Objective: To describe the prevalence of intimate partner violence and associated factors among married women in Albania.
Design: Cross sectional study.
Setting: Tirana, the capital city of Albania.
Participants: A representative sample of 1039 married women aged 25-65 living in Tirana and recorded in the 2001 census.
Methods: Questionnaire on intimate partner violence and social and demographic characteristics of the women and their husbands.
Main outcome measure: Women's experience within the past year of being hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt by the husband.
Results: More than a third (37%, 384/1039) of women had experienced violence. Risk was greatest among women aged 25-34 (odds ratio 1.47, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.09), women with tertiary education (3.70, 2.04 to 6.67), women in white collar jobs (4.0, 1.59 to 10.0), women with least educated husbands (5.01, 2.91 to 8.64), and women married to men raised in rural areas (3.31, 2.29 to 4.80). Women were at higher risk if they were more educated than their husbands (4.76, 2.56 to 9.09).
Conclusions: In transitional Albania, the risk of spousal violence is high, and more empowered women are at greater risk.