National Women’s

Health Survey
for Trinidad and Tobago
FINAL REPORT

Authors:
Cecile Pemberton and Joel Joseph
National Women’s
Health Survey
for Trinidad and Tobago

Final Report

Authors:
Cecile Pemberton and Joel Joseph
Cataloging-in-Publication data provided by the
Inter-American Development Bank
Felipe Herrera Library

Pemberton, Cecile.
National women’s health survey for Trinidad and Tobago: final report / Cecile Pemberton
and Joel Joseph.
p. cm. — (IDB Monograph ; 581)
Includes bibliographic references.
1. Women’s health services-Trinidad and Tobago. 2. Women-Health and hygiene-
Trinidad and Tobago. 3. Women-Violence against-Trinidad and Tobago. 4. Intimate partner
violence-Trinidad and Tobago. 5. Health surveys-Trinidad and Tobago. I. Joseph, Joel.
II. Inter-American Development Bank. Innovation in Citizen Services Division. III. Inter-
American Development Bank. Country Department Caribbean Group. IV. Title. V. Series.
IDB-MG-581

JEL Codes: C83, I12, J12, O54

Keywords: citizen security, gender-based violence, health surveys, intimate partner
violence, sexual violence, violence against women, women’s health
Publication Code: IDB-MG-581

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Contents

Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................................... xi
Abstract..............................................................................................................................................................xiii
List of Abbreviations......................................................................................................................................xv
Glossary..............................................................................................................................................................xiii
Executive Summary......................................................................................................................................xvii

1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 1

Gender-Based Violence – Regional and International Agendas................................................ 1

Study Background....................................................................................................................................... 2
Geographic, Socio-Historical, and Economic Context................................................................. 3
Status of Women in Trinidad and Tobago......................................................................................... 5
Technical Reviews and Strategic Plans: Crime and Violence
in Trinidad and Tobago........................................................................................................................ 5
Statistics on VAWG in Trinidad and Tobago.....................................................................................6
Human Rights Monitoring and Reporting.......................................................................................... 7
Government Agencies, Policies and Initiatives Related to VAWG...........................................9
The WHS Report........................................................................................................................................ 10

2 Survey Organisation and Methodology............................................................................. 13

Study Organisation................................................................................................................................... 14
Ethical Considerations............................................................................................................................. 14
Sample Design.............................................................................................................................................15
Survey Instrument..................................................................................................................................... 16
Field Planning and Execution.................................................................................................................17
Staff Recruitment and Training.....................................................................................................17
Data Collection................................................................................................................................. 18
Safety................................................................................................................................................... 18
Counselling......................................................................................................................................... 19
Data Preparation and Final Dataset........................................................................................... 19

iii
 Data Analysis........................................................................................................................................... 19
Study Limitations............................................................................................................................ 20

3 Survey Response Rates and Sample Characteristics..................................................... 23

Household and Individual Response Rates.....................................................................................23

Respondents’ Satisfaction with Interview....................................................................................... 24
Key Sample Characteristics.................................................................................................................. 24

4 Results.................................................................................................................................... 29

Violence Against Women and Girls by their Male Partners..................................................... 29

Definitions..........................................................................................................................................29
IPV Prevalence..................................................................................................................................29
Prevalence of Physical Partner Violence................................................................................. 30
Severity of Physical IPV................................................................................................................. 30
Physical Violence in Pregnancy.................................................................................................. 30
Prevalence of Sexual Partner Violence.....................................................................................32
Physical and/or Sexual Violence.................................................................................................33
Prevalence of Emotional Partner Violence..............................................................................33
Frequency of IPV..............................................................................................................................33
Economic Partner Violence..........................................................................................................35
IPV in CSP Communities................................................................................................................35
Summary – Violence Against Women and Girls.................................................................... 36
Intimate Partner Violence: Associated Factors and Triggers..................................................37
Physical Partner Violence..............................................................................................................37
Sexual Violence................................................................................................................................ 38
Physical and/or Sexual Violence................................................................................................40
Childhood Experience of Violence............................................................................................40
Intimate Partner Violence and Partner Characteristics...................................................... 43
Perceived Triggers of Partner Violence................................................................................... 44
Summary – Intimate Partner Violence: Associated Factors and Triggers.................... 44
Intimate Partner Violence, Gender Dynamics, and Associated Factors............................. 45
Gender Attitudes............................................................................................................................. 45
Normalization of Violence............................................................................................................ 46
Justification of Violence................................................................................................................ 48
Controlling Behaviour.................................................................................................................... 48
Summary – Intimate Partner Violence, Gender Dynamics and
Associated Factors................................................................................................................... 50
Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Women......................................................................... 50
Physical Health...................................................................................................................................51
Mental Health....................................................................................................................................52
Sexual and Reproductive Health.................................................................................................52
Impact on Income Generation.....................................................................................................52
Impact on Children......................................................................................................................... 54
Summary – Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Women........................................... 54

iv NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 Women’s Responses to Intimate Partner Violence..................................................................... 55
Disclosure...........................................................................................................................................55
Seeking and Receiving Help.........................................................................................................55
Leaving the Violence.......................................................................................................................57
Fighting Back....................................................................................................................................57
Summary – Women’s Responses to Partner Violence........................................................ 58
Sexual Violence against Women by Non-partners..................................................................... 58
Sexual Abuse by Non-Partners...................................................................................................59
Forced Sexual Intercourse........................................................................................................... 60
Attempted Forced Sexual Intercourse/Unwanted Touching............................................. 61
Sexual Harassment..........................................................................................................................62
Child Sexual Abuse......................................................................................................................... 63
First Sexual Experience................................................................................................................. 64
Nature of First Experience by Age of First Experience...................................................... 65

5 Conclusions and Recommendations................................................................................. 67

Annexes............................................................................................................................................................... 71
Annex 1: Supplemental Tables............................................................................................................73
Annex 2: WHS Sample Allocation of Enumeration Districts.................................................. 99
Annex 3: National Committee Members.......................................................................................105
Annex 4: Trinidad and Tobago WHS 2017 Survey Instrument.............................................107

List of Figures
Figure 1.1 Location of Trinidad and Tobago...................................................................................... 3
Figure 1.2 Population by Ethnic Groups..............................................................................................4
Figure 1.3 Prevalence of Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Intimate Partner Violence
among Ever-partnered Women in Caroni, St George, and
Victoria Counties: Lifting Lives Study 2015..................................................................8
Figure 4.1 Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Physical, Sexual, Physical, and/or
Sexual and Emotional Intimate Partner Violence among Ever-partnered
Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017........................... 30
Figure 4.2 Overlap between Sexual, Physical, and Emotional Violence experienced
by Survivors of IPV Nationally: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 30
Figure 4.3 Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Different Acts of Physical Partner
Violence among Ever-partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................. 31
Figure 4.4 Severity of Physical IPV Experienced by Ever-partnered Women:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017...............................................32
Figure 4.5 Characteristics of Physical Violence among Women who have
Experienced Physical Violence in Pregnancy: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.................................................................................................32

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO v

 Figure 4.6 Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Different Acts of Sexual Partner
Violence among Ever-partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 33
Figure 4.7 Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Physical and/or Sexual Partner
Violence among Ever-partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 34
Figure 4.8 Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Different Acts of Emotional Partner
Violence among Ever-partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 34
Figure 4.9 Frequency of Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Physical, Sexual,
Physical, and/or Sexual and Emotional Intimate Partner Violence
among Ever-partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.................................................................................................35
Figure 4.10 Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Physical, Sexual, Physical,
and/or Sexual and Emotional Intimate Partner Violence among
Ever-partnered Women Living in CSP Communities: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................ 36
Figure 4.11 Agreement/disagreement that Violence between Husband and
Wife is a Private Matter among all Respondents by Ethnicity:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 39
Figure 4.12 Childhood Experience of Violence by Severity of Physical IPV
Experienced by Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017.......................................................................................................................... 42
Figure 4.13 Some Triggers of Violence among Women Experiencing Physical
Partner Viiolence by Place of Residence: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................44
Figure 4.14 Egalitarian Gender Attitudes. Proportion of Women Interviewed
who Said they Agree with Specific Statements Presented to Them:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 46
Figure 4.15 Patriarchal Gender Attitudes. Proportion of Interviewed Women
who Said they Agree with Specific Statements Presented to Them:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 46
Figure 4.16 Normalisation of Violence. Proportion of interviewed Women who
Said they Agree with Specific Statements Presented to Them:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017...............................................47
Figure 4.17 Justification of Violence. Proportion of Interviewed Women who
Said they Agree with Specific Statements Presented to Them:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 48
Figure 4.18 Proportion of Ever-partnered Women whose Partners Exhibited
Controlling Behaviours: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017.......................................................................................................................... 49
Figure 4.19 Partner Controlling Behaviour and Lifetime Experience of
Partner Violence: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017......... 49

vi NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Figure 4.20 Health Problems Reported among Ever-partnered Women,
according to Women’s Experience of Physical and/or Sexual Partner
Violence: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017............................51
Figure 4.21 Psychological Risk Factors Reported among Ever-partnered
Women according to their IPV Experience: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.................................................................................52
Figure 4.22 Current/most Recent Husband/partner ever Refused to Use Birth
Control or Barred You from using Birth Control by Experience
of Current Physical, Sexual, Sexual and/or Physical, and Emotional IPV
among Ever-partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 53
Figure 4.23 Current/most Recent Husband/Partner ever Refused to use a
Condom by Experience of Current Physical, Sexual, Sexual and/or
Physical, and Emotional IPV among Ever-partnered Women:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 53
Figure 4.24 Children’s Well-being as Reported by Women with Children
5–12 Years Old, according to the Women’s Experience of Physical
and/or Sexual Partner Violence: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 54
Figure 4.25 Percentage of Women who had Told Others, and Persons to
Whom They Told, about the Violence, among Women Experiencing
Physical or Sexual Partner Violence: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 56
Figure 4.26 Effect of Fighting Back, among Women who Ever Fought Back
because of Physical Partner Violence: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 58
Figure 4.27 Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Non-Partner and Partner Sexual
Violence among Ever-partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 59
Figure 4.28 Prevalence of Non-partner Sexual Violence among all Respondents:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017..............................................60
Figure 4.29 Responses of Confidantes to Women who Disclosed Experiencing
Forced Sexual Intercourse: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................. 61
Figure 4.30 Prevalence of Sexual Harassment among all Respondents:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 62
Figure 4.31 Prevalence of Childhood Sexual Abuse among all Respondents
according to Five-year Age Group: Women’s Health Survey,
Trinidad and Tobago 2017................................................................................................. 64
Figure 4.32 Percentage Distribution of Sexually Active Women according
to Age at First Sexual Intercourse: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 65

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO vii

 List of Tables
Table 3.1 Response Rates for Households Sampled and Households Visited:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago 2017................................................23
Table 3.2 Response Rates for All Eligible Women in the Sample and
Women Completing Interviews: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago 2017................................................................................................. 24
Table 3.3 Respondents’ Feelings after Completing Survey Interviews for All Eligible
Women, Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago 2017............................ 24
Table 3.4 Characteristics of Respondents, Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017...........................................................................................................................25
Table 4.1 Summary of Respondent Factors Significantly Associateda with
Physical, Sexual, and Physical and/or Sexual Intimate Partner Violence:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017............................................... 41
Table A1.1 Summary Characteristics for Survey Respondents (national and CSP):
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017...............................................73
Table A1.2 Prevalence of Different Forms of Partner Violence among
Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017...........................................................................................................................75
Table A1.3 Results for Tests of Difference between National and CSP
Prevalence of Partner Violence Rates: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.................................................................................................75
Table A1.4 Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Specific Acts of Physical,
Sexual and Emotional Partner Violence among Ever-Partnered Women:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago 2017................................................76
Table A1.5 Prevalence of Current Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Partner
Violence by Municipality where Survivor is Resident:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017...............................................77
Table A1.6 Characteristics of Violence among Ever-Pregnant Women —
Trinidad and Tobago and CSP Communities: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago 2017..................................................................................................78
Table A1.7 Percentage Distribution of Ever-Partnered Women According
to Severity of Lifetime Physical Violence and Selected Characteristics:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 79
Table A1.8 Frequency of Intimate Partner Violence among Ever-partnered
Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017...........................80
Table A1.9 Prevalence of Physical, Sexual, and Physical and/or Sexual Partner
Violence for Ever-partnered Women according to Associated
Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............. 81
Table A1.10 Prevalence of Emotional Partner Violence for Ever-partnered
Women according to Associated Characteristics: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................ 83

viii NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Table A1.11 Prevalence of Partner Violence based on Ever-partnered
Women’s Partner Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 85
Table A1.12 Percentage of Ever-Partnered Women According to Selected Lifetime
Experiences and Childhood Encounters with Violent Episodes:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017...............................................87
Table A1.13 Gender Attitudes – Percentage of Interviewed Women favouring
Specific Gender Norms/Roles According to Selected Characteristics:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 88
Table A1.14 Normalization of Violence – Percentage of Interviewed Women
favouring Specific Norms Associated with Violence According
to Selected Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 89
Table A1.15 Justification of Violence – Percentage of Interviewed Women
favouring Men Hitting their Wives/Partners for Specific Reasons
According to Selected Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................90
Table A1.16 Controlling Behaviour, among Ever-partnered Women:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017............................................... 91
Table A1.17 Controlling Behaviour, among Ever-partnered Women:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 92
Table A1.18 General, Physical, and Mental Health Problems Reported among
Ever-partnered Women, According to Women’s Experience
of Physical and/or Sexual Partner Violence, Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 93
Table A1.19 Use of Health Services and Medication in the Past Four Weeks
Among Ever-Partnered Women, According to their Experience
of Physical and/or Sexual Partner Violence, Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................ 93
Table A1.20 Other Psychological Risk Factors Reported Among Ever-partnered
Women, According to Women’s Experience of Physical and/or Sexual
Partner Violence, Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017......... 94
Table A1.21 Impact of Partner Behaviour on Income Generating Activities,
According to Women’s Experience of Partner Violence,
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.............................................. 95
Table A1.22 Children’s Well-being as Reported by Ever-partnered Women
with Children 5–12 Years Old, According to the Woman’s Experience
Physical and/or Sexual Partner Violence, Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 96
Table A1.23 Main Reasons for Leaving Home Last Time She Left,
as Mentioned by Women Who Experienced Physical or
Sexual Partner Violence and Who Left Home: Women’s Health Survey,
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................ 96

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO ix

 Table A1.24 Main Reasons for Not Leaving Home, as mentioned by Women
who Experienced Physical or Sexual Partner Violence and who
Never Left Home: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017.........97
Table A2.1 Sample Allocation of Enumeration Districts (EDs)
for Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017....................................... 99
Table A2.2 Sample Allocation of CSP and non-CSP Enumeration Districts (EDs)
for Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017..................................... 100
Table A2.3 Surveyed Enumeration Districts (EDs) for Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017................................................................................................101

x NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Acknowledgements

Above all, no contribution to this report could be more important than that of the coura-
geous women who opened their homes and shared their time and their deeply personal
experiences for this landmark survey and the wider national good. Special mention must
also be made of the dedicated all-female field research team, who travelled to the cor-
ners of both islands in trying conditions to earn the trust of respondents and faithfully
record their stories.
The Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Health Survey and the production of this report
were coordinated by a core team composed of Heather Sutton and Dana King (Inter-
American Development Bank), Cécile Pemberton and Joel Joseph (QURE Ltd.), Isiuwa
Iyahen (UN Women) and Mary Ellsberg, Manuel Contreras and Jennifer Zelaya (Global
Women’s Institute). Guided by the Global Women’s Institute, the private Trinidad and
Tobago firm, QURE Limited, was responsible for all aspects of survey execution, data
management, statistical analysis, and the production of the final report, authored by
Joel Joseph and Cécile Pemberton. The University of the West Indies Campus Ethics
Committee reviewed the survey methodology, questionnaire and protocol. The Trinidad
and Tobago Central Statistical Office (CSO) provided valuable input and support includ-
ing population data for the sampling frame, as well as enumeration district maps.
The Women’s Health Survey and this document greatly benefitted from the wis-
dom and generosity of numerous colleagues who participated in the Trinidad and
Tobago Women’s Health Survey National Steering Committee (NSC) and its sub-bod-
ies: the Research Sub-Committee (RSC) and the Consultative Sub-Committee (CSC).
These individuals contributed their time and experience throughout the life of the sur-
vey; from adaptation of the WHO survey methodology, protocol and questionnaire; to
reviewing and providing suggestions of the final report. These included the following
colleagues:

National Steering Committee (NSC):

Antoinette Jack-Martin (Chair), Gender and Child Affairs, Office of the Prime Minister
Owen Hender, Office of the Prime Minister
Sheila Mc Kenzie, Tobago House of Assembly, Division of Health and Social Services
Neisha George, Central Administrative Services Tobago

xi
 Ashvini Nath, Ministry of Health
Charmaine Manzano Antoine, Ministry of Planning and Development

Research Sub-Committee (RSC):

Gabrielle Hosein (Chair), Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) – University
of the West Indies St. Augustine
Marina Smith, Gender and Child Affairs, Office of the Prime Minister
Simone Rawlins, Central Statistics Office
Sally Lucas, Central Statistics Office
Preeya Mohan, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) –
University of the West Indies St. Augustine

Consultative Sub-Committee (CSC):

Dona Da Costa Martinez, Family Planning Association
Natalie O’Brady, Rape Crisis
Stephanie Leitch and Aurora Noguera-Ramkissoon, UNFPA
Deborah Mc Fee, WINAD
Pepsi Monderoy , TTPS Victims and Witness Support Unit
Khadija Sinanan, WOMANTRA
Asiya Mohammed, Conflict Women
Elizabeth Talma Sankar, The Shelter
Sharon Mottley and Moira Lindsay, PSI Caribbean
Monique Augustine, National Domestic Violence Hotline (800 SAVE)

As part of the peer review process, in addition to review by the NSC, RSC and CSC, the
report was reviewed by Dr. Godfrey St. Bernard (SALISES, UWI), Manuel Contreras (Global
Women’s Institute), Heather Sutton, Dana King and Jose Antonio Mejia-Guerra (Inter-
American Development Bank) and colleagues from UN Women, as coordinated by Isiuwa
Iyahen. Finally, the development of the survey and publication of this document would not
have been possible without the financial support of the IDB Citizen Security Fund.

xii NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Abstract

This report presents the first nationally representative estimates of the prevalence of inti-
mate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner sexual violence (NPSV) against women in
Trinidad and Tobago. The data come from the 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Health
Survey (WHS)—a national, quantitative, cross-sectional survey of 1,079 women ages
15–64. The report finds that 30 percent of ever-partnered women experienced physi-
cal and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime; and 6 percent in the 12
months prior to data collection. Seven percent of all respondents reported having been
forced into sexual intercourse by a non-partner in their lifetime (1% in the last 12 months).
Significant risk factors associated with IPV identified using Chi-square tests included:
lower education (female and partner), cohabitation without marriage, rural residency,
younger age, non-consensual marriage, having been pregnant, having experienced or
witnessed violence in childhood, substance abuse by the partner and the partner being
unemployed and having been in prior relationships.
The report documents the negative consequences of IPV for women and their chil-
dren, as well as the most common responses and coping mechanisms. One in three
women who experienced IPV remained quiet about their experience and most survivors
did not seek or receive assistance for their situation. Women most often sought help from
their personal contacts (mostly their mothers) rather than police, social services or other
entities adequately resourced to address IPV. Several factors precluded women from
accessing help; these included fear, shame, and the “normalcy” associated with violence.
Based on these findings, recommendations for policy and further research are presented.

xiii
List of Abbreviations

CARICOM Caribbean Community and Common Market

CRDV Central Registry on Domestic Violence
CSC Consultative Sub-Committee
CSP Citizen Security Programme
CSW57 57th Session of the Commission of the Status of Women
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
ED Enumeration District
EPSEM Equal Probability of Selection Method
GBV Gender-based violence
GDP Gross domestic product
HH Household
IDB Inter-American Development Bank
IGDS Institute of Gender and Development Studies
IPV Intimate partner violence
NPSV Non-partner sexual violence
NSC National Steering Committee
PPS Probability proportionate to size
PSU Primary sampling unit
RSC Research Sub-Committee
SSU Secondary sampling unit
THA Tobago House of Assembly
USU Ultimate sampling unit
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
VAWG Violence Against Women and Girls
WHO World Health Organisation
WHS Women’s Health Survey

xv
Glossary

Child sexual abuse: The use of a child (defined as any person under the legal age of
consent) by an adult for sexual purposes, whether or not consent is alleged to have
been given. It includes acts of exposure; sexual touching; oral, anal, or vaginal penetra-
tion; and the exposing of a child to, or involving a child in, pornography or prostitution.
Any form of direct or indirect sexual contact between a child and an adult is abusive
since it is motivated purely by adult needs and involves a child who, by virtue of her/
his age and position in life, is unable to give consent. Sexual activity between children
constitutes sexual abuse when it is between siblings or when it is clear, by difference in
developmental levels, coercion and/or lack of mutuality, that one child is taking advan-
tage of another.

Current prevalence: The proportion of ever-partnered women reporting at least one act
of violence during the 12 months preceding the survey interview.

Forced sex: Where one person has used force, coercion, or psychological intimidation
to force another to engage in a sex act against her or his will, whether or not the act is
completed.

Gender-based violence: See violence against women and girls.

Economic violence or abuse: Behaviour designed to take control or limit access to

shared or individual assets or limit the current or future earning potential of someone as
a strategy of power and control. In this study, it includes being prohibited from employ-
ment, having earnings or savings forcibly taken, and being denied money by a partner for
household expenses, regardless of the availability of money for other things.

Emotional violence (sometimes referred to as psychological abuse): Any act or omis-

sion that damages the self-esteem, identity, or development of the individual. It includes,
but is not limited to, humiliation or insults, belittlement, threatening to harm the individ-
ual or someone they care about, and inducing fear through intimidation.

xvii
 Ever-partnered: For this study this term describes all women between the ages of 15 and
64 years who have ever had an intimate partner.

Intimate partner violence: Any act or omission by a current or former intimate partner
which negatively affects the well-being, physical or psychological integrity, freedom, or
right to full development of a woman.

Lifetime prevalence: The proportion of ever-partnered women who reported that they
had experienced one or more acts of violence by a current or former partner at least once
in their lifetime.

Non-consensual marriage: For the purposes of this study, a non-consensual marriage is

one where the respondent did not participate in choosing her spouse.

