Intimate Partner Violence in Post-Conflict Communities: The Case of Peru

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health issue worldwide and the most common type of violence experienced by women. In the last decade, a growing number of studies have evidenced that situations of civil conflict, post-conflict, and displacement can significantly exacerbate IPV and increase the likelihood of experiencing IPV later in life. This study expands on the literature by taking a Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping approach to understand how civil conflict violence in Peru (1980-2000) is associated with IPV rates in the country, 4 years (2004) and 19 years (2019) after the conflict. Study results evidence the latent legacy that the 20-year civil conflict has on levels of IPV rates in the country, even 4 years and 19 years after the conflict ended. In 2004, provinces with Medium Conflict Exposure are predicted to score .20 points higher than provinces with No Conflict Exposure in terms of IPV rates (p < 0.01). In 2019, provinces with Medium Conflict Exposure are predicted to score .14 points higher than provinces with No Conflict Exposure (p < 0.01). This study adds to the increasing body of literature regarding conflict exposure and IPV and can motivate social work researchers to use spatial statistical analysis to understand social problems such as IPV when conducting studies with an ecological framework.