Introduction: Intimate partner violence against women is more prevalent in Ethiopia and among the highest in\r\nthe world. This study was aimed to explore the attitudes of the community on intimate partner violence against\r\nwomen, the strategies women are using after the violence act, and suggested measures to stop or reduce the act\r\nin East Wollega Zone.\r\nMethods: A total of 12 focus group discussions involving 55 men and 60 women were conducted from December,\r\n2011 to January, 2012. Discussants were purposefully selected from urban and rural settings of the study area. The\r\nanalyses followed the procedure for qualitative thematic analysis.\r\nResults: Three themes (attitudes, coping strategies, and suggested measures) were emerged. Most discussants\r\nperceived, intimate partner violence is accepted in the community in circumstances of practicing extra marital sex\r\nand suspected infidelity. The majority of women are keeping silent and very few defend themselves from the\r\nviolent husbands/partners. The suggested measures by the community to stop or reduce women�s violence were\r\ntargeting actions at the level of individual, family, community, and society.\r\nConclusion: In the study community, the attitude of people and traditional norms influence the acceptability for\r\nthe act of intimate partner violence against women. Most victims are tolerating the incident while very few are\r\ndefending themselves from the violent partners. The suggested measures for stopping or reducing women�s\r\nviolence focused on provision of education for raising awareness at all levels using a variety of approaches\r\ntargeting different stakeholders. It is recommended that more efforts are needed to dispel myths, misconceptions\r\nand traditional norms and beliefs of the community. There is a need for amending and enforcing the existing laws\r\nas well as formulating the new laws concerning women violence including rape. Moreover, providing professional\r\nhelp at all levels is essential
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