Non-partner sexual abuse: Includes the experience of any of the following: being forced
into unwanted sexual intercourse by physical force, threat, or coercion; being forced to
have sex while too intoxicated or drugged to refuse; someone attempting (but not suc-
ceeding) to force unwanted sexual intercourse and experiencing unwanted sexual touch-
ing or being forced to touch someone else sexually by anyone other than a partner.

Non-partner sexual violence: Includes the experience of any of the following: being
forced into unwanted sexual intercourse by physical force, threat, or coercion; being
forced to have sex while too intoxicated or drugged to refuse; someone attempting (but
not succeeding) to force unwanted sexual intercourse and experiencing unwanted sexual
touching or being forced to touch someone else sexually by anyone other than a partner,
and sexual violence before the age of 18 by anyone other than a partner.

Perpetrator: A person who commits an act of physical, sexual, emotional, or economic

violence.

Physical violence: The intentional use of physical force with the potential for causing
death, injury, or harm. Physical violence includes, but is not limited to, pushing, shov-
ing, throwing, grabbing, biting, choking, punching, hitting, burning, the use of restraints
or one’s body size or strength against another person, and the use or threat to use a
weapon.

Prevalence: In this study, prevalence of violence against women refers to the number
of women who have experienced violence divided by the number of at-risk women in
the study population. In the case of some kinds of violence, such as sexual violence, all
girls and women may be considered at risk, but in other cases, such as intimate partner
violence, only women who have ever had an intimate partner would be considered at
risk.

xviii NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Severe physical violence: Physical violence that is likely to lead to external or internal
injuries, specifically involving one of the following acts: being burned, being choked,
being kicked, being dragged, and being threatened or attacked with a weapon.

Sexual harassment: For this study, sexual harassment is specifically defined as being
asked to perform unwanted sexual acts to retain or secure employment, a job promo-
tion, pass an exam or obtain good grades at school; being groped, sexually touched, or
rubbed in any public space, including public transportation; or receiving electronic mes-
sages with hurtful or discomfiting sexual content.

Sexual violence: Any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual com-
ments or advances, or acts to traffic or otherwise directed against a person’s sexuality
using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting,
including but not limited to home and work.

Survivor: For the purposes of this report, a survivor is a woman who has experienced at
least one dimension of partner or non-partner violence.

Violence against women and girls: Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or
is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, includ-
ing threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring
in public or private life. It encompasses but is not limited to physical, sexual, and psycho-
logical violence occurring in the family, the general community, or perpetrated or con-
doned by the state.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO xix

Executive Summary

Survey Background
The 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Health Survey (WHS) was a national, quantita-
tive, cross-sectional survey designed to provide a diagnosis of violence against women
and girls (VAWG) in Trinidad & Tobago, with a specific focus on intimate partner vio-
lence (IPV) and non-partner sexual violence (NPSV). The survey measured the national
prevalence of IPV and NPSV, determined risk and protective factors associated with IPV,
and documented the health consequences and coping strategies for female survivors
of IPV. The 2017 WHS, the first national survey of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago, falls
under a regional initiative of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM),
the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and UN Women, who collectively created a
CARICOM Model for National Prevalence Surveys of Gender-Based Violence1 (GBV). The
WHS fills an important gap in comprehensively understanding and addressing VAWG,
that is, objective, reliable, purpose-built data.
In Trinidad and Tobago, the 2017 Women’s Health Survey was funded by the IDB and
guided by the government of Trinidad and Tobago, as represented by the National Steering
Committee (NSC), comprising ministerial, Central Administrative Services Tobago (CAST),
and Tobago House of Assembly (THA) representatives. The private firm, QURE Limited
was commissioned to plan, manage, and execute the survey and its analysis, guided by
the technical expertise of the Global Women’s Institute (GWI) of George Washington
University. The NSC, supported by its technical and civil society sub-committees, had final
oversight on the project, inclusive of the survey methods, instrument, and final report.

Survey Methods
The survey methods were directly taken from the boilerplate CARICOM methodol-
ogy, adapted for local relevance as guided by the collaborative and thorough efforts

1 The CARICOM Model was developed from the globally recognized and tested World Health Organisa-
tion (WHO) Model, based on its landmark Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Vio-
lence and subsequent country studies on IPV.

xxi
 of the national committees. The survey instrument was a structured questionnaire,
pre-programmed on tablets for administration in face-to-face interviews conducted by
trained interviewers. The randomly selected nationally representative sample compris-
ing 1,905 households, 2 of which a single member—a randomly selected woman or girl
15 to 64 years old—was eligible for participation. Of the 1,423 women eligible for inter-
views, 1,079 women were available for and opted to participate in the survey. Data col-
lection took place from April to July 2017. Due to the nature of the research, several
limitations were inevitable. These include but are not limited to survey non-participation,
lack of access to or unavailability of eligible women, likely under-reporting of violence,
high insecurity in certain communities, and limited or no access to special populations.
Nonetheless, the survey employed ethical practices designed to protect the confidential-
ity, safety and well-being of all participants and field staff during both fieldwork and data
handling throughout the project life.
The descriptive and inferential statistics calculated from the survey data are pre-
sented in tabular and graphical format. VAWG prevalences were calculated based on
the proportion of women who experienced at least one act of the respective kind of
violence at some point in their lives (lifetime prevalence) or at least one violent act in
the 12 months prior to the survey (current prevalence). Further, the term “ever-part-
nered” references any woman who had a current or previous male intimate part-
ner, whether married, cohabitating, or dating. Of the 1,079 respondents, 1,017 were
ever-partnered.
Further, cross-tabulations of IPV prevalence were presented to explore various asso-
ciations with demographic and other factors, and chi-square tests were used to ascertain
which of these associations were statistically significant. Further, the communities under
the Ministry of National Security’s Citizen Security Programme (CSP) were sufficiently
represented to isolate IPV prevalences in these communities (in aggregate), as distinct
from the national community. These prevalences are also presented, although the dif-
ferences between them and the national rates were not statistically significant. Because
the distribution of CSP and non-CSP households closely resembled the national distri-
bution, the final sample was analysed with an unweighted dataset to avoid the introduc-
tion of bias.

Survey Results
Violence Against Women and Girls by their Male Partners
• 30 percent of ever-partnered women experienced lifetime physical and/or sex-
ual partner violence; and 6 percent experienced this in the 12 months prior to data
collection.

2 Sampling was three-stage: (1) proportionate to select micro-communities (Enumeration Districts);

(2) systematic to select 15 households per Enumeration District and (3) random selection of an eligible
woman from a selected household using a household listing and an electronic version of the Kish Selec-
tion grid.

xxii NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

• Emotional violence presented as the most common type of violence experienced
(35% lifetime; 12% current).
• Almost one in three three women experience lifetime physical IPV (28% lifetime; 5%
current), of which most experienced a severe act3 of physical IPV at least once (64%).
• 7 percent of ever-pregnant women experience physical IPV during a pregnancy, of
which two in five experience worse violence during that time than otherwise.
• About one in 10 women experience lifetime sexual partner violence (11% lifetime; 1%
current).
• About one in 10 women experience economic partner violence in their lifetime (11%).
• Experiencing IPV is rarely one-off; at least half of female survivors of IPV, whether
current or lifetime, experience violence “many times”.

Put differently, in the 15 to 64 age bracket, over 100,000 women in Trinidad and
Tobago are estimated to have experienced one or more acts of physical and/or sexual
violence perpetrated by male partners. Significantly, approximately 11,000 are likely to
still be in abusive relationships. These findings resonate with WHO global estimates that
almost one in three women are either physically or sexually abused at some point in their
lives, not by strangers but by their own male romantic partners. Such estimates signify
the widespread vulnerability of women to IPV.

Intimate Partner Violence: Associated Factors and Triggers

Associations between physical, sexual, and physical and/or sexual IPV and factors relat-
ing to the respondent and her partner were analysed. The following respondent charac-
teristics were found to be statistically significant:

• Lower educational attainment is associated with higher prevalence of lifetime physi-

cal partner violence (primary or less 34%; higher than secondary 23%).
• Unmarried women with partners experienced higher prevalence rates of both physi-
cal and sexual violence over their lifetime as compared to currently married women.
• Lifetime physical and sexual violence experienced by ever-pregnant women was
higher than that experienced by those who were never pregnant.
• More rural women (7%) currently experience physical violence than urban women
(4%).
• The prevalence of current physical IPV was generally higher among younger women:
women who specifically fell into 5-year age groups between 20 and 34 years had the
highest rates of physical IPV.
• Women who were married or lived with a partner at a young age had higher current
and lifetime physical and sexual IPV prevalence than those whose first union was at
19 years older or older.
• Lifetime sexual partner violence was higher among women who identified their eth-
nicity as African (13%) as compared to 9 percent, 6 percent, and 15 percent who

3 An act of physical violence likely to cause injury or serious harm.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO xxiii

 described as East Indian, Mixed (East Indian and African), and Mixed (Other),
respectively.4
• In looking at correlations between economic status and sexual IPV, a counter-intuitive
finding presented, in that lifetime sexual IPV prevalence was higher among those who
were financially independent.
• Women in non-consensual marriages were more likely to experience sexual IPV (15%
vs. 9%) than those who chose their own partners.
• There is a significant relationship between experiencing physical and sexual IPV and
having experienced or witnessed violence in childhood, with markedly higher prev-
alence of physical and/or sexual partner violence between women who had experi-
enced violence as children and women who had not.
• The more severe the lifetime physical IPV experienced by a woman, the greater the
likelihood that this woman experienced verbal or physical violence or witnessed vio-
lence against her mother at home as a child.

Associations of physical and sexual IPV with partner characteristics are presented
below:

• Women whose partners had lower levels of education, were unemployed, engaged
in some form of substance abuse, were in prior relationships, and in the 5-year age
group 25 to 34 experienced higher levels of physical and sexual violence.

The more common triggers attributed by women for their partner’s violent behaviour
were him being drunk (27%), him being jealous of her (21%), and his wanting to show her
who is boss (18%). Notably, over 27 percent of women identified no particular trigger for
their partner’s behaviour.

Intimate Partner Violence, Gender Dynamics, and Associated Factors

Associations between IPV and women’s attitudes toward gender and GBV were deter-
mined using standard scales to the respondent’s perception of gender roles, norms,
and the normalisation and justification of violence. There was consensus among women
in agreeing with sentiments that afforded women increased agency in their own lives
and in the family. For example, a majority agreed that “women and men should share
authority in the family” (90%) and that “a woman should be able to spend her own
money” (84%). However, some women hold traditional patriarchal notions. For exam-
ple, 57 percent of women agreed that “a woman’s role is to take care of her home.” In
general, however, these attitudes and perceptions were not found to be significantly
associated with any type pf partner violence against women. There was, however, a
highly significant relationship between a male partner’s controlling behaviours and
women’s experience of emotional, physical, and sexual partner violence. Women whose

4 This association should be interpreted with caution, as some data and field observations suggest that
reticence to speak about what are considered private household matters is a more common in East Indian
households relative to other households.

xxiv NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

partners exhibited multiple controlling behaviours such as restricting a woman’s free-
dom of movement or access to health care were at least twice as likely to experience at
least one dimension of IPV.

Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Women

Almost a third of survivors (31%) reported having suffered injuries as a result of the vio-
lence inflicted on them and one-fifth (21%) needed to seek professional health care for
these injuries. Furthermore, the ramifications of enduring IPV move beyond the more
obvious direct repercussions of violence to general physical and mental health problems.
Survivors are more likely to experience in their lives (sometimes even after the violence
has ended) greater pain, more difficulty with normal functioning, being at greater risk
of unwanted pregnancy and STIs, worse mental health and having their income-earning
activities compromised by being unwell or due to their partner’s behaviour. Also notewor-
thy is the apparent traumatic impact of IPV on survivors’ children, as they more com-
monly present with indicative issues such as bedwetting and aggressiveness.

Women’s Responses to Intimate Partner Violence

Women’s most common coping mechanism was the option to communicate with some-
one about their situation. However, one in three of such women remained quiet about
their experience and most survivors did not seek or receive assistance for their situation.
The women who accessed interventions did so from their personal contacts (mostly their
mothers) rather than social services or other entities adequately resourced to address
IPV. Several factors precluded women from accessing help; these included fear, shame,
and the “normalcy” associated with violence.
The reasons for survivors’ reluctance to leave violent partners were difficult for them
to pinpoint, though some attributed economic survival, concern for their children, and a
desire to keep the family structure intact. Women most commonly seek help or leave their
abusive situation when they feel they cannot endure any more violence. Alternatively,
some did, in the moment of a physical attack, fight back. Fighting back either stopped,
lessened, or did not change the violence for a greater number of women. However, the
data did not indicate how a partner’s overall pattern of violent behaviour was affected
when victims fought back.

Sexual Violence Against Women by Non-Partners

Non-partner sexual violence (NPSV) was estimated based on the experiences of all
women interviewed, not simply ever-partnered women.

• Just under one in three women (31%) in Trinidad and Tobago have experienced life-
time sexual violence, 5 either from a partner and/or non-partner.

5At least one act of forced sexual intercourse, attempted forced intercourse, unwanted touching, and/
or sexual violence before the age of 18.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO xxv

 • The prevalence of NPSV (21.3%) is almost four times higher than that of sexual IPV
(5.0%).
• Seven percent (lifetime) of all respondents reported having been forced into sexual
intercourse by a non-partner (1% current).
• A slightly higher percent of women reported being touched sexually or made to be
sexually touch another when they did not want to (lifetime 11%, current 2%).
• Ten percent of women indicated they were forced into intercourse at least once with
a non-partner through the use of physical or verbal force (9%).
• The majority of women reported one perpetrator, in many instances a family mem-
ber or friend. The majority of such experiences (84%) were left unreported to police.
• Sexual harassment (at work, on the job, public transport, and virtual spaces) was
experienced by 13 percent of women, with the highest prevalence of this type of
harassment being in the form of electronic messages with sexual content (8%) and
being groped in a public space (7%).
• Nineteen percent of women indicated that they had experienced childhood sexual
abuse.6

Compared to women from each of the other age categories, those aged 20 to 24 years
were more likely to report having experienced childhood sexual abuse (37%). Notably
high prevalence rates of childhood sexual abuse were also observed among women aged
35 to 39 years (21%), 40 to 44 years (22%) and 45 to 49 years (23%). Significantly as well,
the data also showed that one in four women (25%) who were first married or cohabit-
ing with a male partner by the age of 18 or younger also experienced sexual abuse before
they were 18.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Health Survey has produced rich and robust
data. The statistical findings were generally found to be consistent with on-the-ground
observations as identified by key stakeholders involved in the process. It also provided
critical insights on the existing needs of women experiencing IPV and identified several
areas for interventions. It found that existing provisions for survivors, although well inten-
tioned, are not serving women in a way that realistically allows them to leave violent situa-
tions. Responses for survivors should not only be appropriately designed but adequately
and consistently resourced for a holistic intervention. This could include financial support,
skills-training, and assistance with job placement protection from perpetrators, and most
importantly, a safe place to live that is appropriate for survivors’ children.
The report identified several opportunities for improving existing services and creat-
ing new initiatives:

• Expanded health services for “special” communities of women such as rural women
or those with limited mobility due to security issues

6 Before age 18.

xxvi NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

• Specialized training for hospital staff and/or procedural changes to integrate screen-
ing for violence during routine care services and to impart information on physical
and mental self-care, safety, and access to further help
• A renewed commitment to universal access to sexual and reproductive health ser-
vices, including counseling, birth control, and STI screening and treatment for all
women, including young women and women from hard-to-reach populations
• Public health and awareness campaigns about the effects of VAWG on survivors tar-
geted at general audiences and women currently or previously experiencing violence
• Education and engagement of the general public on the most striking themes of the
study, in particular the association of experiencing and witnessing violence in child-
hood to experiencing IPV later in life
• Education of the general public on practical and appropriate steps for friends and
family to take to appropriately support survivors
• Awareness campaigns targeted at male and female youth which deconstruct gen-
dered perceptions which fuel violence, buttressed by life skills training
• A public health approach to the prevention of violence which defines the prob-
lem, identifies risk and protective factors, develops and tests prevention strategies
(including existing evidence-based strategies), and ensures widespread adoption of
such strategies
• The conduct of further study of VAWG, including:
• unaddressed populations of women such as differently able women, non-English
speaking women, and undocumented immigrants
• the exploration of the association of environmental factors to IPV
• the dynamics of perpetration from the perspective of the perpetrator
• the dynamics of abuse experienced and witnessed in childhood, particularly
childhood and sexual abuse, and its relation to IPV
• The exploration of the apparent association of ethnicity to IPV and NPSV
• Periodic repetition of the WHS

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO xxvii

 1
CHAPTER

Introduction

Gender-Based Violence – Regional and International

Agendas
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) has been recognized as a human
rights violation of pandemic proportions. It knows no social, economic,
or national boundaries. Article 1 of the United Nations Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence Against Women defines the term violence against
women as “any act of gender based-violence that results in, or is likely to result
in, physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats
of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring
in public or private life.”7 Not only does VAWG cause myriad consequences
to women’s short and long-term health and wellbeing; it also imposes large-
scale costs on individuals, families, communities, and economies. According
to a 2013 World Health Organization (WHO) global report, some 35 percent
of all women worldwide will experience either intimate partner violence (IPV)
or non-partner violence at some point in their lives. 8 In Trinidad and Tobago,
the number of reported cases of violence against women and girls is stagger-
ing. For example, for the period 2008 to 2016, over 10,000 incidents of VAWG9
were reported to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, 20 percent of which
were for physical assault or wounding.
Violence against women and girls has been identified as a clear barrier to
sustainable development. The United Nations’ recently adopted 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development for the first time included VAWG as a target
under Goal #5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Research find-
ings reveal that, when direct and indirect costs are considered, domestic and
intimate partner violence cause more deaths and entail much higher economic

7 www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/...2015/..../infographic-violence-against-women.
8 ht tp://w w w.who.int /mediacentre/news/releases/2013/violence _ against _wom-
en_20130620/en/.
9 Specifically, females ages 15 to 64.

1
 costs than homicides and civil wars.10 The cost of VAWG could amount to 2 percent of
global gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to US$1.5 trillion.11
In noting the economic and social harm caused by such violence, the 57th Session
of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) urged national
governments to undertake multidisciplinary research and analysis on VAWG, not only
to understand the phenomenon, but also to inform legislation and responsive strate-
gies. A 2012 Human Development Report revealed that in reported cases of domestic
violence in the Caribbean, 23 percent of females claimed to have experienced insults,
14 percent received threats of violence, 13 percent experienced violence, and 11 per-
cent were injured.12 Given such statistics in the Caribbean, comprehensive, systematic,
nationally owned data remain critical in responding to and preventing gender-based
violence (GBV).

Study Background
Trinidad and Tobago has put several mechanisms in place to collect and collate data on
crime and violence at the state level. In recent years, data disaggregated by sex have
become a reality, but are limited to certain agencies. However, whilst administrative data
can present valuable information on VAWG, it is not indicative of the scope of the prob-
lem. Administrative data, such as reports to the police, often show only the most extreme
cases of violence that are reported to authorities and do not allow for a fuller picture of
the problem. While there have been some studies which address IPV specifically, they
were often limited to gauging attitudes toward violence, rather than capturing data on
experience of violence. Other studies of women’s experience of partner violence were
either small-scale, did not use methods conducive to studying such a sensitive topic, or
were limited in scope. Specially designed population-based surveys (or prevalence sur-
veys) are the best avenue to achieve reliable and comprehensive statistics that measure
the magnitude of VAWG nationally. The gold standard for discerning the nature, extent,
and consequences of VAWG is to use ethical study methods designed to reach the target
population and specifically provide for the safety, confidentiality, and dignity of respon-
dents. Ideally, such studies should be government owned and consultative, thereby
engaging the entities already working toward ending VAWG in Trinidad and Tobago, both
to inform the study and to ensure that the data produced can be used to inform appro-
priate policies and actions.
In 2014, a collaborative initiative comprising the Caribbean Community and Common
Market (CARICOM), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and UN Women agreed
to adopt a CARICOM Model on National Prevalence Surveys on Gender-Based Violence.
The CARICOM Model is a population-based survey premised on cross-country collab-
oration and capacity building to ensure knowledge transfer and sustainability. Initially

10 www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/9/speech-by-lakshmi-puri-on-economic-costs-of-vio-
lence-against-women.
11 Ibid.

12 Caribbean Human Development Report 2012, Human Development and the Shift to Citizen Security.

2 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

piloted in 2015–16, it was guided by the Statistical Institute (STATIN) of Jamaica with the
support of UN Women and the IDB. The targeted rollout includes Trinidad and Tobago,
Guyana, and Grenada. The CARICOM model is based on the original World Health
Organisation Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence conducted
in the early 2000s. This study was the first to provide comparable data from culturally
diverse countries on the prevalence and frequency of different forms of VAW, specifically,
violence by intimate partners and its effects on women’s lives and health, using face-to-
face interviews with women. With the agreement of the Office of the Prime Minister and
its Gender and Child Affairs Division, a partnership was developed between the IDB, the
Government of Trinidad and Tobago and UN Women to implement the CARICOM Model
in Trinidad and Tobago. The 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Health Study is a direct
result of this collaborative process, and its methods and findings are reported in the fol-
lowing chapters.

