Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to be public health challenges globally and in South Africa. However, studies examining the relationship between IPV and STIs, and the potential age disparities among South African women are lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between varying forms of IPV (sexual, physical, and emotional) and STI diagnosis among South African women and assess the potential age disparities in this relationship. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2017 South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour and Communication National Household Cross-sectional Survey (N = 8505). Crude and multivariable logistic regression models (adjusting for ethnicity, education, and region) were used to determine the association between different forms of IPV and STIs in the past year (N = 8505). Models were stratified by age group (15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-49 years). RESULTS: Sexual (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.78-4.95), physical (aOR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.78-3.37) and emotional IPV (aOR, 2.70; 95% CI, 2.01-3.61) were associated with STIs in the overall study population. However, disparities by age group existed. Adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24 years and women aged 25 to 34 years who experienced sexual IPV were 4 times and 3 times as likely to report STIs compared with adolescent girls and young women and women aged 25 to 34 years who did not experience sexual IPV (aOR, 3.58 [95% CI, 1.14-11.3]; aOR, 2.65 [95% CI, 1.19-5.92], respectively). Older women, aged 45 to 49 years, who experienced sexual IPV were 7 times as likely to report STIs (aOR, 6.92; 95% CI, 1.58-30.4). Similar patterns were seen for women exposed to emotional and physical IPV. CONCLUSIONS: Intimate partner violence interventions are warranted for women IPV survivors across the age spectrum, which may help to reduce the incidence of STIs.