ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Intimate Partner Violence and Unmet Need for Family Planning in the Philippines: Findings from the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey


by Lyra Gay Ellies S. Borja, Master of Arts in Demography (2011)


This study explores the association of the various forms of intimate partner violence (IPV)---physical assault, sexual coercion, tight control, emotional abuse and economic restrictions. With the type of need for family planning (unmet need for family planning vs. met need for family planning) and type of unmet need for family planning (unmet need for limiting and unmet need for spacing). The study utilizes the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data set.

The results of the multivariate analyses reveal two significant associations. On one hand, looking into the type of need for family planning by comparing unmet need for family planning and met need for family planning, among the various forms of IPV considered in this study, physical IPV surfaced to be significantly associated with unmet need for family planning. The association of physical IPV with unmet need for family planning could be direct and does not necessarily have to work through an intervening variable. On the other hand, examining the association of IPV with the type of unmet need for family planning by comparing unmet need for limiting and unmet need for spacing, it turned out that among the various forms of IPV, controlling behavior emerged to be significantly associated with unmet need for limiting. Moreover, the resulting association between the two may work through the interaction of experience of women controlling behavior and the intervening variable, non-discussion of women FP use with anyone. The above key findings affirm the intersection of violence and reproductive health of women. How violence affects the well-being of women and how it disempowers them and hampers them in making sound reproductive health decisions are crucial concerns that need to be addressed by policy and stakeholders’ health and socio-economic programs.