Geographic, Socio-Historical, and Economic Context

Trinidad and Tobago were separate territories until 1888, following a history of repeated
invasion and conquest by competing European powers. The twin island state achieved
independence from Britain in 1962 and became a Republic in 1976. Located just a few
miles from the South American continent, its combined area is 5,128 square kilometres, of
which Trinidad accounts for 4,821 square kilometres (1,862 square miles) and Tobago 300
square kilometres (116 square miles).
The country’s diverse population of approximately 1.4 million inhabitants13 owes much
of its diverse and complex culture, ethnic composition, and development to the legacy of

FIGURE 1.1 Location of Trinidad and Tobago

THE BAHAMAS
MEXICO
DOMINICAN
HAITI REPUBLIC
JAMAICA
BELIZE ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
ST. KITTS AND NEVIS
HONDURAS DOMINICA
GUATEMALA ST. VINCENT AND
EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA THE GRENADINES ST. LUCIA
BARBADOS
GRENADA

COSTA RICA
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
PANAMA R.B. DE
VENEZUELA GUYANA
SURINAME
COLOMBIA FRENCH GUIANA

ECUADOR

PERU
BRAZIL

BOLIVIA

PARAGUAY

CHILE

13Central Statistical Office mid-year population estimates for 2016

URUGUAY
(http://cso.gov.tt/data/?produc-
tID=32-Mid-Year-Estimates-of-Population-by-Age-Group).
ARGENTINA

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 3

 FIGURE 1.2 Population by Ethnic Groupsa

East Indian
Mixed (Other)
35.43%
15.16%

Mixed (African/Indian)
7.66%

Not Stated
African 6.22%
34.22%
Causcasian
0.59%
Chinese
Indigeneous 0.30%
0.11%
Other Ethnic Group
Portuguese Syrian/Lebanese 0.17%
0.06% 0.08%

a
Ibid.

colonialism, principally characterised by the labour-intensive sugar cane plantation econ-

omy. The exploitative system, which had its origins in slavery during the 17th century,
waned in the 19th century in the post-emancipation era. Slavery, as a mode of produc-
tion, required numbers that the indigenous population, decimated by genocide and dis-
ease, could not provide to European estate owners. Instead, colonists relied on the bloody
trans-Atlantic trade in enslaved African peoples to feed the ravenous and untenable sys-
tem, until emancipation in 1834 forced a shifting of strategy to indentured labour. More
than 150,000 immigrants, overwhelmingly from India but also from China and Madeira,
were brought to Trinidad between 1845 and 1917 in an effort to retain the increasingly
unprofitable estates.
Unsurprisingly then, the 2011 National Population and Housing Demographic Report
describes Trinidad and Tobago as a nation of ethnic minorities, of which East Indians and
Africans comprise the largest groups (35% and 34%, respectively). There is a group clas-
sified as mixed, which represents 23 percent. Of this, 8 percent are referred to as Douglas
(descendants of East Indian and African lineage) with the remaining 15 percent having
other mixed heritage. The small remainder of the population claims European, Chinese,
Middle Eastern, indigenous, or undisclosed heritage.14
Three religions—Christianity (63%), Hinduism (24%) and Islam (6%)—make up the
majority of the belief systems characterizing the population of Trinidad and Tobago.
Politically, Trinidad and Tobago is a parliamentary democracy based on a bicameral
system of government modelled on the British Westminster System. Economically, it
has one of the highest growth rates per capita of any country in the Latin America
and the Caribbean region, primarily driven by exploitation and processing of its plen-
tiful hydrocarbon resources. Approximately 40 percent of its GDP and 80 percent of

14 Trinidad and Tobago 2011 Population and Housing Census Demographic Report, CSO (2012).

4 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

its exports are attributed to this sector. However, as energy prices remain persistently
depressed since 2015, an overall deficit of approximately 4 percent of GDP is expected.15
The economy continued to contract with budget cuts, job losses in public and private
sectors, escalating prices on food and other essential services as well as decreased
social services.

Status of Women in Trinidad and Tobago

The status of women in Trinidad and Tobago is comparable to that of many middle-in-
come developing nations with respect to most social indicators, including life expec-
tancy, maternal mortality, education, and general wellbeing. The 2014 Global Gender Gap
Report ranked Trinidad and Tobago 49th out of 142 countries, with a strong showing in
economic participation, education, and health and survival.
Gender roles are primarily influenced by legacies of patriarchy, colonialism, slavery,
and indentureship resulting in a social structure melded from a variety of migrant cul-
tures. Gender performances essentially occupy three distinct spaces—physical, social,
and cultural—to form what Baptiste (2016) refers to as a “post-colonial essentialist col-
lage” in which performances are gendered by the socialisation of gender roles according
to very essentialist views of men and women.16

Technical Reviews and Strategic Plans: Crime and Violence

in Trinidad and Tobago
a. A National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based and Sexual Violence in Trinidad and
Tobago 2016–2020 (2016).17 This document describes an evidence-based strategy
derived from research conducted with stakeholders with a view to identifying sys-
temic loopholes at every level with targeted solutions. Apart from pinpointing its
action plan, it provides the most current statistics on VAWG and identifies essen-
tial interventions for victims. The plan was laid before Cabinet in 2016 and is await-
ing approval.
b. Crime and Violence in Trinidad and Tobago (2016).18 This report examines the latest
crime rate data as well as other sources of data that reveal the magnitude of criminal
activity in Trinidad and Tobago. It reviews the institutional framework, programmes,
and interventions available for dealing with crime and violence. Although it examined
crime and violence in its entirety, it provides summary statistics on crime and vio-
lence disaggregated by gender, race, geography, and age.

15 Review of the Economy (2016), Ministry of Finance.

16 Baptiste, J. P. (2016). Gender practices and relations at the Jamaat al Muslimeen in Trinidad. ProQuest
Dissertations and Thesis Global, 1780310091. Retrieved from http://www.com/docview/1780310091.
17 A National Strategic Plan on Gender Based and Sexual Violence in Trinidad and Tobago 2016–2020,

Office of the Prime Minister, Gender and Child Affairs.

18 Seepersad, R. (2016). Crime and Violence in Trinidad and Tobago, IDB Series on Crime and Violence in

the Caribbean.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 5

 c. Statistical Bulletin, Nine Months and Counting (2016).19 This Bulletin, prepared by
the Children’s Authority, presents accounts of reports of abuse of children over the
period May 18, 2015 to February 17, 2016. The Authority only became functional in
2015, but the preliminary numbers confirm that child abuse is pervasive. During its
eight-month period of operation, the Authority received nearly 14,000 calls and
reports, of which 4,158 were valid cases to be investigated. The data revealed that
more than half (58%) of the cases referred to the Authority for investigation were
women.
d. Peer Review of the Citizens Security Programme (CSP) in Trinidad and Tobago
(2015), United Nations Development Programme. 20 This document presents find-
ings of a peer review of the CSP programme, which began in 2007. Its community
action component adopted a new approach to citizen security which allowed for the
participation of women in security issues. The report found that interventions which
showed significant results in the Americas and different countries included trans-
forming gender relations and preventing violence at the interpersonal level.

Statistics on VAWG in Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago has put in place several mechanisms to collect and collate data on
crime and violence at the state level. In recent years, data disaggregated by sex have
become a reality but are only collected by certain agencies.
Data from the Crime and Problem Analysis Branch of the Trinidad and Tobago Police
Service (TTPS) revealed that there were over 15,000 reports of domestic violence inci-
dents between 2010 and 2016. Approximately 72 percent of these reports were related
to women. During the same period, there were 181 domestic violence-related deaths,
58 percent of which were women. However, administrative or service-based data, even
if properly collected, presented, and collated, may not fully reflect the scope of the
problem.
There are also studies that shed light on partner violence against women in Trinidad
and Tobago. For example, the module on domestic violence in the 2006 Multiple Indicator
Cluster Survey (MICS) asked women aged 15 to 49 whether husbands are justified in hit-
ting or beating their wives/partners. The MICS found that approximately 7 percent of
these women thought it justifiable in at least one of the five instances identified, the most
common being “when she neglects the children.” It is noteworthy in this study that, as
women’s educational level and socio-economic status increased, the likelihood of agree-
ing that physical partner violence is justified decreased. 21 However, the MICS only exam-
ined attitudes toward violence and not the prevalence of violence. More recently, the
2014 Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) AmericasBarometer survey was

19 Statistical Bulletin, Nine Months and Counting... (2016). Children’s Authority of Trinidad & Tobago.
20 www.tt.undp.org/.../trinidad_tobago/...Citizen%20Security/CSP_Full_Report_final_2... (accessed September
2017).
21 https://micssurveysprod.s3.amazonaws.com/MICS3/Latin%20America%20and%20Caribbean/Trini-

dad%20and%20Tobago/2006/Final/Trinidad%20and%20Tobago%202006%20.

6 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

conducted in Trinidad and Tobago amongst the voting-age public nationwide. It explored
opinions and attitudes toward democracy and other issues affecting governance, includ-
ing crime, and it reflects attitudes toward partner violence similar to those found in the
MICS. For example, the AmericasBarometer for Trinidad and Tobago found that 4 percent
of those surveyed approved of a husband hitting his wife for being unfaithful (7% of male
respondents and 1% of female respondents). Notably, 20 percent would not approve, but
would understand such an action (23% of men; 17% of women). Although the percent-
age of people justifying IPV is relatively low, levels of actual IPV experience may still have
been much higher.
There are also some recent statistics on the experience of domestic violence. The
2015 National Crime and Victimisation Survey22 measured crime victimisation and
attitudes relating to crime and violence both nationwide and in communities under
the Citizen Security Programme (CSP). The Citizen Security Programme was an IDB-
financed project implemented by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago from 2008
to 2016. The CSP initially operated in 22 communities (19 in Trinidad and three in
Tobago), which were selected during project design based on their high levels of seri-
ous crime. In 2014, the CSP expanded to ten additional communities in East Port-of-
Spain that were perceived to be at high risk of violent crime. The survey found the
national prevalence of physical partner violence to be 12 percent and emotional vio-
lence 48 percent. 23 The sample size for this survey was also large enough to deter-
mine prevalence rates in the individual CSP communities. Reports of physical partner
violence ranged widely, from virtually nil in some communities to over 40 percent in
a few others.
PSI Caribbean also conducted a baseline survey of women ages 18–49 in the coun-
ties of Caroni, St George, and Victoria from December 2014 to January 2015, as part of
its “Lifting Lives” Gender-Based Violence Prevention Project. While this survey method-
ology was crafted specifically to measure IPV, it was limited in scope to only these three
counties in Trinidad (see Figure 1.3).

Human Rights Monitoring and Reporting

The legal architecture to address VAWG in Trinidad and Tobago is robust. As with all
citizens, the rights of women to be safe from personal harm and threat are generally
enshrined in criminal law. Key pieces of legislation have been passed, including the
Domestic Violence Act of 1991, which afford protection of civil rights and establish proce-
dures to assist and protect survivors of domestic violence, outside of criminal proceed-
ings. The Sexual Offences Act of 2012 and the Children Act of 2012 also define sexual
offences, including rape and various forms of childhood sexual abuse, respectively. The
recently ratified Child Marriage Act of 2017, which disallows legal marriage of persons
under 18 years of age (the age of majority in Trinidad and Tobago), also protects female

22Available from: http://cso.gov.tt/media/publications-documents/.

23 The study found very low prevalence of sexual partner violence across most communities, amounting
to 0 percent as the national aggregate.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 7

 FIGURE 1.3  revalence of Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Intimate Partner
P
Violence among Ever-Partnered Women in Caroni, St George, and
Victoria Counties: Lifting Lives Study 2015a
0.40
35.9%
0.35
31.5%
0.30
Percentage (%)

0.25 24.2%
22.8%
21.5%
0.20
14.5% 15.1%
0.15

0.10 9.6%

0.05

0.0
Physical Violence Sexual Violence Emotional Violence Overall
Ever 12 Months
a
http://psicaribbean.com/v2/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/PSI-C-Gender-Norms-and-IPV-TT-Face-to-
Face-2015.pdf.

minors. However, the inefficacy of law enforcement and the lack of appropriately trained
police officers continue to be major stumbling blocks for survivors of GBV. Further, the
judicial system is plagued with inordinate delays, high costs associated with attorney and
appeal fees, inconsistent bail matters, and witness reliability.
The country has committed to a number of regional and international treaties, includ-
ing the following:

a. The Convention on the Rights of the Child. 24 Signed in 1990 and ratified in 1991.
Several other key pieces of legislation, such as the Children Act of 2012, the Sexual
Offences Act of 2012, and the Child Marriage Act of 2017 reinforce the willingness
of Government of Trinidad and Tobago to adhere to appropriate standards for
compliance.
b. The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW). 25 Ratified in 1990. Since then, the Trafficking in Persons Act of 2011, the
Sexual Offences Act of 2012 and the Domestic Violence Act of 2013 were enacted.
A combined 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Report was presented at the 64th Session of the
Committee on CEDAW in 2016.
c. The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication
of Violence Against Women “Convention of Belem do Para Convention” (1994). 26

24 http://caribbean.unwomen.org/en/caribbean-gender-portal/caribbean-gbv-law-portal/gbv-
and-state-accountability.
25 http://caribbean.unwomen.org/en/caribbean-gender-portal/caribbean-gbv-law-portal/gbv-

and-state-accountability.
26 Ibid.

8 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 Signed in 1995 and ratified in 1996. Trinidad and Tobago provided a response to the
Second Unilateral Evaluation Round Questionnaire (2009–2014).
d. Montevideo Consensus. 27 Adopted in 2013 by the LAC countries at the Regional
Conference on Population and Development, the Consensus is a wide-ranging agree-
ment on actions in eight priority areas, including gender equality, sexual and repro-
ductive health, and young persons’ rights.
e. Universal Periodical Review. 28 The Government of Trinidad and Tobago submitted
its latest National Report in 2016. The report pointed to significant advances in the
promotion and protection of human rights based on its voluntary commitments to
accepted recommendations made at the last review.
f. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 29 Having come into effect in 2016, the SDGs
or Global Goals replace the Millennium Development Goals and take on new chal-
lenges in human development, including Goal 5 on gender equality.

Government Agencies, Policies and Initiatives Related to

VAWG
a. Office of the Prime Minister, Gender and Child Affairs Division (OPMGCA). 30 In part-
nership with other agencies, the Ministry makes available several services for victims
of GBV.
• The 800 Save National Domestic Violence Hotline is a referral mechanism for its
network agencies for victims of GBV.
• The Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago integrates GBV with
Sexual Reproductive Health Services.
• A collaborative effort with UNICEF and IGDS addresses issues of child abuse
through its “Break the Silence” Project.
• A partnership with Caribbean Umbrella Body for Restorative Behaviour targets men
to end human trafficking and violence against girls and women in the Caribbean.

Central Registry on Domestic Violence (CRDV). Launched by OPMGCA in 2016, the

CRDV is an information system that collects and integrates data relating to any person
who is a victim or perpetrator of a domestic violence offence. The aims of the Registry
are to provide a more efficient and effective method of monitoring domestic violence
nationally; to assist the Ministry and other service providers to quickly identify past vic-
tims or perpetrators of abuse; and to improve communication and collaboration among
practitioners, by providing access to historical data or information from a trusted source.

Gender Policy. A national gender policy was originally developed in 2009 and has subse-
quently undergone several revisions. The 2015 version (a revision of the 2012 document),

27 http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/Montevideo%20Consensus-15Aug2013.pdf.
28 https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G16/030/46/PDF/G1603046.pdf?OpenElement.
29 http://www.tt.undp.org/content/trinidad_tobago/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html.
30 http://opm-gca.gov.tt/.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 9

 having been submitted in the first quarter of 2016, is currently under review by a Cabinet
sub-committee.

The Children’s Authority. 31 A specialised agency with responsibility for the care and pro-
tection of children, especially those who are at risk or have been victims of abuse and
neglect. The authority advocates for the rights of children and encourages and supports
initiatives that would enable them to enjoy their childhood. The organization’s overar-
ching objective is to utilize child-friendly and progressive solutions to address children’s
issues and facilitate rehabilitative measures so that their full potential can be realized.

The Equal Opportunity Commission of Trinidad and Tobago. 32 Under the Equal
Opportunity Act (2000), citizens are entitled to equality and fair treatment for all, despite
different racial, ethnic, religious, marital, and gender backgrounds. The Commission,
through its Equal Opportunity Tribunal, addresses situations of discrimination as it relates
to employment, education, the provision of goods and services, and the provision of
education.

The WHS Report

The prevalence of VAWG in Trinidad and Tobago remains a protracted challenge not-
withstanding decades of inquiry, financial investment in programming, feminist activism,
legislation, and public policy interventions. Despite official indications such as reports of
domestic violence to the police and informal diagnostics from players on the ground such
as support service agencies, there are no comprehensive national data on the prevalence
of VAWG. This report is designed as a starting point to closing the information gap in an
effort to enrich the dialogue on VAWG, inform the policy agenda, and enhance govern-
mental and civil society programming.
The remainder of the report is a presentation and discussion of the substantive sur-
vey results. We begin with 2.0 Survey Organisation and Methodology as well as a descrip-
tion of the sample characteristics and the study’s response rates in Section 3.0 Survey
Response Rates and Sample Characteristics. We discuss the survey findings in Section
4.0 Results. A thorough investigation of the different dimensions of current and lifetime
IPV prevalence follows in 4.1 Violence Against Women and Girls by their Male Partners.
To better understand the phenomenon, we also examine the respondent and partner
characteristics associated with IPV (4.2 Intimate Partner Violence: Associated Factors
and Triggers) as well the association of gendered roles, attitudes, and behaviour and
IPV (4.3 Intimate Partner Violence, Gender Dynamics, and Associated Factors). We also
examine the consequences of IPV on women’s lives, particularly their health (4.4 Impact
of Intimate Partner Violence on Women), as well as the various mechanisms that survi-
vors use to cope with and/or escape IPV (4.5 Women’s Responses to Intimate Partner

31 http://www.ttchildren.org/.
32 http://www.equalopportunity.gov.tt/about.

10 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Violence). The study findings conclude with an examination of sexual violence perpetrated
by non-partners, including a discussion of perpetrators, the various forms of non-partner
violence, and associated factors (4.6 Sexual Violence against Women by Non-partners).
Conclusions and recommendations are presented in the final chapter (5.0 Conclusions
and Recommendations).

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 11

 2
CHAPTER

Survey Organisation and

Methodology

The Trinidad and Tobago National Women’s Health Survey (WHS) is a cross-
sectional survey designed to provide a diagnosis of different types of VAWG,
such as IPV and non-partner sexual violence. This includes evidence of the
prevalence, frequency, severity, associated factors, circumstances, and conse-
quences of VAWG as well as the reasons for and results of survivors’ seeking
help. A qualitative component has also been conducted separately and con-
currently, which relies on data collection techniques such as in-depth inter-
views and focus groups to obtain data that would provide a basis for exploring
themes related to VAWG in Trinidad and Tobago. Such themes include eco-
nomic insecurity, love, beliefs about masculinities, and institutional empower-
ment and failure.
The main objectives of the quantitative component were as follows:

• to obtain reliable and comparable estimates of the prevalence of differ-

ent forms of violence against women (inclusive of the UN VAW indicators)
• to document the health consequences of IPV against women
• to identify and compare risk and protective factors for IPV against women,
within and between settings
• to explore and compare the coping strategies used by women experienc-
ing IPV

More generally, the study also aims to:

• disseminate research findings among local and international stakeholders

to augment the dialogue on VAWG and to inform evidence-based policies
aimed at VAWG prevention and the protection and support of survivors;
• provide access to a rich and reliable dataset for researchers interested in
analysis beyond the scope of the current report;
• take a baseline reading of VAWG in Trinidad and Tobago so that subse-
quent studies may be used for comparative and/or evaluation purposes;

13
 • generate aggregate prevalence data for the communities under the CSP so that these
communities may be compared to the national community;
• generate methodological and fieldwork learnings which can be shared with CARICOM
partners as more member states seek to complete prevalence surveys using the stan-
dard model.

Study Organisation
The WHS was implemented in Trinidad and Tobago as a partnership between the IDB,
the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (via the Gender and Child Affairs Division, Office
of the Prime Minister), and UN Women. The Global Women’s Institute (GWI) of George
Washington University also lent its technical expertise and global experience in research-
ing VAWG to advise and guide the project at all stages. Finally, QURE Limited, a private
research firm, was contracted to conduct the study using the standard CARICOM GBV
prevalence study model. Finalising the study methods was a collaborative process under-
taken by QURE, the GWI, and purpose-built national committees. The National Steering
Committee (NSC) was comprised of representatives from the OPM, Gender and Child
Affairs; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Planning and Development; Central Administrative
Services Tobago (CAST), and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). The NSC had final
oversight over the key inputs and outputs of the process, including the survey instrument
and final report. It was provided technical assistance by the Research Sub-Committee
(RSC), a group of experts from the University of the West Indies; OPM, Gender and Child
Affairs Division; and the Central Statistical Office of Trinidad and Tobago (CSO). In addi-
tion, an assembly of key civil society organisations which actively work on GBV issues
formed the Consultative Sub-Committee (CSC) which also weighed in on the method,
field procedures, and results.

Ethical Considerations
Any study involving human subjects must be held to the highest ethical standards. The
WHS was no exception. Its ethical protocols were adapted from the guidelines developed
by the WHO33 for conducting research on VAWG. Ethical approval to conduct the study
was sought from the Campus Ethics Committee of the University of the West Indies and
granted in January 2017.
For respondents, the main risks associated with participating in this survey were expe-
riencing distress triggered by exposure to questions relating to sensitive personal experi-
ences and/or experiencing violence as a result of their participation. Appropriate survey
protocols were used to mitigate these risks. These included ensuring participant confi-
dentiality throughout the study (from field visits through all stages of data handling);
training field interviewers to minimise, recognise, and respond to respondent distress

33WHO. Putting Women First: Ethical and Safety Recommendations for Research on Domestic Violence
Against Women (2001).

14 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

and providing support service information to all participants and referrals34 as necessary.
Additional protocols included having no publicity about the study prior to or during field-
work and referencing the survey discreetly as the Women’s Health Survey to keep its full
purpose private prior to the administration of the Informed Consent form. Protocols were
also established to bolster the safety and well-being of field staff.
The Ethics Committee also granted permission to waive parental consent for minors
ages 15 to 17. These minors were included because they are particularly vulnerable to
VAWG. Currently, there are little to no data to inform policy and programming that impact
the well-being of minors in Trinidad and Tobago. The waiver did not affect the rights or
welfare of any of these participants and they were duly informed that participation was
voluntary, any question could be skipped, and the interview could be terminated at any
time. The waiver was requested to ensure the safety of eligible minor respondents who
might be experiencing abuse in their homes and retain the confidentiality associated with
their participation. It was felt that young women of this cohort were old enough to suffi-
ciently understand the purpose, content, and potential risks and benefits of the survey to
give their own informed consent.

Sample Design
Trinidad is divided into fourteen (14) administrative districts or municipalities: two (2) cit-
ies, three (3) boroughs, and (9) regional corporations; Tobago is subdivided into seven
(7) parishes. These municipalities are made up of Enumeration Districts (EDs). Each ED
consists of about 150 to 200 households, on average. The target population was English-
speaking females ages 15 to 64, residing in households in Trinidad or Tobago. These
women represent approximately 35 percent of the total national population according to
the 2011 Population and Housing Census.
In Trinidad and Tobago, a national representative sample was selected with a dispro-
portionate sub-sample for the communities that are currently enrolled in the Ministry of
National Security’s Citizen Security Programme. 35 This strategy allowed sufficient num-
bers for a valid comparison of VAWG prevalence estimates in CSP communities (in aggre-
gate) and Trinidad and Tobago as a whole.
Sampling was undertaken in three stages with two sampling frames (the 2011 Census
and a microdata listing from the 2011 Census of private dwellings), viz.:

• Stage 1: Primary Sampling Unit (PSU) selection – probability proportionate sampling

was used to choose 127 EDs. A modified sampling rate was applied to allow for the
oversampling of CSP EDs.

