Journal of Interpersonal Violence 1–18 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0886260515584341 jiv.sagepub.com Article Gender-Based Violence in Rural Uttar Pradesh, India: Prevalence and Association With Reproductive Health Behaviors Jaleel Ahmad, 1 M. E. Khan, 1 Arupendra Mozumdar, 1 and Deepthi S. Varma 2 Abstract This study explores the prevalence of different forms of domestic violence and their impact on women’s reproductive health behavior in rural Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. Data were collected as a part of a large household survey carried out in 2009-2010. A multistage stratified systematic sampling design was used. A total of 4,223 married women aged 15 to 49 years and 2,274 husbands of these women were interviewed. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. More than one third of married women in rural UP had experienced one or more forms of violence, such as verbal abuse, physical manhandling, and sexual abuse by their spouse. Nearly 47% of the women had experienced some form of violence during their last pregnancy. Significant associations were found between violence and incorrect reproductive health behaviors, pregnancy complications, poor birth preparedness, poor likelihood of institutional delivery, limited postnatal care, and limited spousal communication for family planning. After controlling for socio-economic variables in multivariate analysis, only 1 Population Council, New Delhi, India 2 University of Florida, Gainesville, USA Corresponding Author: Jaleel Ahmad, Reproductive Health Division, Population Council, Zone5A, Ground Floor, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi, Delhi 110003, India. Email: jahmad@popcouncil.org 584341JIV XX X 10.1177/0886260515584341Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceAhmad et al. research-article 2015 at UNIV OF FLORIDA Smathers Libraries on May 26, 2015 jiv.sagepub.com Downloaded from