selected using convenience sampling method. The data were collected via a questionnaire covering demographic characteristics of the subjects and the World Health Organization Violence against Women Instrument. Using the SPSS-18 software, the collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA (p<0.05). The average age of the participants was 33.94±6.92 years and the most prevalent type of domestic violence was psychological violence (44.13), including shouting and swearing as the most common forms (n=34; 61.8). From the perspective of women victims of domestic violence, the main causes of domestic violence were economic problems (47.3) and drug/alcohol abuse (43.6). A majority of the examined women (68.09) believed that logical talk is a good strategy to reduce domestic violence. Considering the high rate of domestic violence against Iranian women, preventive measures must be included in mental health policies and resources must be dedicated to reduce the rate of violence against women. It is also important to identify the causes of violence and strategies to deal with it. © RJPT All right reserved.