34 All participants were offered a discrete referral card at the conclusion of their interview. The card pro-
vided contact information for a range of providers who offer strategy planning and support services to
VAWG survivors.
35 The Citizen Security Programme is an initiative of the Ministry of National Security (funded in part by

the Inter-American Development Bank) whose objective is to reduce crime and violence in select high-
needs communities nationwide through the financing of preventative interventions addressing the most
proximal and modifiable risk factors.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 15

 • Stage 2: Secondary Sampling Unit (SSU) selection – systematic sampling was used
to select 15 households per ED, i.e., a random start and calculated selection interval.
• Stage 3: Ultimate Sampling Unit (USU) selection – the Kish Selection Grid was
pre-programmed into the survey software to select a single eligible respondent
from each selected household based on the household listing provided by the ini-
tial respondent.

Overall, each person has the same chance of being selected, i.e., equal probability of
selection method (EPSEM). Thus, the sample is self-weighted because every unit that is
actually included in the sample had the same probability of being selected in advance of
each stage of sampling.
A total sample size of 1,905 households was calculated, of which 1,515 households were
selected from 101 non-CSP EDs and 390 households from 26 CSP EDs. The geographic
distribution of EDs and households are supplied in Annex 2: WHS Sample Allocation of
Enumeration Districts Embedded within the sample was a 20 percent consideration for
non-response, i.e., the women who decline participation and for the selected women that
could not be located. The margin of error for parameter estimates is 3 percent. 36 Given
that no national surveys were conducted previously on VAWG, an estimate of 30 per-
cent was used as the key indicator to represent the proportion of women who have expe-
rienced any type of violence against them, based on the findings of smaller-scale local
studies and global trends for IPV prevalence.

Survey Instrument
Both the WHS methodology and survey instrument are based on the decades of research
and resulting tools and instrument developed by the World Health Organization (WHO),
used in the 2000 WHO Multi-Country Study on Domestic Violence against Women37 and
now evolved into the standard CARICOM model. The instrument uses well-tested scales
for measuring prevalence and health impacts, such as the Conflict Tactics Scale, inter
alia. This methodology was also used in Jamaica recently, and the Trinidad and Tobago
instrument was a localised version of the Jamaican instrument. To make it fit-for-purpose
in Trinidad and Tobago, the instrument was reviewed and edited in detail by the RSC and
commented on by the CSC before final approval by the NSC.
The instrument was extensive and began with an introductory paragraph, a brief
household questionnaire, and a verbal consent process that explained to the selected
respondent that potentially upsetting topics, including experiences of violence, might be
discussed. Further, consent was embedded throughout the instrument. As more sensitive
sections were approached, the participant was reminded of her right to omit questions or
to terminate the interview at any time.

36 95 percent confidence interval.

37http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=39725&Itemid=270&
lang=en.

16 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 The instrument sections were as follows:

• Household Questionnaire
• Section 1: Respondent and her Community
• Section 2: General Health
• Section 3: Reproductive Health
• Section 4: Children
• Section 5: Current or Most Recent Husband/Partner (male)
• Section 6: Attitudes
• Section 7: Respondent and her Husband/Partner (male)
• Section 8: Injuries
• Section 9: Impact and Coping
• Section 10: Other Experiences
• Section 11: Completion of Interview (Respondent’s Survey Evaluation and
Recommendations)

Field Planning and Execution

Staff Recruitment and Training
Qualified female-only field staff were recruited from the research firm’s usual pool of field-
workers and through newspaper and online advertising, as well as referrals from stake-
holders. Shortlisted candidates were further screened via interviews conducted by the
Fieldwork Manager and a brief questionnaire on gender attitudes. Only candidates with
neutral or progressive gender attitudes were recruited due to the nature of the survey.
All field staff underwent extensive field training designed and facilitated by GWI and
supported by QURE. Although most field staff had at least some prior experience of field-
work, the two-week training was designed to give interviewers and supervisors a ground-
ing in the theoretical and practical aspects of the study and to ensure that they could
remain neutral and composed when faced with difficult personal stories from respondents.
Training included background material on the difference between sex and gender and
an overview of VAWG, including the causes and consequences of gender-based violence and
the dynamics of abuse. Field staff were also introduced to the findings of the WHO Multi-
Country Study so that they could understand how the information they gathered would be
used to generate statistics and reports. The practical aspects of training covered self-care,
survey methods, interviewing techniques, use of a tablet for survey administration, ethical
considerations, safety protocols, how to ensure privacy and confidentiality, contingency plan-
ning for interrupted interviews or difficult household members, how to provide appropri-
ate service provider referrals, how to handle respondent trauma, and an extensive review of
the survey instrument in both the paper and electronic versions. Teaching methods included
lectures, open discussions, and supervised role plays in pairs and groups. Staff were each
provided with a hardcopy of the Interviewer or Supervisor Manual; a Question by Question
Manual (explaining the interpretation of each question and all responses on the questionnaire
in detail); a Safety Manual; and a copy of the questionnaire, as well as their own tablet.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 17

 In addition to content described above, supervisors were trained in map reading and
household selection, daily work reporting, quality control mechanisms, the causes and
effects of vicarious trauma, signs of dissociation, how to assist interviewers out of cri-
sis mode (if necessary), and when and how to direct interviewers to seek further profes-
sional help. Training concluded with a pilot exercise which was debriefed and evaluated
to inform field procedures.

Data Collection
Data collection took place from April to July 2017, starting after the pilot evaluation. All
household interviews were conducted face-to-face by trained interviewers and responses
recorded electronically on pre-programmed tablets. In a handful of cases, paper ques-
tionnaires were used when there were issues with tablets in the field. All responses from
paper questionnaires were then transferred to the electronic questionnaires by the inter-
viewers. Staff were deployed in teams of four to five, inclusive of a supervisor, each cover-
ing a geographic region. Data validation and verification began during fieldwork. Quality
control staff conducted validation checks on interviewers’ uploaded data to ensure that
survey procedures were being followed. In addition, supervisors conducted in-person
verification checks with a fraction of respondents to ensure that interviewers were con-
ducting interviews with the selected eligible women and conducting themselves pro-
fessionally. This check involved revisiting homes and administering a brief verification
questionnaire38 to 111 respondents.

Safety
The safety of residents and staff was of utmost concern given the general climate of
insecurity about crime and violence in Trinidad and Tobago, coupled with the sensitive
nature of the survey. All-female field teams were used to put respondents at ease, but
this made for a higher level of vulnerability for staff. Safety protocols were given and
followed and there were no safety breaches with respect to respondents. For example,
in CSP EDs, where it was anticipated that the potential for criminal activity was higher,
community liaisons were employed to accompany teams. However, field staff felt uneasy
in several EDs, some of which were not CSP EDs. While no field staff were physically
harmed during the course of fieldwork, one team was threatened by an irate man with
a handgun who mistakenly felt the team represented a government agency. The inci-
dent was reported to the police station in the area and the remaining interviews in that
area were abandoned in the interest of team safety. Interviews were also abandoned in
another high-crime ED upon the supervisor’s recommendation. Supervisors were key in
ensuring safety as they were able to scope and monitor the working area for their teams
in real time.

38 Supervisors were not privy to respondents’ responses to the survey instrument to conduct the ques-
tionnaire. The verification instrument included generic questions asking, for example, about what topics
were covered by the interviewer, the consequences of participating in the survey for the interviewee (if
any) and the professionalism of the interviewer.

18 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Counselling
Given the nature of the survey, there was concern about the psychological burden on
interviewers. For this reason, all field staff were afforded the opportunity to access free
individual counselling for the duration of the fieldwork and one month following field-
work. In addition, group therapeutic sessions facilitated by trained therapists were held
post-training, midway through fieldwork, and post-fieldwork. These sessions allowed staff
to share their difficult experiences in a safe setting and to be reminded about self-care
practices. Group sessions were important as few individuals availed themselves of one-
on-one counselling. 39 Interviewers were also trained to give printed and/or verbal infor-
mation on access to support services to all respondents.

Data Preparation and Final Dataset

All household interviews were conducted using a programmed version of the question-
naire via the software SurveyToGo. To ensure a high level of data accuracy, there were
several mechanisms such as validation checks, skips, and automatic calculations pro-
grammed into the questionnaire to avoid erroneous entries. As a result, the uploaded data
were, to a large extent, error free. Despite these precautionary measures, further checks
were performed in SPSS when the data file was compiled. These included retaining only
complete or partially completed questionnaires that included responses pertaining to
experience of emotional, physical, and sexual violence and cross-checking data values to
ensure that only valid responses were recorded. Some discrepancies required recoding
erroneous entries as missing values so as not to skew the valid percentages and in a few
cases discarding entire cases. IPV variables and other important variables were created
by, in some instances, combining responses from several variables or truncating other
variables based on the distribution of responses. The data were checked for represen-
tativeness against the national population in several aspects, including CSP vs. non-CSP
as well as several demographic factors such as age and ethnicity. Where the distribution
of sample characteristics was divergent from corresponding distributions in the national
population, checks were run to see if there was any significant effect on the main preva-
lence indicators.

Data Analysis
Both descriptive and inferential statistics are used in this report. The descriptive statis-
tics were used to display the prevalence of the different types of IPV in graphs and tables.
These percentages are calculated as the proportion of women who have experienced at
least one act of the respective kind of violence either at some point in their lives (life-
time prevalence) or in the 12 months prior to the survey (current prevalence). The fre-
quency of violence was reported according to tabulations of how often acts of violence

39 Only team members from two field teams (of eight teams in total) used individual counselling services,
all at the recommendation of the respective team supervisors. Rapport with supervisors and within teams
was also helpful for women to work through the difficult situations they encountered and the stresses of
fieldwork on their everyday lives.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 19

 were experienced (categorised as “once,” “a few times,” or “many.”40 The severity of vio-
lence was also measured for physical partner violence.41 In addition, cross tabulations of
prevalence rates by demographic factors were presented to explore various associations.
Inferential statistics such as chi-square tests were then used to determine if there were
statistically significant associations between prevalence rates and these selected factors.

Study Limitations
As with any study, there are limitations to the Women’s Health Survey:

• Reports of IPV are known to be underreported, even when the utmost care is taken to
respect privacy and protect the safety of respondents. Some IPV survivors will have
opted out because of the nature of the survey and yet others might choose not to
report some or all the violence they have experienced. Thus, it is almost certain that
the prevalence rates calculated based on this field study will understate the extent of
IPV and the other types of sexual violence described in this report.
• Although the sample design was crafted to achieve representativeness, there was
limited access to some communities. Specifically, people from upper-income com-
munities were mostly unavailable, inaccessible (living in gated communities to which
there was no access), or unwilling to speak to field personnel, most likely due to their
schedules and their fear of crime. The inaccessibility of households in these commu-
nities may affect the proportion of women from upper-income homes included in the
study. Indeed, fear of crime in general or ambivalence seems to have deterred some
middle-income households from participating, as many people who were at home
simply did not answer when field teams called at the entrance to their property.
• Despite safety precautions, the high levels of insecurity in some areas made it dif-
ficult for teams to enter and traverse freely and safely.42 In two areas, for example,
conditions became too dangerous for the teams to complete planned fieldwork.
Information capture in such areas may be virtually impossible using traditional house-
hold survey methods.
• Not all women in the target age group qualified as eligible. Some women were not eli-
gible because of the practicality of the interview process. Women who did not speak
English or women who had a disability that hampered the questionnaire from being

40 To calculate the frequency of each type of IPV, a summary score was created which corresponded to
the number of acts and the frequency of those acts experienced. Three categories were created: (1) hav-
ing one act one time; (2) having one act a few or many times, having two or three acts one time, or having
one act one time and two acts a few times; (3) having a score of four or above, which is more than one
act more than one time, four acts one time, or any other combination of acts that resulted in a score of
four or more. The scores were calculated for each type of violence and separate scores were calculated
for lifetime and past 12 months.
41 Acts which were perceived as more likely to cause injury were categorised as severe, others as mod-

erate. As per WHO guidelines, all the predefined acts of sexual violence were considered severe and, as
such, severity for sexual partner violence is not reported separately.
42 Field teams were escorted by CSP liaisons in CSP communities where team supervisors ascertained

the potential for danger or conflict was high enough to warrant it.

20 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 administered orally and properly understood, e.g., women who had hearing difficulty,
were excluded from the survey.
• In some communities, there appeared to be cultural barriers to accessing women
for what was couched as a health study. Heads of households, for example, barred
access to the eligible woman or refused participation based simply on the knowledge
that the respondent would be asked about her health. It is notable that in some cases
eligible women were not available or allowed to make their own decision to partici-
pate, despite being well-past the age of majority.
• The prevalence rates discussed in this report are aggregates. Most of the report ref-
erences national rates and some of it speaks specifically to aggregates calculated
for the CSP communities. The analysis contained hereunder must be used with cau-
tion as Trinidad and Tobago is comprised of diverse regions and communities. Thus,
while the rates are indicative, there may be great disparity in prevalence rates and
the related associations at the community level. This also holds true for the CSP prev-
alence aggregates, as prior studies have shown that the prevalence of domestic vio-
lence victimisation can vary greatly from community to community.43
• Only bivariate analysis is presented in this report. This means that only associations
between variables can be reported in the discussion of the study results. The analy-
sis does not allow causal relationships between variables to be determined and these
should not be inferred. In other words, two phenomena can be deemed to be related
to each other in a general way, but the analysis will not be able to determine the exact
nature of the relationship or rule out the influence of confounding variables.
• It may be difficult to interpret what significant associations mean for policy and pro-
gramming purposes without further analysis of the current data and possibly also fur-
ther bespoke research.

43Citizen Security Programme. National Crime and Victimisation Survey 2015. http://cso.gov.tt/media/
publications-documents/.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 21

 3
CHAPTER

Survey Response
Rates and Sample
Characteristics

Household and Individual Response Rates

Of a total of 1,905 households in the sample, 1,825 were eligible households,
that is, the building was intact, able to be found, occupied, and used as a
dwelling unit. As shown in Table 3.1 below, among the 1,825 eligible house-
holds, 7 percent of households refused to take part in the survey at all. Other
households were inaccessible, because either no one was at home or no one
answered calls at the household entrance after three visits (9%) or the house-
hold postponed the interview on three consecutive occasions (2%). However,
82 percent of households completed the household interview and 68 percent
of the household questionnaires were completed in a household where an eli-
gible woman lived.44
From these 1,243 households with an eligible woman, 1,079 women com-
pleted the individual interview. This individual response rate was slightly higher
in rural as compared to urban areas, with response rates of 90 percent and
86 percent, respectively. On the other hand, in these households, 7 percent of

TABLE 3.1  esponse Rates for Households Sampled and Households

R
Visited: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago 2017
Result of visit(s) Number of Households (%)
HH completed interview 1,500 82.2
HH interview refused 130 7.1
HH absent for extended period 21 1.2
No HH member at home 140 7.7
HH postponed 34 1.9
Total 1,825 100.0

44 The survey instrument consisted of a brief household questionnaire which was adminis-
tered to the first available adult in the home and included the Kish Grid for randomly selecting
an eligible woman. The WHS questionnaire was administered only to the selected woman.

23
 TABLE 3.2  esponse Rates for All Eligible Women in the Sample and
R
Women Completing Interviews: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago 2017
Result of visit(s) Number of Households (%)
Individual interview completed 1,079 86.8
Selected woman refused interview 90 7.2
Selected woman not at home 37 3.0
Selected woman incapacitated 16 1.3
Selected woman does not complete interview (partial interview) 21 1.7
Total 1,243 100.0

selected women refused to participate in the survey, 3 percent were not at home at the
time of the visits, 1 percent were incapacitated, and 2 percent began but did not want to
continue the interview (see Table 3.2).

Respondents’ Satisfaction with Interview

Overall, most respondents found participating in the survey to be a positive experience.
When asked at the end of the interview if they felt better, the same, or worse after the
Interview, almost all women (96%), said they felt better or the same. About 4 percent of
all participants reported that they felt bad or worse after the interview (see Table 3.3).

Key Sample Characteristics

This section provides a demographic overview of the sample of respondents of this
study, including the extent to which it compares to the national population of women.45
Table 3.4 refers.
A comparison of the age distribution of the sample data with the national data
showed that the representation of participants who were between 30 and 59 years of age

TABLE 3.3 Respondents’ Feelings After Completing Survey Interviews for All
Eligible Women, Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago 2017
Post Interview Feelings Number of Respondents (%)
Good/Better 501 46.5
Same/No Difference 538 49.9
Bad/Worse 39 3.6
Total 1,243 100.0

45Statistics obtained from the 2011 census data as provided by the Central Statistical Office of Trinidad
and Tobago for females ages 15–64.

24 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE 3.4  haracteristics of Respondents, Women’s Health Survey Trinidad
C
and Tobago, 2017
All respondents Ever-partnered
% Number % Number
Total 100.0 1079 100.0 1019
Respondent Age
15–19 5.6 60 3.3 33
20–24 7.6 81 6.9 69
25–29 9.2 98 9.5 95
30–34 12.5 133 13.0 131
35–39 13.2 140 13.6 137
40–44 11.8 126 12.3 123
45–49 8.7 93 9.2 92
50–54 11.0 117 11.6 116
55–59 9.6 102 9.9 99
60–64 10.7 114 10.9 109
Religion
None 3.7 40 3.8 38
Roman Catholic 18.5 198 18.9 191
Evangelical 25.7 275 25.6 259
Hinduism 17.6 188 16.4 166
Baptist 9.6 103 9.9 100
Anglican 6.6 71 6.8 69
Other Christian 9.9 106 10.1 102
Other Non-Christian 8.4 90 8.4 85
Ethnicity
African 43.4 467 44.0 446
East Indian 34.1 367 33.6 341
Mixed (East Indian and African) 15.0 161 14.9 151
Other 7.5 81 7.5 76
Educational Attainment
No education/primary only 16.0 172 15.9 161
Secondary 51.4 552 50.8 514
Higher 32.6 350 33.3 337
Current Partnership Status
Never partnered 5.6 60
Currently married 59.0 637 62.5 637
Currently partnered but not married 13.6 147 14.4 147
Currently no partner 21.8 235 23.1 235
Ever Pregnant
No 20.3 218 16.1 163
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 25

 TABLE 3.4  haracteristics of Respondents, Women’s Health Survey Trinidad
C
and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
All respondents Ever-partnered
% Number % Number
Yes 79.7 857 83.9 850
Urban/Rural
Urban 69.0 744 69.5 707
Rural 31.0 335 30.5 310
Main activities during past week
Employed in a public/private 26.2 282 26.9 272
corporate
Self-employed 25.5 274 26.9 273
Housework/work as unpaid family 20.3 218 21.2 215
member
Unemployed 15.2 163 13.0 132
Out of the labour force 12.8 138 11.9 121
Main source of Income
Income from own work 26.2 282 26.9 272
Support from partner/husband 25.5 274 26.9 273
Equal share self and partner 20.3 218 21.2 215
Support from relatives/friends 15.2 163 13.0 132
No income/pension/social services/ 12.8 138 11.9 121
other

was similar to the national community. However, there was also an under-representation
of younger women and an over representation of older women. Six percent of women
15 to 19 years of age and 8 percent of women 20 to 24 years of age participated in this
study. However, the national statistics for these age groups were higher: 11 percent and
12 percent, respectively. Conversely, 11 percent of women between 60 and 64 years were
interviewed for this study though they comprised 6 percent of the national population.
Despite the differences, the sampling methodology allowed the sample to be self-weight-
ing; thus, the sample data were not weighted for analytical purposes to avoid the intro-
duction of bias.
Respondents almost unanimously reported having a religious affiliation, with most
belonging to some derivation of the Christian faith. Among all respondents, 26 percent
identified as Evangelical, 19 percent as Roman Catholic, 10 percent as Baptist, 10 per-
cent as “Other Christian,” and 7 percent as Anglican. Another 16 percent of respondents
identified as Hindu, while 8 percent collectively fell into the diverse “other non-Christian”
category. The remaining 4 percent of the sample reported having no religion. The distri-
bution of religious affiliation in the corresponding segment of the general population was
roughly similar to the sample.
The ethnic mix of study interviewees was as follows: 47 percent women were of African
heritage; 34 percent were East Indian; 15 percent Persons of ‘mixed’ ancestry (African

26 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

and East Indian); and 8 percent were from “Other” backgrounds. The data showed an
over-representation of women of African and Mixed (African and East Indian) ancestry as
compared to the national data. The ethnic distribution of the population according to the
latest census data stated that 37 percent were of East Indian descent, 34 percent were of
African descent, and 7 percent were Mixed (African and East Indian).
Interviewees of this survey were generally well-educated, with 84 percent of the sam-
ple having at least a secondary education. Specifically, 51 percent reported having com-
pleted secondary school and another 33 percent attained qualifications past secondary
school, whereas 16 percent either had no education or only a primary school educa-
tion. Similarly, the national statistics stated that 78 percent of the female population have
at least a secondary school education and 21 percent had either primary only or less
education.
Among the 1,079 persons who completed the individual interview, 93 percent
reported ever having an intimate partner.46 Of these women, 71 percent had been mar-
ried at least once, whilst 29 percent had never been married. In contrast, the national data
showed that 46 percent of the population had never been married. A look at the current
relationship status of the ever-partnered women indicated that 59 percent were currently
married, 14 percent were partnered but not married, and 22 percent had no partner.
Further, most interviewees had experienced at least one pregnancy (80%), while 20 per-
cent had never been pregnant.
A quarter of the sample identified as homemakers or unpaid family workers, 17
percent were unemployed, and 3 percent were not part of the workforce. Most of the
respondents (46%) were employed and 9 percent were self-employed. Only 26 percent
of respondents derived their main source of income from their own earnings. Twenty per-
cent described their main income as earned by both themselves and their husband/part-
ner, while over half of the respondents were dependent on others for their main income:
26 percent on their husband/partner, 15 percent on relatives and friends, and 13 percent
had some “other” form of income such as grants and pensions or no income.

