A secondary data analysis is conducted to classify typologies of violence experienced by women over their life course in South and Southeastern Brazil and to identify risk and protective factors for each IPV typology. This bi-national collaboration around violence prevention will fortify ongoing research ties among investigators at lead research institutions in São Paulo and Porto Alegre, Brazil and UCSD.

We merge two population-based studies with similar sampling methodologies conducted in São Paulo (n=2,000) and Porto Alegre (n=1,323) in 2013-14. Women ages 18-49 years were sampled from public health centers and administered surveys that gathered extensive data on violence victimization and social ecological factors on stigma and access to preventative health services. Latent Class Analysis, a novel statistical technique, is used to classify typologies of violence over the life course (i.e., type [physical, sexual, psychological]; timing [childhood, adulthood, both]; perpetrator [intimate partner, friend, etc.]). Regression models identify risk and protective factors for each IPV typology at various levels of the socio-ecological theoretical model (e.g., individual, relationship, community, or structural). Given that 98% of women living with HIV in Brazil report a lifetime history violence (79% prior to diagnosis), and that HIV is concentrated in South and Southeastern Brazil, we also examine nuances in IPV victimization by HIV serostatus.

Our bi-national collaboration, combined with an information exchange with key leaders in Brazil, facilitate the development of a viable socio-structural intervention to prevent violence, connect victims to Brazil’s socialized healthcare system, facilitate access to the legal process offered by the Maria da Penha law, and possibly to integrate violence prevention within extant HIV care services.