46 A current or former partner or spouse from a relationship which may or may not have involved sexual
intimacy.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 27

 4
CHAPTER

Results

Violence Against Women and Girls by their Male

Partners
Definitions
This section presents results on the current and lifetime prevalence of physical and
sexual violence against women by one or more of their male partners. Specifically,
the results presented in this chapter correspond to ever-partnered women only,
as only ever-partnered women47 were asked about partner violence. It is import-
ant to note that the prevalence of lifetime intimate partner violence is defined as
the proportion of ever-partnered women who reported that they had experienced
one or more defined acts of violence by a current or former partner at least once
in their lifetime. Current IPV prevalence is the proportion of ever-partnered women
reporting at least one act of violence during the 12 months preceding the interview.
By definition, current IPV prevalence is a subset of lifetime IPV prevalence. In this
section lifetime and current prevalence is reported for physical, sexual, emotional,
economic, and physical and/or sexual partner violence.

IPV Prevalence
About 30 percent of ever-partnered women reported having experienced at least
one act of physical and/or sexual partner violence in their lifetime and six per-
cent reported at least one act specifically during the 12 months prior to the survey
(Figure 4.1). Among these women, physical partner violence was more common
than sexual (28% vs. 11%). Emotional violence, the use of language as a tool of abuse
or aggression, was the most common dimension of IPV. It is important to note that
whilst these dimensions are presented separately in the analysis that follows, some
women experience multiple forms of IPV. For example, as shown in Figure 4.2, 8
percent of ever-partnered women have experienced all three forms of violence.

The study uses the term ever-partnered, rather than ever-married, because this group is
47

more inclusive as women who are currently (or were in the past) cohabiting with or dating a
male partner without being married are also considered.

29
 FIGURE 4.1  ifetime and Current Prevalence of Physical, Sexual, Physical,
L
and/or Sexual and Emotional Intimate Partner Violence among
Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017
40.0
35.4%
35.0
30.2%
30.0 28.3%
Percentage (%)

25.0

20.0

15.0
10.5% 10.9%
10.0
5.1% 5.7%
5.0
0.9%
0.0
Physical IPV Sexual IPV Physical/Sexual IPV Emotional IPV
Lifetime IPV prevalence Current IPV prevalence

FIGURE 4.2  verlap between Sexual, Physical, and Emotional Violence

O
Experienced by Survivors of IPV Nationally: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017a

Emotional
[35.4%]
12.2%

14.5% 1.0%

7.7%
Sexual
Physical
[10.5%]
[28.3%] 1.0
0.9%
5.1%

a
Figures in parentheses indicate the proportion of all ever-partnered women who have experienced each
type of abuse. All other numbers represent specific combinations of violence.

Prevalence of Physical Partner Violence

The lifetime prevalence of physical IPV in Trinidad and Tobago was 28 percent, whilst the
current prevalence was 5 percent. The most common acts of physical IPV that women
reported, whether lifetime or current, were being slapped or having something thrown at
them; being pushed or shoved; and being hit with a fist or something else (ranging from
15% to 23%). All acts are presented in Figure 4.3 below.

30 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

FIGURE 4.3  ifetime and Current Prevalence of Different Acts of Physical
L
Partner Violence among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017

At least one act of physical 5.1%

violence 28.3%

3.8%
Slapped or threw something 23.4%

3.9%
Pushed or shoved 18.6%

2.9%
hit with fist or something else 14.7%

1.3%
Kicked or dragged 8.7%

2.4%
Choked or burnt on purpose 8.1%

1.6%
Threatened with or used weapon 6.7%

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0%

12 Month Prevalence Lifetime Prevalence

Severity of Physical IPV

The acts of lifetime physical partner violence among ever-partnered women in Trinidad
and Tobago were recorded and categorised for analysis according to severity, viz.: “mod-
erate only,” “moderate and severe,” and “severe only.”48 Overall, most ever-partnered
women who reported lifetime physical IPV reported experiencing severe physical IPV at
least once (64%). See Figure 4.4.

Physical Violence in Pregnancy

Over 7 percent of ever-pregnant women reported experiencing physical violence in at
least one pregnancy. Over 90 percent of the most recent incidents of violence experi-
enced in pregnancy were perpetrated by the father of the unborn child, who, in most
instances (80%), was reported to be the same perpetrator of physical violence as before
pregnancy. About 72 percent of women reported that the violence got worse (41%) or

48Moderate physical violence:

• slapping or throwing something that could hurt
• pushing or shoving
Severe physical violence:
• being hit with a fist or something else
• being kicked or beaten up
• being choked or burned
• being threatened with a gun, knife, or other weapon.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 31

 FIGURE 4.4  everity of Physical IPV Experienced by Ever-Partnered Women:
S
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017

Moderate and
Moderate only
Severe
36.1%
58.7%

Severe only
5.2%%

FIGURE 4.5  haracteristics of Physical Violence among Women Who have

C
Experienced Physical Violence in Pregnancy: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
100.0
91.8%
Survivors of violence in pregnancy (%)

90.0
80.3%
80.0
70.0
60.0 54.1%
49.2%
50.0
40.8%
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Ever Recent Perpetrator in Same person Beating got
punched or perpetrator most recent beaten her worse
kicked in was father of pregnancy before
abdomen in child with abuse pregnancy
pregnancy is/was most
recent partner

National

stayed the same during pregnancy (31%). More than half of the ever-pregnant women
who experienced violence during a pregnancy indicated that they had been punched or
kicked in the abdomen when pregnant. See Figure 4.5 above.

Prevalence of Sexual Partner Violence

The prevalence of sexual partner violence is the proportion of ever-partnered women
who have experienced at least one pre-defined act of sexual violence perpetrated by
their partner. About one in ten of ever-partnered women living in Trinidad and Tobago

32 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

FIGURE 4.6  ifetime and Current Prevalence of Different Acts of Sexual
L
Partner Violence among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017

At least one act of 0.9%

sexual violence 10.5%

Partner physically forced 0.7%

sexual intercourse 8.4%

Have sexual intercourse with 0.7%

partner because afraid 6.0%

Partner forced something 0.0%

degrading/humiliating 3.2%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0%

12 Month Lifetime

have experienced sexual partner violence in their lifetime, while less than 1 percent
reported experiencing such violence in the 12 months prior to the interview. Respondents
most commonly reported being forced into sexual intercourse (lifetime 8%; current 1%).
Women also indicated having unwanted sexual intercourse because of fear of what their
partners might do if refused (lifetime 6%; current 1%) as well as performing what they
considered degrading or humiliating acts (lifetime 3%; current 0%). See Figure 4.6.

Physical and/or Sexual Violence

For some analyses it is useful to consider physical and sexual violence in combination.
Therefore, the prevalence of physical and/or sexual violence is also presented. As shown
in Figure 4.7, over 30 percent of ever-partnered women in Trinidad and Tobago have
experienced either physical or sexual partner violence or both, at least once in their life-
times. About 6 percent have had this experience in the 12 months preceding the interview.

Prevalence of Emotional Partner Violence

The prevalence of lifetime emotional violence by a partner in Trinidad and Tobago was 35
percent, while the prevalence of partner-perpetrated emotional violence in the 12 months
preceding the interview was 11 percent. The most common acts of emotional partner vio-
lence were being insulted by a partner or made to feel bad about herself (lifetime 28%,
current 10%) and being belittled or humiliated in front of other people (lifetime 21%, cur-
rent 7%). See Figure 4.8.

Frequency of IPV
Women who reported that they had experienced IPV were also asked to quantify how
often the individual acts of violence had happened. To calculate the frequency of each

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 33

 FIGURE 4.7  ifetime and Current Prevalence of Physical and/or Sexual
L
Partner Violence among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
35.0
30.2%
30.0

25.0
Percentage (%)

20.0

15.0

10.0
5.7%
5.0

0.0
(National) (National)
Lifetime Prevalence 12 Month Prevalence

FIGURE 4.8  ifetime and Current Prevalence of Different Acts of Emotional

L
Partner Violence among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017

Al least one act of 0.109%

emotional violence 0.354%

Partner verbally threatened to hurt 0.044%

you or someone you care about 0.145%

Partner done things to scare or 0.048%

intimidate you on purpose 0.152%

Partner belittled or humiliated you 0.072%

in front of other people
0.208%

Partner insulted you or made you 0.098%

feel bad about yourself
0.281%

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0%

12 Month Prevalence (National) Lifetime Prevalence (National)

type of IPV, a score was created for each respondent, summarizing whether she had
experienced a particular act of violence once, a few times or many times, both over the
past 12 months and over her lifetime.49

49 For a detailed explanation of score calculation, see Data Analysis section in Chapter 2, Survey Organ-
isation and Methodology.

34 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 FIGURE 4.9  requency of Lifetime and Current Prevalence of Physical, Sexual,
F
Physical, and/or Sexual and Emotional Intimate Partner Violence
among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad
and Tobago, 2017
90.0
81
80.0
72 74
70.0
61
58
Percentage (%)

60.0 55 56 54
50.0

40.0
33 32
30.0 28
24 22 22 23 23 21
20.0
11 11 11 12
10.0 7 6 7

0.0
Current Lifetime Current Lifetime Current Lifetime Current Lifetime
Physical Physical Sexual Sexual Physical Physical Emotional Emotional
and/or and/or

Once A few times Many times

Figure 4.9 shows that across all types of IPV, whether lifetime or current, at least
half of all survivors reported that they had experienced partner violence “many times.”
Conversely, across all dimensions save current physical violence, approximately 11 per-
cent or less experienced only one violent act. The data suggest that for IPV survivors,
experiencing partner violence is rarely a one-off event.

Economic Partner Violence

The study also collected information on lifetime economic partner violence, defined as
the experience of at least one of three acts. Seven percent of these women reported that
their partner refused to give them money for household expenses regardless of money
being available for other things; 7 percent indicated partners prohibit them from getting
a job, and 2 percent stated that their partners took their earnings or savings against their
will. Overall, almost 11 percent of ever-partnered women indicated that they experienced
economic abuse by partners over their lifetime.

IPV in CSP Communities

While the Women’s Health Survey is national in scope, the communities of the Citizen
Security Programme were also isolated for analysis (in aggregate). Generally, IPV prev-
alence for CSP communities was similar to that of the national community. As with the
national community, women sampled in CSP communities reported experiencing a
higher prevalence of emotional IPV over their lifetime (33%) than either physical or sex-
ual IPV. The lifetime prevalence rates of physical and/or sexual IPV among women in

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 35

 FIGURE 4.10  ifetime and Current Prevalence of Physical, Sexual, Physical,
L
and/or Sexual and Emotional Intimate Partner Violence among
Ever-Partnered Women Living in CSP Communities: Women’s
Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
35.0 33.0%

30.0 29.0%
26.8%
25.0
Percentage (%)

20.0
9.8%
15.0

10.0
7.1%
5.0 3.6% 4.0%
0.4%
0.0
Physical IPV Sexual IPV Physical/Sexual IPV Emotional IPV
Lifetime IPV prevalence Current IPV prevalence

CSP communities was also found to be similar to that of the national lifetime prevalence
(CSP 29%, National 30%), as were physical IPV (CSP 27%, National 28%) and sexual IPV
(CSP 10%, National 10%), when considered individually. While the prevalence rates are
marginally lower in CSP communities versus national figures, in almost all cases statistical
tests could not confirm these differences as significant, i.e., not attributable to chance. 50
Further, as with the national prevalence rates, in considering prevalence for CSP commu-
nities, it must be remembered that it is likely that prevalence varies among the commu-
nities which comprise this aggregate. Accordingly, these figures are not representative at
the individual community level.

Summary – Violence Against Women and Girls

These results imply that in the 15 to 64 age bracket, over 100,000 women in Trinidad and
Tobago are estimated to have experienced one act or more of physical and/or sexual vio-
lence perpetrated by their male partners; of these women, approximately 11,000 women
are likely to still be in an abusive relationship. 51 These statistics paint a similar picture of
violence when compared to the WHO global finding that 30 percent of women who have
been in a relationship report these forms of IPV. 52 In other words, nationally and world-
wide almost one in three women are either physically or sexually abused at some point in

50 No statistically significant differences were found for the individual dimensions of prevalence (both

lifetime and current) save current emotional violence. Refer to Table A1.2 in Annex 1: Supplemental Tables.
51 Estimates calculated based on 2011 census population statistics for women aged 15 to 64 years. Current

abusive partnership is based on women who reported violence in the 12 months prior to being interviewed.
52 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/.

36 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

their lives, not by strangers, but by their own male romantic partners. Further, just over
one in five ever-partnered women have experienced severe physical partner violence, and
most survivors report experiencing acts of violence “many times.” The direct impact of
violence may be further compounded for women if they experience pregnancy. In such
cases partner violence either remains just as prevalent or becomes worse than prior to
pregnancy. Such violence may account for maternal mortality, although this association
is often unrecognized by policymakers (WHO/PAHO 2012). 53 Women are also exposed
to other forms of abusive and controlling behaviour by their partners in the form of emo-
tional (also known as psychological) and economic abuse, the former being the most
common form of IPV. Taken together, these results demonstrate concretely the wide-
spread vulnerability of women to IPV.

Intimate Partner Violence: Associated Factors and Triggers

This section presents and discusses the prevalence of lifetime and current physical and/
or sexual partner violence and statistically significant associations with demographic fac-
tors such as age, religion, and education. 54 Triggers of violence, as perceived by survivors,
are also presented.

Physical Partner Violence

Lifetime Physical Partner Violence
The prevalence of lifetime physical partner violence was higher among ever-partnered
women with lower levels of education. Over one-third of women who had no schooling or
primary school as the highest level of education reported experiencing lifetime physical
partner violence. For those women with secondary school as the highest level of educa-
tion, 30 percent reported experiencing lifetime physical partner violence as opposed to
23 percent among those having higher than secondary school education. The association
of lower education attainment with a higher IPV prevalence is a common finding in simi-
lar studies in other countries.
Women who had a partner but were not married had higher prevalence rates of phys-
ical violence over their lifetime, with 46.1 percent indicating that they had experienced
this type of violence over their lifetime. About 26 percent of women who were currently
married reported experiencing physical violence over their lifetime, while 15 percent of
women who were currently partnered but not married also reported experiencing this
type of violence over their lifetime. The association here is not straightforward, as the
relationship between a current partner and violence happening at some point in a wom-
an’s life is difficult to determine without being able to at least pinpoint when she experi-
enced partner violence.

53 Understanding and Addressing Violence against Women 2012 http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/

10665/77432/1/WHO_RHR_12.36_eng.pdf Retrieved 28 September 2017.
54 Only significant (p<0.05) associations are reported.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 37

 Experience of lifetime physical violence among women who were ever pregnant was
much higher than that of women who were never pregnant. Specifically, 32 percent of
women who were ever pregnant reported experiencing physical violence in their lifetime,
while less than 10 percent of women who were never pregnant reported having the same
experience.
Among women who reported lifetime experiences of physical violence, those who
were married or lived with a partner at a young age had higher prevalence rates than
those whose first union was at 19 years old or older (47% for 18 years or younger; 28%, 19
years or older).

Current Physical Partner Violence

Slightly over 7 percent of ever-partnered women living in rural communities in Trinidad
and Tobago reported experiencing current physical partner violence, while 4 percent in
urban communities reported experiencing this type of violence.
Across all age groups the prevalence of current physical partner violence was higher
among younger women in five-year age groups between 20 and 34 years, ranging from
7 percent to 11 percent. This trend continued with prevalence rates decreasing among
women in age groups between 35 and 49 years and ranging from 3 to 6 percent. For
women 50 years or older, the prevalence of current physical partner violence was esti-
mated to be as low as 2 percent.
As with lifetime physical partner violence, among women who reported current expe-
riences of physical violence, those who were married or lived with a partner at a young
age had higher a prevalence rate than those whose first union was at 19 years old or older
(11% for 18 years or younger; 5% for 19 years or older).

Sexual Violence
Sexual partner violence over the course of a woman’s lifetime was higher among women
who described their ethnicity as African (13%) while 9 percent and 6 percent of women
who described themselves as East Indian and Mixed, respectively, reported sexual partner
violence over their lifetime. Over 15 percent of women who identified as an “other” eth-
nicity indicated that they have experienced sexual partner violence in their lifetime. This
finding was particularly perplexing as it is echoed in 4.6 Sexual Violence against Women
by Non-partners, where women of East Indian descent also experience a lower preva-
lence of more than one form of non-partner sexual violence, including sexual harass-
ment. While the scope of the current report does not allow for a thorough investigation of
why there are significant differences between sexual violence prevalence among women
of differing ethnicity, analysis was run to determine if there were differences between
how women of differing ethnic backgrounds viewed privacy with respect to IPV. As seen
in Figure 4.11 below, a higher proportion of East Indian women agree with the state-
ment that violence between a husband and wife is a private matter than any other ethnic
group. This, coupled with observations by field teams about difficulties with participation
in some predominantly East Indian neighbourhoods, suggest that there may be cultural
barriers to discussing sensitive matters such as sexual assault, particularly with a stranger.

38 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

FIGURE 4.11 Agreement/disagreement that Violence between Husband and
Wife is a Private Matter among all Respondents by Ethnicity:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017

Other 81.5%
17.3%

Mixed (EI and A) 79.5%

16.8%

East Indian 67.0%

29.7%

African 79.9%
18.0%

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0%

Don't Know Disagree Agree

The prevalence of sexual partner violence over women’s lifetime was higher among
women who are currently partnered but not married, with over 18 percent reporting that
they experienced this type of violence, followed by women who were married (9%) and
women who had no partner (8%). The caveat about comparing current partnership sta-
tus to a lifetime prevalence rate also holds in this case. While the association is statistically
significant, it is difficult to discern what the association may imply.
Women who were pregnant at least once experienced sexual partner violence over
their lifetime at almost four times (12%) the rate of women who had never been preg-
nant (3%).
Over 16 percent of women who indicated that their main source of income is income
from their own work had experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. The
prevalence of this type of violent experience was highest in this group, followed by women
who earn no income (12%). It would seem to be paradoxical that women who are finan-
cially independent experience higher prevalence of lifetime sexual violence than women
who are financially dependent on their partner and/or others. Tempting as it may be to
conclude that financial independence leads to higher prevalence of sexual violence, the
results only show an association and not a causal relationship between the two. Women
who experience sexual violence in their lifetime may be more motivated to gain finan-
cial independence, thereby explaining the higher prevalence among women whose main
source of income is from their own work. It is also possible that women who are financially
independent are more ‘threatening’ to the ‘masculinity’ of the male, and this perceived
threat elicits violent responses.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 39

 Among women who reported acts of sexual partner violence, the prevalence of this
type of violence was higher among those women who were involved in non-consensual
marriages (15%) than those women who were involved in consensual marriages (9%).

Physical and/or Sexual Violence

Lifetime
When observed across age groups, the prevalence of lifetime physical and/or sexual part-
ner violence was lower among younger ever-partnered women in age groups between 15
years and 24 years, ranging from 9 percent to 24 percent. Among women in age groups
between 25 years and 59 years, prevalence rates ranged from 25 percent to 36 percent
and were even higher among women aged 60 to 64 years (38%). This is expected given
that lifetime estimates reflect experiential outcomes that are functions of exposure-time
to the onset of intimate partner violence, this being likely to be greater among older
women and resulting in the likelihood of reporting experiences tantamount to intimate
partner violence.
Almost 48 percent of ever-partnered women who were partnered but not married
reported that they have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime,
while 16 percent who had no current partner and 28 percent who are currently married
indicated that they experienced this type of violence over their lifetime.
The prevalence of lifetime physical and/or sexual violence and pregnancy were found
to be higher among women who were ever pregnant (34%) than never pregnant women
(11%).
Women who were married or lived with a partner at age 18 or younger (49%) had a
higher prevalence rate for lifetime physical and/or sexual violence than women who were
married or lived with a partner at age 19 or older (29%).

Current
As with lifetime physical and/or sexual IPV, women who entered their first unions at 19
years or older were much less likely to have experienced current partner violence (5%)
versus 11 percent for 18 and younger partnerships.

Childhood Experience of Violence

For the purposes of this study, both violence witnessed by a child as well as violence
experienced by a child are considered the childhood experience of violence. 55
There is a statistically significant relationship between experiencing physical and sex-
ual partner violence and having a violent childhood. There were marked differences in the
prevalence of physical and/or sexual partner violence between women who had experi-
enced violence as children and women who had not. Among women who were survivors

55 Specifically, the experiences in question were:

• the respondent as a child witnessing her mother being hit by her mother’s partner;
• the respondent as a child receiving beating(s) that left a mark or bruise;
• the respondent as a child being insulted or humiliated by a family member in front of others.

40 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

of physical or sexual partner violence, 40 percent had witnessed partner violence against
their mothers when they were children. Of women who did not experience physical or
sexual IPV, just under 24 percent had witnessed partner violence against their mother.

TABLE 4.1  ummary of Respondent Factors Significantly Associateda with

S
Physical, Sexual, and Physical and/or Sexual Intimate Partner
Violence: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Significant
factors Physical IPV Sexual IPV Physical +/or sexual
Educational Lifetime only — —
attainment Primary only = 33.5%
Secondary = 29.8%
Higher = 23.4%
p-value = 0.04
Current Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime
Partnership Married = 25.9% Married = 9.1% Married = 27.8%
Cohabiting = 46.1% Cohabiting = 18.2% Cohabiting = 47.9%
No partner = 14.5% No partner = 7.9% No partner = 15.8%
p-value = 0.00 p—value = 0.03 p—value = 0.01
Age Current — Lifetime
15–19 = 0.0% 15–19 = 9.1%
20–24 = 7.2% 20–24 = 24.6%
25–29 = 10.5% 25–29 = 28.6%
30–34 = 9.2% 30–34 = 35.9%
35–39 = 5.8% 35–39 = 28.5%
40–44 = 4.9% 40–44 = 35.0%
45–49 = 3.3% 45–49 = 34.8%
50–54 = 1.7% 50–54 = 25.9%
55–59 = 3.0% 55–59 = 25.3%
60–64 = 2.8% 60–64 = 37.6%
p-value = 0.03 p—value = 0.03
Urban/rural Current — —
Urban = 4.1%
Rural = 7.4%
p-value = 0.03
Ethnicity — Lifetime —
African = 12.6%
East Indian = 8.8%
Mixed (EI & A) = 6.0%
Other = 15.8%
p—value = 0.03
Ever pregnant Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime
Yes = 32.0% Yes = 12.1% Yes = 34.0%
No = 9.8% No = 3.1% No = 11.0%
p-value = 0.00 p—value = 0.00 p—value = 0.00
Age at first union Lifetime Lifetime
19 or older = 27.1% 19 or older = 5.5%
18 or younger = 47.4% 18 or younger = 10.9%
p-value = 0.00 p—value = 0.01
Current Current
19 or older = 4.5% 19 or older = 5.5%
18 or younger = 10.9% 18 or younger = 10.9%
p-value = 0.00 p—value = 0.01
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 41

 TABLE 4.1  ummary of Respondent Factors Significantly Associateda with
S
Physical, Sexual, and Physical and/or Sexual Intimate Partner
Violence: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
Significant
factors Physical IPV Sexual IPV Physical +/or sexual
Main source of — Lifetime —
income Own work = 16.2%
Husband/partner = 7.7%
Self/partner equal = 7.4%
Relatives/friends = 8.3%
None/pension/social
services = 12.4%
p—value = 0.00
Non-consensual — Lifetime
marriage Yes = 14.8%
No = 8.7%
p—value = 0.04
a
Using Pearson Chi-Square tests.

There are also differences between survivors and non-survivors when childhood expe-
rience of being hit (31% vs. 16%, respectively) or publicly insulted are examined (36% vs.
17%, respectively). Table 17 refers.
The severity of physical partner violence that women experience is also significantly
associated with childhood violence. The more severe the lifetime physical partner vio-
lence experienced by a woman, the greater the likelihood that this woman experienced
violence at home as a child. To illustrate (see Figure 4.12), women who experienced

FIGURE 4.12  hildhood Experience of Violence by Severity of Physical IPV

C
Experienced by Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017
70.0
Prevalence of Childhood Violence (%)

62.1%
60.0

50.0
45.2%
42.4% 41.8%
40.0 38.5%
32.1% 32.6%
30.0 27.9%
23.9% 24.0%
20.0 16.5% 17.8%

10.0

0.0
Respondent's Respondent hit as Respondent None
mother hit by her a child humiliated
own partner as a child

Violent Experiences in Childhood

No IPV Moderate IPV Severe IPV

42 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

severe physical partner violence were much more likely to report that they had expe-
rienced at least one act of violence at home as a child (67%) than women who expe-
rienced moderate (55%) or no violence (38%). What appears to be the differentiating
childhood experience among those women who experience moderate versus severe
lifetime physical partner violence is being insulted or humiliated as a child. Almost 42
percent of women who experienced severe physical partner violence in their lifetime
were insulted or humiliated, compared to 24 percent of women who experienced mod-
erate physical partner violence and who also indicated that they too were insulted or
humiliated as a child.

Intimate Partner Violence and Partner Characteristics

Women were asked in this study to provide information about their partners’ age, edu-
cation, employment status, alcohol and drug use, relationship history, and whether their
partner has had children with another woman. These partner characteristics were paired
with physical and sexual partner violence to ascertain whether there were significant
associations.

Physical and/or Sexual Partner Violence

Women whose partners had lower levels of education experienced higher prevalence of
physical and/or sexual violence over the course of their lifetime (none/primary 37%, sec-
ondary 31%, higher than secondary 23%).
The prevalence of physical and/or sexual partner violence was significantly higher
among women whose partners were unemployed (lifetime 48%, current 14%). Slightly less
than 30 percent of women whose partners were employed experienced lifetime physical
and/or sexual partner violence, with 3 percent of these women reporting currently experi-
encing this type of violence. Similarly, women whose partners were out of the labour force
experienced low prevalence of physical and/or sexual violence (lifetime 27%, current 3%).
Women whose partners engaged in some form of substance use56 experienced higher
prevalence rates of physical and/or sexual violence over their lifetime (alcohol 43%; rec-
reational drugs 52%) and in the past 12 months prior to the interview (alcohol 10%; recre-
ational drugs 15%).
The prevalence of current physical and/or sexual partner violence was higher among
women who had partners belonging to age groups in the aged 25 to 34 cohort (12%) than
other age groups ranging from 2 to 6 percent.
About half of women who were in a relationship with a partner who had a prior rela-
tionship (49%) experienced physical and/or sexual partner violence in their lifetime, while
about one-quarter of women who were with a partner who did not have a prior relation-
ship experienced physical violence over their lifetime. There was also a higher prevalence
of current physical and/or sexual partner violence among women who were with a part-
ner who had a prior relationship (11%) than estimated among those women who were

56 Consumed alcohol or drugs at least once a week.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 43

 with a partner who had no prior relationships (4%). Further, the prevalence rate of current
physical and/or sexual partner violence was higher among women who had partners who
did not have children with another woman (14%), than was estimated among women who
had partners who had children with another woman (4%). While these associated factors
are significant, their relevance is not proven out by international literature and their rele-
vance in the local context is unclear. Further analysis is needed to determine if these asso-
ciations have meaningful explanatory power.

Perceived Triggers of Partner Violence

Women who reported that they had experienced physical partner violence in their life-
time were asked about the context of the incident(s). The more common reasons given
by women to explain their partner’s behaviour were him being drunk (27%), him being
jealous of her (21%), and his wanting to show her who is boss (18%). Notably, over 27 per-
cent of women reported no particular reason as triggering their partner’s behaviour (See
Figure 4.13).

Summary – Intimate Partner Violence: Associated Factors and Triggers

Generally, the factors significantly associated with IPV in this preliminary analysis are
largely unsurprising. For example, it is generally the case that younger women (of child-
bearing age) are often more vulnerable to IPV, so this association for physical IPV is

FIGURE 4.13  ome Triggers of Violence among Women Experiencing Physical

S
Partner Viiolence by Place of Residence: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017

Other 23.6%

No particular reason 27.1%

He is drunk 26.7%

He is jealous of her 20.8%

He wants to show he is boss 17.7%

Trigger Reasons

Money problems/ 16.7%

no food at home
She is disobedient/he wants
to discipline her 13.9%

He wants to discipline her 8.3%

Difficulties at his work/ 7.0%
unemployed
She refuses sex 5.9%
Problems with his or 5.6%
her family
She is pregnant 2.1%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Percentage (%)

44 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

straightforward. Interestingly, age at first union appears to be a common risk factor for
physical and sexual IPV. This finding echoes the sentiments of the local activist commu-
nity and the government in ratifying the recent Child Marriage Act. Delaying the age of
first union may well be a protective factor for young women, as this often goes hand in
hand with other seeming protective factors such as women achieving higher educational
attainment. Adding depth to the data on prevalence of physical violence in pregnancy,
under Physical Violence in Pregnancy in Section 4.1 Violence Against Women and Girls
by their Male Partners, is the association of lifetime physical and sexual IPV with having
experienced pregnancy. Caution must be taken in interpreting the exact nature of this
association, however, as in some countries it has been found that pregnancy is both a
consequence of and risk factor for IPV. Finally, many of the ascribed triggers of violence
also paint an unsurprising picture. From the view of their female partners, men who per-
petrate violence are often fuelled by need to assert their power over their partners, by
their inebriation, or by their despondency over personal or household money problems.
Some of the triggers may be related to men’s perception of masculinity. However, that
most women say men are triggered to violence by no particular reason is worthy of fur-
ther examination.

Intimate Partner Violence, Gender Dynamics, and

Associated Factors
This section uses standard scales to determine respondents’ perceptions of gender roles
and norms and the associations, if any, with partner violence. These include scales on
gender roles, normalization of violence and the justification of violence as well as the
controlling behaviours of partners. The scales on gender roles, the normalization and
justification of violence were presented to all women in the study, whilst the identified
controlling behaviours of partners were only applicable to ever-partnered women. Only
results for statistically significant associations (i.e., p<0.05) are presented.

Gender Attitudes
To examine women’s perceptions of specific gender roles, all respondents were pre-
sented with statements regarding a woman’s role as it related to her husband, family,
home, and finances. 57 Although at least some women agreed with each statement, there
was greater consensus among women on the statements which afforded women more
agency in their own lives and in the family. Overall there was high agreement with the
statements “women and men should share authority in the family” (90%) and “a woman

57 Respondents were asked if they agreed with the following statements:

• It is a wife’s obligation to have sex with her husband whenever he wants.
• Women and men should share authority in the family.
• A woman’s most important role is to take care of her home and cook for her family.
• It is natural that men should be the head of the family.
• A wife should obey her husband even if she disagrees.
• A woman should be able to spend her own money according to her own will.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 45

 FIGURE 4.14  galitarian Gender Attitudes. Proportion of Women Interviewed
E
Who Said They Agree with Specific Statements Presented to
Them: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
100.0
90.3%
83.5%
80.0
Percentage (%)

60.0

40.0

20.0

0.0
Men and women should share A woman should be able
authority in family to spend her own money

Gender Role statements

should be able to spend her own money” (84%) (see Figure 4.14). Despite the vast major-
ity of respondents agreeing that women should at least share authority in the family,
roughly 66 percent of women agreed that “it is natural that men should be the head of
the family,” while 57 percent of women agreed that “a woman’s role is to take care of her
home” (see Figure 4.15).
The types of IPV were analysed against each of the gender role statements to
determine if there were statistically significant associations. The prevalence of current

FIGURE 4.15  atriarchal Gender Attitudes. Proportion of Interviewed Women

P
Who Said They Agree with Specific Statements Presented to
Them: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
70.0 66.2%

60.0 56.5%

50.0
Percentage (%)

40.0

30.0 27.7%
19.7%
20.0

10.0

0.0
Men naturally Woman's role to Wife should Wife's obligation
should be head take care of home always obey to have sex with
of family husband husband

Gender Role statements

46 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 emotional partner violence was found to be higher among women who agreed that a
woman’s role is to take care of the family (13%), than among women who did not agree
with that statement (8%). No other associations were statistically significant.

Normalization of Violence
Respondents were also asked about their perceptions on whether experiencing violence
is normal for women. 58 A low proportion of women agreed that if a woman does not fight
back, it is not rape (8%), that if a woman is raped, she has done something careless to
put herself in the situation (6%), and a woman should tolerate violence to keep her fam-
ily together (3%). In contrast, however, over 21 percent of women agreed that violence
between a husband and wife is a private matter, a relatively higher level of endorsement
than for any of the other statements in this scale (see Figure 4.16).
Assessing the prevalence of partner violence against normalization of violence, the
results showed that 10.8 percent of women who experienced sexual violence in their life-
time did not agree that a woman should tolerate violence to keep her family together.
However, none of the women who agreed with that statement ever reported any experi-
ence of sexual violence in their lifetime. All other associations of IPV types with the nor-
malisation of violence statements were not statistically significant.

FIGURE 4.16  ormalisation of Violence. Proportion of Interviewed Women

N
Who Said They Agree with Specific Statements Presented to
Them: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
40.0
Percentage (%)

21.8%
20.0

7.9%
6.1%
3.1%
0.0
Violence between If a woman does If a woman is A woman should
husband and wife not physically raped she has tolerate violence
is a private matter fight back, it is not done something to keep her family
rape careless to put together
herself in the
situation
Normalization of violence

58 Respondents were asked if they agreed with the following statements:

• Violence between husband and wife is a private matter.
• A woman should tolerate violence to keep her family together.
• If a woman is raped she has done something careless to put herself in that position.
• It is not rape if a woman does not fight back.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 47

 FIGURE 4.17  ustification of Violence. Proportion of Interviewed Women Who
J
Said They Agree with Specific Statements Presented to Them:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
20.0
Percentage (%)

7.6%

1.7% 1.2% 1.1%

0.5%
0.0
Neglects the Goes out Refuses to Argues with Burns the
children without have sex with him food
telling him him
Justification of violence

Justification of Violence
To determine women’s perceptions on whether physical partner violence against women
is ever justified, respondents were presented with the pretexts for partner violence
against a woman59 (Figure 4.17).
Overall, most women did not agree with these statements. However, 8 percent of
women indicated that physical partner violence was justified in the case where the
woman neglects the children. Very small percentages of women justified physical part-
ner violence when a woman goes out without telling him (2%), refuses to have sex with
him (1%), argues with him (1%), or burns the food (0.5%).

Controlling Behaviour
This survey also included questions on controlling behaviour by a partner60 (Figure 4.19).

59 Respondents were asked if they agreed that physical violence is justified in the following cases:
• if she goes out without telling her partner
• if she neglects the children
• if she argues with her partner
• if she refuses to have sex with her partner
• if she burns the food.
60 Ever-partnered women were asked about specific behaviours exhibited by their partner:

• He does not permit her to meet with friends.

• He limits her contact with her biological family.
• He insists on knowing where she is at all times.
• He gets angry or jealous when she talks with another man.
• He accuses her of being unfaithful.
• He expects her to ask permission before seeking health care.

48 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 Almost 30 percent of ever-partnered women reported that their partner gets jeal-
ous or angry if they talk to another man, followed by 23 percent who stated that their
partner wants to know where they are at all times. Less common controlling behaviours

FIGURE 4.18  roportion of Ever-Partnered Women whose Partners Exhibited

P
Controlling Behaviours: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017
40

29.1%
Percentage (%)

22.9%
20

9.8% 8.6% 7.6% 7.1% 7.1%

4.0%
0.5%
0
Gets Knowing Checks Not Does not Tries to Limits Expects Frequently
jealous or where you your permitted trust you limit contact you to ask accuses
angry if are at all cellphone to meet with any contact with permission you of
you talk times female money with your family of before being
with friends family of birth seeking unfaithful
another birth health
man care for
self

Controlling partner behaviour

FIGURE 4.19  artner Controlling Behaviour and Lifetime Experience of Partner

P
Violence: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
80.0
68.1%

60.0 55.9% 58.0%

Percentage (%)

40.0
32.0%
24.3% 24.4% 26.0%
22.5%
17.6% 19.5%
20.0

5.6% 6.1%
0.0
Emotional violence Physical violence Sexual violence Physical and/or sexual
violence
Controlling behaviour
None One More than One

• He does not trust her with money.

• He checks her cell phone.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 49

 by women’s partners were expecting them to ask permission before seeking health care
(4%) and accusations of being unfaithful (0.5%).
To understand whether the controlling behaviours of women’s current or most recent
partners were associated with IPV, the data were further analysed. The eight behaviours
were used to compute a new score which identified three levels of controlling behaviour
by a partner: no controlling behaviour, one type of controlling behaviour, and more than
one type of controlling behaviour. The incidence of IPV was then tested against the
degree of controlling partner behaviour.
The prevalence of IPV over a woman’s lifetime was much higher among women
whose partners exhibited more than one type of controlling behaviour. Over 68 percent
of women with very controlling partners (i.e. exhibiting more than one type of controlling
behaviour) experienced emotional partner violence over their lifetime; 56 percent phys-
ical partner violence; 24 percent sexual partner violence; and 58 percent physical and/
or sexual violence. On the other hand, lifetime IPV experiences among women who had
a partner who exhibited no controlling behaviours was lowest, as 23 percent of these
women indicated that they experienced emotional partner violence over their lifetime
and 20 percent physical and/or sexual IPV. As seen in Figure 4.19, the trend was similar
across other types of lifetime partner violence with prevalence rates increasing based on
the increased number of controlling behaviours exhibited by a partner.
Similarly, the prevalence of current IPV among women who had partners exhibiting
more than one controlling behaviour was markedly higher than that of women whose
partners exhibited one or no controlling behaviours. This was the case across all dimen-
sions of partner violence.

Summary – Intimate Partner Violence, Gender Dynamics and Associated

Factors
The women of Trinidad and Tobago have a mix of beliefs about women’s roles and the vio-
lence that women experience from their partners. Almost all women agree that women
should have at least some authority in their homes and that women do not deserve vio-
lent treatment from their partners. However, some traditional patriarchal beliefs are still
pervasive. Overall, most of these attitudes and perceptions are not significantly associ-
ated with partner violence against women. On the other hand, there is a highly signifi-
cant relationship between a partner’s controlling behaviour and women’s experience of
emotional, physical, and sexual partner violence. Women whose partners exhibit multiple
controlling behaviours are at least twice as likely as their counterparts to experience IPV.
The strong association of controlling behaviour and IPV may be because the acts of con-
trolling behaviour are very similar to IPV.

Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Women

The effects of intimate partner violence are multidimensional. This section looks at some
of the consequences of physical and sexual partner violence on women, particularly as
it relates to their health. Physical and sexual violence cause not only immediate pain and

50 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 injury, but also lasting effects on physical, mental, and psychological health that compro-
mise women’s quality of life and productivity.

Physical Health
Physical and sexual partner violence have direct impacts on women’s bodies. Almost a
third of these survivors (31%) reported having suffered injuries as a result of the violence
inflicted on them, and one-fifth (21%) needed to seek professional health care for these inju-
ries. Survivors were also asked to subjectively assess how their experience of violence had
affected their well-being. About 16 percent of these women estimated the effect of IPV as
“a lot,” whilst 24 percent estimated it as “a little,” and 60 percent felt there was “no effect.”
All ever-partnered women were also asked about the quality of their general, physi-
cal, and mental health. Figure 4.20 presents the differences in reported health problems
between women who had experienced intimate partner violence versus those who had
not. In all categories, survivors were more likely to have problems, whether it was poor
general health (40% vs. 28% for non-survivors), difficulty performing usual activities (13%
vs. 7% for non-survivors), or having pain (24% vs. 11% for non-survivors). Notably, this dif-
ference was more pronounced in women who were from rural communities, as a larger
proportion of these women experienced problems with overall health (4%) and problems
performing usual activities (19%). Refer to Figure 4.20.
Ever-partnered women also indicated their use of medication in the past four weeks,
according to their experience of physical and/or sexual partner violence. Nationally, sur-
vivors were more likely to take medicine for pain (41%), to sleep (13%), or for depression
(5%) than women who had not experienced partner violence: 31 percent, 7 percent, and
2 percent, respectively.

FIGURE 4.20  ealth Problems Reported among Ever-Partnered Women,

H
According to Women’s Experience of Physical and/or
Sexual Partner Violence: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017
45.0
40.4%
40.0

35.0

30.0
Percentage (%)

28.0%
25.0 24.4%

20.0

15.0 13.4%
10.6%
10.0
6.6%
5.0

0.0
Some/many problems Some/many problems Some/many problems
with overall health with performing usual activities of pain

IPV No IPV

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 51

 FIGURE 4.21  sychological Risk Factors Reported among Ever-Partnered
P
Women According to their IPV Experience: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
40.0

29.8%
30.0 27.4%
26.3%
Percentage (%)

23.1%

20.0

12.8% 12.3%
10.7% 9.9%
10.0
6.2% 6.1% 6.4%
4.6%

0.0
Suicidal ideation/ Drink alcohol at least Use recreational drugs
attempt once a week at least once a week

Psychological risk factors

All communities Urban Rural CSP

Mental Health
Other psychological risk factors were also reported among ever-partnered women. These
include suicidal ideation or attempt as well as use of alcohol or recreational drugs (at least
once a week). Nationwide, women who had experienced physical or sexual partner vio-
lence reported suicidal ideation or attempts (27%), alcohol consumption (11%), and using
recreational drugs (6%). Similar variation was observed across each of the psychological
risks for women from urban, rural, and CSP communities. In comparison, women who had
not experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence were much less likely to have
contemplated or attempted suicide (12%), and the likelihood of substance use was also
less: 6 percent consumed alcohol and 2 percent used recreational drugs (Figure 4.21).

Sexual and Reproductive Health

Women who experience IPV are at higher risk of negative outcomes with respect to their
sexual and reproductive health. As shown in Figure 4.22 and Figure 4.23, survivors have
less agency with regard to their own use of birth control or their partner’s use of birth
control or condoms. This implies that survivors are at higher risk for unwanted pregnan-
cies and exposure to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Impact on Income Generation

The majority of survivors of physical and sexual intimate partner violence earn a money
income by working (76%). Survivors were asked about the impact of partner violence on
their income-generating activities. Just over a quarter of them (27%) reported that their

52 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 FIGURE 4.22  urrent/most Recent Husband/partner Ever Refused to Use
C
Birth Control or Barred You from Using Birth Control by
Experience of Current Physical, Sexual, Sexual and/or Physical,
and Emotional IPV among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s
Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
25.0

20.5%
20.0
Percentage (%)

15.0

10.5%
10.0 9.1% 9.1%

5.0% 5.6%
5.0

0.9%
0.0%
0.0
Current physical Current sexual Current sexual and/ Current emotional
violence violence or physical violence violence

Yes No

FIGURE 4.23  urrent/most Recent Husband/Partner Ever Refused to Use a

C
Condom by Experience of Current Physical, Sexual, Sexual and/
or Physical, and Emotional IPV among Ever-Partnered Women:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
20.0 19.0%

15.0
12.4%
Percentage (%)

10.5% 10.0%
10.0

4.6% 5.0%
5.0
2.9%

0.7%
0.0
Current physical Current sexual Current sexual and/ Current emotional
violence violence or physical violence violence

Yes No

work was not disrupted. Others described the violence as having the following impacts:
loss of self-confidence (10%), needing sick leave (19%), and being unable to concentrate
(31%), as well as husband/partner interrupting work (15%). In CSP communities, a similar
proportion of survivors earn an income from their work (24%), but a smaller proportion

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 53

 state that their work was not disrupted (24%). Interestingly, while a larger proportion of
these women report difficulty concentrating (35%), a smaller proportion reported being
unable to work because of sick leave (12%).

Impact on Children
Women with children 5 to 12 years old reported the impact their experience of physi-
cal and/or sexual partner violence had on their children’s well-being. Survivors of IPV
reported higher prevalence for all but one of the indicators of trauma for their children.
These included their children’s private behaviours such as bedwetting (14% vs. 8% for
non-survivors’ children), social behaviour such as aggression (10% vs. 3% for non-survi-
vors’ children), and school performance, i.e., having to repeat school years (18% vs. 9%
for non-survivors’ children). Figure 4.24 presents all the indicators resulting from reports
made by mothers.
Women from CSP communities were more likely to report their children’s nightmares
as an impact of their personal experiences with IPV (13%) when compared to women from
rural (0%) and urban (6%) communities. However, survivors residing in rural communities
were more likely to report their children being quiet and withdrawn (22%) compared to
those from CSP (13%) and urban communities (10%).

Summary – Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Women

Women who have experienced physical and sexual partner violence are measurably worse
off than their counterparts, based on several on subjective and objective measures of
health and well-being. These impacts go beyond the more obvious direct impacts such as

FIGURE 4.24 Children’s Well-Being as Reported by Women with Children 5–12

Years Old, According to the Women’s Experience of Physical
and/or Sexual Partner Violence: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
20.0
18.4%
18.0
16.0
14.0%
14.0
Percentage (%)

12.1%
12.0
10.3%
10.0
8.1% 8.6%
8.0 7.0%
6.0 5.6%
4.7% 4.9%
3.8% 3.4%
4.0 3.2%
2.2%
2.0
0.0
Nightmares Bedwetting Child quiet/ Child Child has Child Child had
withdrawn aggressive run away dropped to
out of repeat
school school
IPV No IPV

54 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

injuries resulting from violence. These include survivors having greater pain, more difficulty
with normal functioning, worse mental health, being at greater risk of unwanted pregnancy
and STIs, and having a higher likelihood of having their income-earning activities compro-
mised. In addition, the children of survivors were also more likely to present with troubling
behaviour. Coupled with the finding that survivors are about two to three times more likely
to need their partner’s permission to seek healthcare (Figure 4.19), these findings suggest
survivors are extremely vulnerable with regard to their health, in particular.

Women’s Responses to Intimate Partner Violence

This section reports how women address physical and sexual violence perpetrated by
their partners. It examines if and from whom survivors of intimate partner violence choose
to obtain support, the kinds of support they opt for, and their reasons for seeking help (or
not). The section also examines other options open to survivors, such as leaving the vio-
lent situation or physically retaliating against their perpetrators.

Disclosure
Most ever-partnered women who have experienced physical or sexual partner violence
indicated that they spoke to at least one other person about their abusive experience;
29 percent had spoken to no one. Mothers were the most frequently chosen confidantes
(40% for all respondents), and more so in CSP communities (48%). Friends (27% of all
respondents) and other relatives were also common choices. Urban women were more
likely to confide in friends than their rural counterparts (30% vs. 21% respectively). On
the other hand, rural women were more inclined to tell their children (23%) of their expe-
rience than urban women (18%). Approximately 24 percent of all survivors spoke to an
uncle or aunt, 16 percent to a brother or sister. Notably, relatively few women chose to dis-
close their encounter with IPV to professionals such as health workers/doctors (13%), the
police (5%), or a counsellor (4%). Results are summarised in Figure 4.25.

Seeking and Receiving Help

The majority of women who experienced physical or sexual partner violence did not
seek help from any organisation or support agency; this amounted to 69 percent of
survivors across Trinidad and Tobago collectively and 74 percent of women from the
aggregated CSP communities. Among those who sought help from an agency or per-
son in authority, most went to the police (26%). Less popular choices were seeking
assistance from a health agency (8%), the courts (6%), and social services (3%). Notably,
only a negligible proportion of survivors reported seeking help from the service provid-
ers which are specifically set up to aid survivors of IPV: fewer than 1 percent of survivors
used the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-SAVE; and 1 percent used domestic
violence shelters.
Unsurprisingly, most survivors of IPV also did not receive help from any source (61%).
Of those who received help, they were most likely to be helped by their parents (13%),
the police (12%), and their friends (11%). There were some noticeable disparities between

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 55

 FIGURE 4.25  ercentage of Women Who Had Told Others, and Persons
P
to Whom They Told, about the Violence, among Women
Experiencing Physical or Sexual Partner Violence: Women’s
Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
50.0
45.0
41.0%
39.7%
40.0
35.0
Percentage (%)

30.0 29.0%
27.4%
25.0
19.9%
20.0
15.0 13.4%
9.8%
10.0
5.2% 4.9% 4.2%
5.0
0.0
Other
relatives

Mother

No one

Friends

Children

Health
Professional

Neighbours

Police

Religious leader

Others
Total

women from rural and urban areas, the former tending to rely on family, the latter on
friends. Whilst women from rural areas were more likely to receive help from their par-
ents, this was true for a smaller proportion for women from urban areas (17% and 11%,
respectively). By contrast, a greater percentage of women from urban areas received
help from their friends (14%) compared to women from rural areas (6%). Furthermore,
women from rural areas were more likely to receive help from the police (16%) compared
to women from urban areas (11%).
Survivors of intimate partner violence had various reasons to seek help. The most com-
pelling reasons were feeling like she could not endure any more violence (43%) or being
encouraged by friends or family (31%). Women were also motivated to seek help when
they were badly injured (18%), when there was an attempt to kill them (threatened or tried
– 16%), or when they were afraid they would be killed (14%). About one in ten women who
sought assistance did so when they saw their children suffering because of the situation.
On the other hand, women who did not seek help were not as definitive with their rea-
sons as those who did. In fact, 33 percent of survivors who did not seek help did not know
why they made this choice or refused to provide a response. Although one in five of these
women (17%) reported that the violence was “normal” or “not serious” enough to warrant
intervention, 8 percent refrained from further action out of fear of the consequences, and
9 percent were ashamed or felt they would be blamed or not believed. Notably, women
from CSP communities were similarly reticent or at a loss as to how to explain not seek-
ing help (33% did not answer or did not know). However, a smaller proportion of women
felt afraid (4%) or embarrassed (4%), but a much larger proportion felt that violence was

56 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

normal/not serious (27%). Of those survivors who chose to seek formal support, less than
half approved of assistance from the police service (46%), but health services received a
high approval rating: 92 percent.

Leaving the Violence

The most common driver in a survivor’s decision to leave her partner is not being able
to endure any more of the violent situation; 52 percent of survivors stated this reason.
All other factors, such as a serious injury (6%), support from friends or family (6%), or
thrown out from the home (4%), influenced relatively few survivors. Strikingly, despite
reaching this point, most women who leave return to their partners (62%). There are sev-
eral reasons why they choose to do so, and some women were motivated by more than
one factor. Most related to retaining or rebuilding the relationship or household structure
which they had left: 33 percent forgave their partners; 24 percent acquiesced to the part-
ner’s request to return; 19 percent returned for the sake of their families; 14 percent were
compelled by the love they felt for their partners; 10 percent by the belief that he would
change; and 6 percent because of the holiness of marriage. Other reasons related to the
lack of support available to women who leave: did not want to leave their children (33%);
being unable to stay at another place (9%); and being unable to support children (6%).
Other survivors of physical and sexual partner violence never leave. Their reasons are
similar to those of the women who return. They stem from women’s investment in their
children and partnerships or their lack of a feasible alternative for themselves and their
children. Almost 39 percent of these women did not want to leave their children; 12 per-
cent could not support them and so did not leave the home. Women also stayed because
they forgave him (20%), loved him (16%), thought he would change (8%), or felt that that
marriage was holy (9%). Some women also considered the violence ‘’normal’’ or ‘’not seri-
ous’’ enough to warrant leaving (11%). Notably, 11 percent of women never left because
there was no feasible place for them to go.

Fighting Back
Two-thirds of women who had experienced physical partner violence reported either
defending themselves or physically fighting back at least once during the times that they
had been attacked. Two in five women had defended themselves on multiple occasions.
The data indicated varied outcomes for women who retaliated because of physi-
cal partner violence. Of the women who retaliated, 38 percent (41% in CSP communities)
indicated an end to the violence after fighting back, and a further 18 percent (17% in CSP
communities) stated that the violence lessened. Almost 19 percent (19% in CSP communi-
ties) reported that there was no change in the situation. In about 26 percent of cases (17%
in CSP communities) the violence got worse as a result61 (Figure 4.26).

61It is important to note that the researchers are unable to distinguish if the effect of retaliation against
the violent partner, i.e. violence improving, worsening, staying the same, relates to a temporary outcome
during a violent episode incident or whether the effects on the violence are lasting in the partnership.
Caution must be taken in interpreting that women fighting back stops partner violence altogether.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 57

 FIGURE 4.26  ffect of Fighting Back, among Women Who Ever Fought Back
E
Because of Physical Partner Violence: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017

No change/No effect/
No answer
18.7%

Violence worsened
25.9%

Violence stopped
37.8%
Violence lessened
17.6%

Summary – Women’s Responses to Partner Violence

Survivors of physical and sexual partner violence find various strategies to cope with the
violence in their lives. Most women are, at minimum, able to talk to someone about their
situation, most often their mothers. It should be noted, however, particularly for informing
community outreach programmes, that one in three women in this situation did not tell
anyone of their experience. Further, most survivors did not seek or receive help for their
situation. Women who receive help tend to do so more from their personal network of
family and friends than from the authorities or civil society organizations that have dedi-
cated resources to addressing IPV.
There was evidence indicating that survivors experienced some amount of difficulty
in pinpointing the factors that discouraged them from seeking help, though fear, shame
and especially the “normalcy” of violence were attributed. Survivors’ reluctance to leave
violent partners appears to emerge from the following: being hamstrung by an inability to
access or generate viable alternatives for themselves and, particularly, their children and/
or the desire to hold on to their family structure and relationship, despite the violence.
Women most commonly seek help or leave when they feel they cannot endure any more.
As an alternative, some women decide to fight back against physical attacks, and this
brings mixed results. Rather than rendering women to the possibility of suffering worse
consequences, the results also indicate that fighting back also stops, lessens, or does not
change the violence in the moment of an attack for a relatively greater number of women.
It is worth noting, however, that the data do not indicate how partners’ overall behaviour
is affected when victims fight back.

Sexual Violence Against Women by Non-Partners

This chapter presents results on the prevalence and factors associated with various
forms of non-partner sexual violence (NPSV) that women experience. The findings show
that just under one in three women (31%) in Trinidad and Tobago have experienced

58 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 FIGURE 4.27  ifetime and Current Prevalence of Non-Partner and Partner
L
Sexual Violence among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s
Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
25.0
21.3%
20.0
Percentage (%)

15.0

10.0

5.0% 4.9%
5.0

0.0
Non-partner Partner Partner and
only only non-partner

sexual violence, which includes forced sexual intercourse, attempted forced intercourse,
unwanted touching, and reported sexual violence before the age of 18, at some point in
their lives by a partner and/or non-partner.
Interestingly, the prevalence of NPSV (21.3%) is almost four times higher than that of
sexual violence perpetrated by a partner (5.0%). The results presented in this chapter cor-
respond to all women interviewed in the sample, as all respondents were asked about NPSV.
Throughout this section only statistically significant associations (p<0.05) are presented.

Sexual Abuse by Non-Partners

Non-partner sexual abuse is defined as acts that involve being forced into an unwanted
sexual act62 by anyone other than an intimate partner and does not include sexual vio-
lence in childhood. The prevalence of non-partner sexual abuse by women in Trinidad and
Tobago was 19 percent over their lifetime, while 3 percent of women indicated this hap-
pened in the 12 months preceding the interview (Figure 4.28).

Educational Attainment
Women with no/primary school education were found to have lower prevalence rates
among women who currently experience sexual abuse (1%) than women who had some
secondary school education (4%) or higher (3%). Provided that non-partner sexual violence

62 The acts respondents were asked about were:

• being forced into unwanted sexual intercourse (by physical force, threat or being put in a situation
where she could not say no);
• being forced to have sex while too intoxicated to refuse;
• someone attempting (but not succeeding) in forcing unwanted sexual intercourse;
• experiencing unwanted sexual touching or being forced to touch someone else sexually.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 59

 FIGURE 4.28  revalence of Non-Partner Sexual Violence among All
P
Respondents: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
20.0 19.0%
18.0
16.0
14.0
Percentage (%)

12.0 10.9%
10.0 9.5%

8.0 6.8%
6.0
4.0 3.2%
1.5% 1.8%
2.0
0.6%
0.0
Overall sexual abuse Forced intercourse Attempted intercourse Unwanted touching

Lifetime Current

is more likely to occur among younger women, coupled with free and compulsory educa-
tion in Trinidad to persons between the ages of 5 to 16, it is not surprising that they expe-
rience the lowest prevalence of current non-partner sexual abuse, as older women would
have been much more likely to have been exposed to little or no formal education.

Ethnicity
Over one-quarter of women who were of African descent reported having experienced
sexual abuse by a non-partner over the course of their lifetime, followed by 18 percent of
women who fell within the “Other” ethnic group. Women who were of East Indian descent
had a lower lifetime prevalence of sexual non-partner abuse than other ethnic groups (11%).

Forced Sexual Intercourse

Of all women who were interviewed, 10 percent indicated that they were forced at least
once to have intercourse with a non-partner through the use of physical or verbal force
(9%) and/or substances such as alcohol or drugs (1%). For most of these women who
reported having experienced being forced to have sexual intercourse with a non-partner
(88%), the most recent incident of this act by a non-partner was more than five years ago.
Not surprisingly, just about 2 percent of these women who experienced this type of sex-
ual violence reported that it occurred in the past 12 months prior to the study.
The majority of women (lifetime 93%, current 88%) stated that they have experienced
this violence once by one perpetrator. In many instances (lifetime 58%, current 75%), this
perpetrator was a family member or friend.
Most of these experiences were left unreported, with 84 percent of women stating
that they did not report the incident to the police. For those women who did report the
incident to the police, a case was opened in just over 50 percent of the reported inci-
dents. Further, only 17 percent of the cases that were opened led to a conviction.

60 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 FIGURE 4.29  esponses of Confidantes to Women Who Disclosed
R
Experiencing Forced Sexual Intercourse: Women’s Health
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
60.0
51.4%
50.0

40.0
Percentage (%)

30.0

20.0
13.9% 15.3%

10.0 8.3% 6.9%

4.2%
0.0
Supported Blamed Told to keep Indifference Advised to Other
quiet report to police

Reporting the incidents to the health services was also low, with only 12 percent
of women reporting to a health service provider. Among those women who did report
the incident to a health service provider 25 percent were offered medication/treatment
for preventing pregnancy, 25 percent were offered medication/treatment for prevent-
ing transmission of HIV, and 12 percent received formal counselling as it related to the
incident.
Although these incidents of forced intercourse were not reported to the police or
health service providers, women who did experience this type of violence were likely to
tell someone in their social network about the incident. In fact, almost two-thirds of these
women indicated that they told someone in their network such as a family member, a
friend, or a neighbour about the incident. Assessing whom women were most likely to
share the incident with revealed that in 62 percent of the cases where the incident was
shared, it was with a female family member.
Just over 50 percent of women stated that the person to whom they disclosed this
incident was supportive, while 4 percent were advised to report the incident to the police.
A disturbingly large percentage (29%) of women were either blamed (14%), told to keep
quiet (8%), and/or received no support (7%) after disclosing their experience.

Attempted Forced Sexual Intercourse/Unwanted Touching

Women were asked to think about any male person excluding their husband/male part-
ner and state whether this/these person or persons had: attempted but not succeeded to
force you into sexual intercourse, touched you sexually when you did not want them to or
made you touch their private parts against your will. The first listed experience was used
to assess women’s lifetime and current experiences of attempted force sexual intercourse
and the latter two experiences, unwanted touching.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 61

 Seven percent of all women who were interviewed reported that they had experi-
enced at least once in their lifetime attempted forced sexual intercourse with 1 percent
among these women stating that they have experienced this in the past 12 months prior
to being interviewed. A slightly higher percentage of women reported having experi-
enced being touched sexually or made to be touched when they did not want to (lifetime
11%, current 2%).

Sexual Harassment
Three specific spaces—at work, on the job, public transport and virtual spaces—were pre-
sented to women to assess non-partner sexual harassment. The overall prevalence of
non-partner sexual harassment was 13 percent, with the highest prevalence of this type of
harassment being in the form of electronic messages with sexual content (8%) and being
groped in a public space (7%).

Respondent Age
Younger women were more likely to have experienced non-partner sexual harassment.
Specifically, there was an increasing trend of sexual harassment from women in successive
five-year age groups between 15 years and 29 years, with prevalence rates ranging from 17
percent to 21 percent. Lower prevalence rates are observed among women aged 40 years
and over (3.3%) and somewhat higher (6%) among women aged 55 years and over.

Ethnicity
The prevalence of non-partner sexual harassment among women of East Indian descent
(8%) was lower than that of women belonging to other ethnic groups. Women who were
classified within the “Other” ethnic group had a higher prevalence rate of non-partner

FIGURE 4.30  revalence of Sexual Harassment among All Respondents:

P
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
9.0

8.0 7.7%

7.0 6.8%

6.0
Percentage (%)

5.0

4.0

3.0
2.1%
2.0

1.0
0.4%
0.0
Asked to perform Asked to perform Been groped in a Electronic messages
sexual acts to get/keep sexual acts to pass public space with sexual content
an a job exam

62 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

sexual harassment (19%), with slightly lower prevalence rates being observed among
women of Mixed origin (16%) and those of African descent (14%).

Educational Attainment
Almost 19 percent of women who attained education higher than secondary level were
observed to have experienced sexual harassment. The corresponding percentage among
women who attained secondary school education as their highest level was somewhat
lower, being 12 percent. In the case of women who only attained primary school or lower
education, a substantially lower percentage (less than 2%) was observed to have expe-
rienced non-partner sexual harassment. Whereas educational attainment appears to be
an inhibiting factor for partner violence, the opposite seems to be true in the case of
non-partner sexual harassment. It is noteworthy that having attained education higher
than the secondary level, women are more likely be employed, as well as to aspire to posi-
tions that are traditionally male dominated within organizations. Not surprisingly, there is
a greater likelihood that such women may be placing themselves at a greater risk of expe-
riencing sexual harassment.

Child Sexual Abuse

The study examined sexual violence in childhood by asking women whether anyone had
ever touched them sexually or made them do something sexual that they did not want
to do before the age of 18. Due to the sensitive nature of this question, respondents were
allowed to enter this information privately.63 They were shown illustrations of a young girl
who was smiling and alternatively, the same girl crying. They were asked to indicate if
someone ever touched them sexually against their will before age 18 by selecting the sad
girl and the happy girl if not.
Nineteen percent of women selected the sad face at the end of the interview, indi-
cating that they had experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18. Further, there
were significant differences in the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse across several
socio-demographic characteristics, namely respondent’s age, main economic activity,
and age of first union.

Respondent’s Age
Compared to women from each of the other age categories, those aged 20 to 24 years
were more likely to report prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (37%). Notably, high
prevalence rates of childhood sexual abuse were also observed among women aged 35
to 39 years (21%), 40 to 44 years (22%) and 45 to 49 years (23%). Women aged 50 to 54
years (11%) were less likely to have reported being sexually abused as a child than their
counterparts in any of the other age groups.

63Respondents were handed the tablet used to administer the survey and issued instructions to select
the relevant response and clicking next before handing it back to the interviewer.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 63

 FIGURE 4.31  revalence of Childhood Sexual Abuse among All Respondents
P
According to Five-Year Age Group: Women’s Health Survey,
Trinidad and Tobago 2017
40.0
0.37
35.0

30.0
Percentage (%)

25.0 0.226
0.222
0.207
20.0 0.183 0.194
0.158 0.157
15.0 0.14
0.111
10.0

5.0

0.0
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
Respondent Age

Age at First Union

Age at first union (married or living together) was also statistically significant when exam-
ining the prevalence of reported sexual abuse in childhood (before age 18). The data high-
lighted that one in four women (25%) who were first married or cohabiting with a male
partner by the age of 18 or younger also experienced sexual abuse before they were 18.
Women, however, who entered their first union aged 19 years or older had a lower prev-
alence of childhood sexual abuse (18%). This finding echoes age at first union as an asso-
ciated factor for all forms of partner violence and highlights again how dangerous child
marriage and early unions can potentially be for young women, especially when they are
non-consensual.

First Sexual Experience

According to Figure 4.32, just over 37 percent of the women interviewed responded that
they were 19 years or older when they had sexual intercourse for the first time.64 Over
15 percent of women stated that their first sexual experience occurred when they were
18 years old, with another 16 percent indicating that their first experience was at age 17
years, followed by 12 percent and 8 percent who were 16 years and 15 years, respectively.
Slightly over 12 percent of women indicated that the age of first sexual experience was
younger than 15 years old.
Women were also asked to characterise the nature of first sexual experience as
wanted, acquiesced to, or forced. Overall, 79 percent of women had their first sexual
experience because they wanted to have sex. In assessing the nature of women’s first

64 Age of sexual debut was only asked of women who indicated that they had been sexually active.

64 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 FIGURE 4.32  ercentage Distribution of Sexually Active Women According to
P
Age at First Sexual Intercourse: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad
and Tobago, 2017
40.0 0.374
35.0

30.0
Percentage (%)

25.0

20.0
0.15 0.156
15.0
0.122 0.116
10.0 0.083

5.0

0.0
<15 15 16 17 18 19+
Age at first sexual intercourse

sexual experience, certain factors, namely the respondent’s current age and main eco-
nomic activity, were found to be significantly associated.

Current Age

It should also be noted that younger women (aged 24 years and younger) were more
likely than any women from any other age group to state that they did not want to have
their first sexual experience. That is, 18 percent of women aged 15 to 19 years and 18 per-
cent aged 20 to 24 years said of their first sexual experience that they did not want to
have sex, but it happened anyway. Another significant result showed that women aged
20 to 24 years were more likely to have reported a forced first sexual experience than
women from any of the other age groups. Specifically, 16 percent of women in this age
group said that their first sexual experience was forced.

Nature of First Experience by Age of First Experience

Further analysis showed that the nature of a woman’s first sexual experience was moder-
ated by the age at which she had this first experience. Women whose first sexual expe-
rience occurred before age 15 were much more likely to report having been forced into
this act than women whose age of first sexual experience was 15 years or older. There
was a marked decline in the likelihood of first sexual experiences that were forced among
women whose age of first experience was 15 years or older, with women whose first expe-
rience was at 19 years or older being least at risk of their first sexual experience being
forced (0.6%). Not surprisingly, the older a woman’s first sexual experience, the more
likely she was to have wanted to have sex. Results showed that 90 percent of women
whose first sexual experience was 19 years or older wanted to have the experience, while

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 65

 only 45 percent of women whose age of first sexual experience was before 15 years indi-
cated that they wanted to have sex at that time.
Several factors need to be examined when discussing the characteristics of women
who reported sexual violence with a partner or non-partner at the time of their first sex-
ual experience; specifically, a woman’s ethnicity, having been ever pregnant, and main
source of income.
Most women (69%) from all ethnic backgrounds did not characterise their first sexual
experience as violent. However, the prevalence of sexual violence as a feature of a wom-
an’s first sexual experience was the lowest among East Indian women when compared
to women from other ethnic groups. Almost 25 percent (25%) of East Indian women said
their first sexual experience was violent compared to Mixed (29%), “Other” (35%), and
(36%) African women.

66 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 5
CHAPTER

Conclusions and
Recommendations

The Women’s Health Survey 2017 was the first national-scale study to inten-
sively investigate intimate partner violence as experienced by women in
Trinidad and Tobago. It is hoped that this report will be disseminated widely
and used alongside the dataset which will also be available publicly. The find-
ings of the survey provide valuable inputs to enhance governmental and civil
society programming and to inform implementation of the Government’s pol-
icy agenda, including the National Development Strategy – Vision 2030 (NDS),
which positions gender as a cross-cutting issue and identifies pathways to
mainstreaming the equitable advancement of men, women, boys and girls in
all areas of national development. The WHS 2017 speaks directly to the first
key transformation proposed in the NDS, “to move to more evidence-based
decision-making and the creating of a culture of monitoring and evaluation”.
Despite the limitations outlined in Chapter 2, the data produced are rich and
robust, and indeed this report mostly presents a top view of that data. In many
cases, the stakeholders who participated in the process of finalising the report
have found statistical confirmation of the phenomena which they observe on
the ground. In some cases, the data have raised provocative questions. Based
on this preliminary analysis and consultation, the following is a list of recom-
mendations for consideration by all interested parties.
At present, the services provided to women who are currently experienc-
ing violence are inadequate. There is need to expand and appropriately design
and, most importantly, adequately and consistently resource service provi-
sion for these women. These services must be designed to assist women who
are ready to leave violent situations and those who are not, placing women’s
agency, safety, and dignity at the forefront of programme design. For survivors
who want to transition to a safer environment, the infrastructure that exists,
though well-intentioned, is not serving women in a way that makes it realistic
for them to leave. For such women to have a viable chance at safely building
a life away from the violence in their home, they may need some combination

67
 of social protection, financial support, skills training, and assistance with job placement,
and most importantly, a safe place to live that is appropriate for their children, among
other services. Temporary shelters, which are the primary available spaces for survivors,
make little sense unless there is a feasible way for such women to transition into a sta-
ble situation thereafter. In addition, they need adequate protection from their attack-
ers, as global studies show that many women are most at risk when they leave violent
domestic situations. Women’s fear of the consequences of leaving also factors into their
decision-making. A coordinated network of services and infrastructure is needed for sur-
vivors to transition to a safer environment.
There is also a need to build upon ongoing efforts by the Trinidad and Tobago Police
Service to provide services which are tailored to the various publics which they serve.
Procedural review, mandatory human rights, gender sensitivity, and on-the-job training
are needed. The high rate of dissatisfaction among those who do opt to go to the police
for assistance may be one of the reasons why so few women use this option. It is neces-
sary to treat women with respect, assure them privacy and confidentiality, and to have
swift, effective, and enforceable measures.
Health services for women seem to be successful when they are accessed. There is
great opportunity here to reach women on many different fronts, ranging from aware-
ness to intervention.

• There is need to expand access to health services for women, especially those in iso-
lated or otherwise “special” communities, for example, rural women who are unable
to get to larger towns where these services exist and women who live in unique urban
settings like the tight communities of East Port of Spain, where residents cannot
move around freely or safely, sometimes mere streets away from their homes.
• There may be need for specialised training for staff and/or procedural changes which
can introduce a screening element to detect past and current abuse and violence to
women and girls, during routine care such as prenatal or birth control clinics or Pap
smear visits. Even past violence may have consequences for women’s physical and
mental health of which they may not be aware. There is opportunity here to share
valuable information on physical and mental self-care, safety, and access to further
help.
• There is need to renew commitment to universal access to sexual and reproduc-
tive health, including counselling, birth control, and STI screening and treatment
for all women, including young women and women from hard-to-reach popula-
tions. Survivors of violence have differing levels of access to health services than
their peers, and outreach must be designed with this in mind, as these women are
more likely to be forced into sexual intercourse or to have a partner who refuses to
wear condoms and/or restricts their access to birth control. There may also be need
to review national policy on access to pregnancy termination in light of how many
women have experienced forced or non-consensual intercourse.
• There is need for public health marketing and awareness campaigns about the effects
of VAWG on survivors. Targeted at general audiences and women who have and
currently are experiencing violence, the objectives of these campaigns should be to

68 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 educate on the residual health effects of past violence and to share information on
available resources and empower women who are currently experiencing violence.
• Public awareness campaigns targeted at the people a survivor is mostly likely to dis-
close her situation to, i.e. close relatives and friend, may also be of use to impart
appropriate practical steps to take to appropriately support survivors and direct
them to purpose-built services, if needed
• Further, there is need for education and engagement of the general public on some
of the more striking themes raised by the study, including particularly the vulnera-
bility of children. Female children who witness or experience violence, even verbal
abuse only, are more likely to become survivors themselves. This is instructive, as
debates on corporal punishment and humiliation still abound in public discourse as
appropriate methods of disciplining children. It may also be a compelling motivation
for women with children to leave a violent home.
• Awareness campaigns targeted at youth, both male and female, should attempt to
deconstruct some of the gendered perceptions that fuel male violence and domina-
tion over women and women’s acceptance of violence as normal, as well as promote
intolerance for VAWG. Further, life skills training focused on anger management, con-
flict resolution, and violence avoidance and de-escalation are also recommended.
• Given the prevalence of GBV in Trinidad and Tobago and its impact on the women
affected, their families and the society, there is need to invest in preventative efforts.
A public health approach to the prevention of violence which requires defining the
problem, identifying risk and protective factors, developing and testing prevention
strategies (including existing evidence-based strategies) and ensuring widespread
adopting should be explored.

It must also be noted that further study of IPV is highly recommended. The limits of
time and how much can or should be included in a single report constrained the ability
to explore themes deeply. This is particularly unfortunate for areas where findings depart
from expectations. This inability to explore certain themes can be mitigated by further
study, both of the current datafile which contains much more material to explore, and
by using other methodologies and instruments to investigate murky or knotty issues in
other ways. For example, bespoke study is needed to address certain assumedly vulner-
able populations that this study was not designed to cover, such as women who are dif-
ferently abled or incapacitated, non-English speakers, and undocumented immigrants.
Other areas which warrant attention include:

• Multivariate analysis to adjust for possible confounding factors such as age.

• The association of environmental factors in addition to respondent and partner
characteristics.
• The dynamics of perpetration, from the perspective of the perpetrator. Very little
direct study is done of perpetrators, and it represents a great gap in understanding
IPV.
• The dynamics of abuse experienced and witnessed in childhood, particularly child-
hood sexual abuse.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 69

 • The apparent association of ethnicity with partner and non-partner sexual violence.
Taking this finding at face value is not recommended. Without further analysis to
determine if there are confounding variables, it would be foolhardy to assume this
relationship is as direct as it seems.
• Periodic repetition of the Women’s Health Survey to collect time series data.

70 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Annexes

71
 Annex 1: Supplemental Tables

TABLE A1.1 
Summary Characteristics for Survey Respondents (national and CSP):
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
National CSP
All respondents Ever-partnered All respondents Ever-partnered
% Number % Number % Number % Number
Total 100.0 1079 100.0 1017 100.0 231 100.0 224
Respondent Age
15–19 5.6 60 3.3 33 6.6 15 5.9 13
20–24 7.6 81 6.9 69 8.8 20 8.2 18
25–29 9.2 98 9.5 95 7.5 17 7.7 17
30–34 12.5 133 13.0 131 14.5 33 15.0 33
35–39 13.2 140 13.6 137 14.5 33 14.5 32
40–44 11.8 126 12.3 123 8.8 20 9.1 20
45–49 8.7 93 9.2 92 7.5 17 7.7 17
50–54 11.0 117 11.6 116 13.2 30 13.6 30
55–59 9.6 102 9.9 99 9.3 21 8.6 19
60–64 10.7 114 10.9 109 9.3 21 9.5 21
Religion
None 3.7 40 3.8 38 4.3 10 4.5 10
Roman Catholic 18.5 198 18.9 191 18.6 43 19.2 43
Evangelical 25.7 275 25.6 259 26.4 61 25.9 58
Hinduism 17.6 188 16.4 166 5.2 12 5.4 12
Baptist 9.6 103 9.9 100 14.7 34 15.2 34
Anglican 6.6 71 6.8 69 10.4 24 10.3 23
Other Christian 9.9 106 10.1 102 13.0 30 12.5 28
Other Non-Christian 8.4 90 8.4 85 7.4 17 7.1 16
Ethnicity
African 43.4 467 44.0 446 59.3 137 58.9 132
East Indian 34.1 367 33.6 341 16.0 37 16.5 37
Mixed (EI and A) 15.0 161 14.9 151 18.2 42 18.3 41
(continued on next page)

73
 TABLE A1.1 
Summary Characteristics for Survey Respondents (national and CSP):
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
National CSP
All respondents Ever-partnered All respondents Ever-partnered
% Number % Number % Number % Number
Other 7.5 81 7.5 76 6.5 15 6.3 14
Educational Attainment
No education/ 16.0 172 15.9 161 16.2 37 15.8 35
primary only
Secondary 51.4 552 50.8 514 51.5 118 51.4 114
Higher 32.6 350 33.3 337 32.3 74 32.9 73
Lifetime Partnership Status
Never partnered 100.0 1079 100.0 1019 100.0 231 100.0 224
Currently married 5.6 60 3.0 7
Living with man, 59.0 637 62.5 637 54.1 125 55.8 125
not married
Regular partner, 13.6 147 14.4 147 17.3 40 17.9 40
living apart
Ever Pregnant
No 20.3 218 16.1 163 19.5 45 17.9 40
Yes 79.7 857 83.9 850 80.5 186 82.1 184
Urban/Rural
Urban 69.0 744 69.5 707 96.5 223 96.4 216
Rural 31.0 335 30.5 310 3.5 8 3.6 8
Main activities during past week
Employed in a 26.2 282 26.9 272 26.9 61 27.7 61
public/private
corporate
Self-employed 25.5 274 26.9 273 19.4 44 20.0 44
Housework/work 20.3 218 21.2 215 22.5 51 23.2 51
as unpaid family
member
Unemployed 15.2 163 13.0 132 18.1 41 16.8 37
Out of the labour 12.8 138 11.9 121 13.2 30 12.3 27
force
Main Source of Income
Income from own 26.2 282 26.9 272 26.9 61 27.7 61
work
Support from 25.5 274 26.9 273 19.4 44 20.0 44
partner/husband
Equal share self 20.3 218 21.2 215 22.5 51 23.2 51
and partner
Support from 15.2 163 13.0 132 18.1 41 16.8 37
relatives/friends
No income/ 12.8 138 11.9 121 13.2 30 12.3 27
pension/social
services/other

74 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A1.2 
Prevalence of Different Forms of Partner Violence among Ever-Partnered
Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Ever-partnered CSP
Type of partner violence % Number % Number
Physical (lifetime) 28.3 288 26.8 60
Physical (current) 5.1 52 3.6 8
Sexual (lifetime) 10.5 107 9.8 22
Sexual (current) 0.9 9 0.4 1
Physical and/or sexual (lifetime) 30.2 307 29.0 65
Current physical and/or sexual (current) 5.7 58 4.0 9
Emotional (lifetime) 35.4 360 33.0 74
Emotional (current) 10.9 111 7.1 16
Economic (lifetime) 10.8 110 11.2 25
None 55.6 565 54.5 122

TABLE A1.3 
Results for Tests of Difference between National and CSP Prevalence of
Partner Violence Rates: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Lifetime emotional violence Chi-square 0.661
df 1
Sig. 0.416
Current emotional violence Chi-square 4.160
df 1
Sig. 0.041
Lifetime physical violence Chi-square 0.309
df 1
Sig. 0.578
Current physical violence Chi-square 1.391
df 1
Sig. 0.238
Lifetime sexual violence Chi-square 0.141
df 1
Sig. 0.707
Current sexual violence Chi-square 0.626
df 1
Sig. 0.429
Lifetime physical and/or sexual violence Chi-square 0.168
df 1
Sig. 0.682
Current sexual and/or physical violence Chi-square 1.499
df 1
Sig. 0.221

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 75

 TABLE A1.4  ifetime and Current Prevalence of Specific Acts of Physical, Sexual and
L
Emotional Partner Violence among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s
Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago 2017
Trinidad and Tobago CSP
Past 12 Past 12
Lifetime months Lifetime months
(%) (%) (%) (%)
Physical acts of partner violence
Slapped or threw something 23.4 3.8 21.4 2.7
Pushed or shoved 18.6 3.9 17.9 2.7
Hit with fist of something else 14.7 2.9 12.9 1.8
Kicked or dragged 8.7 1.3 6.3 —
Choked or burned 8.1 2.4 6.3 1.3
Threatened with or used weapon 6.7 1.6 4.9 0.9
Sexual acts of partner violence
Partner physically forced sexual intercourse 8.4 0.7 8.4 0.4
Have sexual intercourse with partner because 6.0 0.7 6.0 —
afraid
Partner forced something degrading/ 3.2 — 3.2 —
humiliating
Emotional acts of partner violence
Partner insulted you or made you feel bad 28.1 9.8 24.1 6.7
about yourself
Partner belittled or humiliated you in front of 20.8 7.2 15.2 3.1
other people
Partner done things to scare or intimidate you 15.2 4.8 11.2 3.1
on purpose
Partner verbally threatened to hurt you or 14.5 4.4 13.8 3.6
someone you care about

76 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A1.5  revalence of Current Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Partner Violence
P
by Municipality Where Survivor is Resident: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Current sexual Current
Current physical Current sexual and/or physical emotional
violence violence violence violence
Parish/Municipality % % % %
Borough of Arima 7.1% 3.6% 7.1% 7.1%
Borough of Chaguanas 4.7% 1.6% 4.7% 12.5%
Borough of Point Fortin 12.5% 0.0% 12.5% 33.3%
City of Port of Spain 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
City of San Fernando 4.5% 4.5% 9.1% 18.2%
Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 5.5% 0.9% 5.5% 14.5%
Diego Martin 3.1% 0.0% 3.1% 4.1%
Mayaro/Rio Claro 13.0% 0.0% 13.0% 17.4%
Penal/Debe 4.9% 1.2% 6.1% 6.1%
Princes Town 9.1% 0.0% 9.1% 10.4%
San Juan/Laventille 5.5% 0.8% 6.3% 10.2%
Sangre Grande 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 7.0%
Siparia 6.8% 0.0% 6.8% 12.5%
Tunapuna/Piarco 4.2% 1.7% 5.9% 12.7%
St.Andrew 7.1% 0.0% 7.1% 7.1%
St.Mary 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 25.0%
St.Patrick 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 13.0%
St.Paul 10.0% 10.0% 20.0% 20.0%

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 77

 TABLE A1.6  haracteristics of Violence among Ever-Pregnant Women — Trinidad
C
and Tobago and CSP Communities: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago 2017
Ever-pregnant CSP
Number % Number %
Ever beaten during a pregnancy
Yes 61 7.1 12 6.5
No 796 92.9 174 93.5
Violence in pregnancy
Ever punched or kicked in abdomen in 33 54.1 5 41.7
pregnancy
Perpetrator in most recent pregnancy was 56 91.8 11 91.7
father of child
Perpetrator in most recent pregnancy with 30 49.2 3 25
abuse is/was current/most recent partner/
husband
Same person had beaten her before pregnancy 49 80.3 10 83.3
Beating got worse compared to before pregnancy
Beating got worse during pregnancy 20 40.8 5 50
Beating stayed the same during pregnancy 15 30.6 2 20
Beating got less during pregnancy 12 24.5 3 30
no answer 2 4.1

78 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A1.7  ercentage Distribution of Ever-Partnered Women According to
P
Severity of Lifetime Physical Violence and Selected Characteristics:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
No violence Moderate Severe
Number % Number % Number %
Total
Urban/rural
Urban 507 71.7 10.3 73 127 18.0
Rural 222 71.6 10.0 31 57 18.4
Respondent age
15–19 30 90.9 3 9.1
20–24 52 75.4 4 5.8 13 18.8
25–29 69 72.6 12 12.6 14 14.7
30–34 89 67.9 16 12.2 26 19.8
35–39 100 73.0 5 3.6 32 23.4
40–44 82 66.7 15 12.2 26 21.1
45–49 61 66.3 9 9.8 22 23.9
50–54 88 75.9 14 12.1 14 12.1
55–59 76 76.8 6 6.1 17 17.2
60–64 72 66.1 17 15.6 20 18.3
Religion
None 30 78.9 3 7.9 5 13.2
Roman Catholic 135 70.7 25 13.1 31 16.2
Evangelical 184 71.0 27 10.4 48 18.5
Hinduism 128 77.1 15 9.0 23 13.9
Baptist 65 65.0 8 8.0 27 27.0
Anglican 52 75.4 7 10.1 10 14.5
Other Christian 76 74.5 6 5.9 20 19.6
Other Non-Christian 54 63.5 13 15.3 18 21.2
Ethnicity
African 311 69.7 47 10.5 88 19.7
East Indian 247 72.4 37 10.9 57 16.7
Mixed (EI and A) 111 73.5 16 10.6 24 15.9
Other 58 76.3 4 5.3 14 18.4
Education of respondent
No/primary 107 66.5 19 11.8 35 21.7
Secondary 361 70.2 55 10.7 98 19.1
Higher 258 76.6 28 8.3 51 15.1
Current partnership status
Currently married 575 74.1 79 10.2 122 15.7
Living with man, not 89 53.9 20 12.1 56 33.9
married
Regular partner, living 65 85.5 5 6.6 6 7.9
apart
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 79

 TABLE A1.7  ercentage Distribution of Ever-Partnered Women According to
P
Severity of Lifetime Physical Violence and Selected Characteristics:
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
No violence Moderate Severe
Number % Number % Number %
Main economic activity
Employed in a public/ 344 72.4 47 9.9 84 17.7
private corporate
Self-employed 75 76.5 10 10.2 13 13.3
Housework/work as 176 67.4 37 14.2 48 18.4
unpaid family member
Unemployed 105 71.9 7 4.8 34 23.3
Out of the labour force 25 75.8 3 9.1 5 15.2
Main Source of Income
Income from own work 187 68.8 24 8.8 61 22.4
Support from partner/ 198 72.5 31 11.4 44 16.1
husband
Equal share self and 166 77.2 23 10.7 26 12.1
partner
Support from relatives/ 96 72.7 12 9.1 24 18.2
friends
No income/pension/social 78 64.5 14 11.6 29 24.0
services/other
Age at first union (living together or married)
19 or older 481 72.9 66 10.0 113 17.1
18 or younger 92 52.6 24 13.7 59 33.7
Non-consensual marriage
No 514 71.2 77 10.7 131 18.1
Yes 431 71.8 62 10.3 107 17.8

TABLE A1.8  requency of Intimate Partner Violence among Ever-Partnered Women:

F
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Once A few times Many times
IPV Type n % n % n %
Physical Current (past 12 months) 13 23.6 12 21.8 30 54.5
violence Lifetime 20 6.9 62 21.5 206 71.5
Sexual Current (past 12 months) 1 11.1 3 33.3 5 55.6
violence Lifetime 8 10.8 21 28.4 45 60.8
Physical Current (past 12 months) 14 23.0 14 23.0 33 54.1
and/or Lifetime 17 5.6 63 20.9 222 73.5
sexual
violence
Emotional Current (past 12 months) 12 10.8 35 31.5 64 57.7
violence Lifetime 26 7.2 42 11.7 292 81.1

80 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A1.9  revalence of Physical, Sexual, and Physical and/or Sexual Partner Violence
P
for Ever-Partnered Women According to Associated Characteristics: Women’s
Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Lifetime Current
Lifetime Lifetime physical and/ Current Current physical and/
physical sexual or sexual physical sexual or sexual
violence violence violence violence violence violence
n % n % n % n % n % n %
Urban/rural
Urban 200 28.3 74 10.5 213 30.1 29 4.1 7 1.0 34 4.8
Rural 88 28.4 33 10.6 94 30.3 23 7.4 2 0.6 24 7.7
p-value 0.98 0.96 1.00 0.03 0.58 0.07
Respondent age
15–19 3 9.1 3 9.1
20–24 17 24.6 2 2.9 17 24.6 5 7.2 5 7.2
25–29 26 27.4 7 7.4 27 28.4 10 10.5 10 10.5
30–34 42 32.1 17 13.0 47 35.9 12 9.2 1 0.8 12 9.2
35–39 37 27.0 13 9.5 39 28.5 8 5.8 1 0.7 8 5.8
40–44 41 33.3 16 13.0 43 35.0 6 4.9 2 1.6 7 5.7
45–49 31 33.7 15 16.3 32 34.8 3 3.3 1 1.1 4 4.3
50–54 28 24.1 11 9.5 30 25.9 2 1.7 3 2.6 5 4.3
55–59 23 23.2 10 10.1 25 25.3 3 3.0 3 3.0
60–64 37 33.9 15 13.8 41 37.6 3 2.8 3 2.8
p-value 0.09 0.07 0.03 0.03 0.42 0.15
Religion
None 8 21.1 8 21.1 2 5.3 2 5.3
Roman Catholic 56 29.3 21 11.0 58 30.4 9 4.7 2 1.0 10 5.2
Evangelical 75 29.0 33 12.7 86 33.2 19 7.3 5 1.9 22 8.5
Hinduism 38 22.9 15 9.0 38 22.9 5 3.0 1 0.6 6 3.6
Baptist 35 35.0 13 13.0 37 37.0 6 6.0 1 1.0 7 7.0
Anglican 17 24.6 4 5.8 18 26.1
Other Christian 26 25.5 13 12.7 28 27.5 7 6.9 7 6.9
Other Non-Christian 31 36.5 7 8.2 32 37.6 4 4.7 4 4.7
p-value 0.21 0.21 0.08 0.27 0.54 0.19
Ethnicity
African 135 30.3 56 12.6 148 33.2 23 5.2 4 0.9 26 5.8
East Indian 94 27.6 30 8.8 95 27.9 18 5.3 2 0.6 19 5.6
Mixed (EI and A) 40 26.5 9 6.0 43 28.5 10 6.6 1 0.7 10 6.6
Other 18 23.7 12 15.8 20 26.3 1 1.3 2 2.6 3 3.9
p-value 0.58 0.03 0.32 0.40 0.38 0.88
Education of respondent
No/primary 54 33.5 18 11.2 55 34.2 4 2.5 4 2.5
Secondary 153 29.8 52 10.1 160 31.1 30 5.8 7 1.4 35 6.8
Higher 79 23.4 36 10.7 90 26.7 18 5.3 2 0.6 19 5.6
p-value 0.04 0.91 0.18 0.24 0.22 0.12
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 81

TABLE A1.9  revalence of Physical, Sexual, and Physical and/or Sexual Partner Violence
P
for Ever-Partnered Women According to Associated Characteristics: Women’s
Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
Lifetime Current
Lifetime Lifetime physical and/ Current Current physical and/
physical sexual or sexual physical sexual or sexual
violence violence violence violence violence violence
n % n % n % n % n % n %
Current partnership status
Currently married 201 25.9 71 9.1 216 27.8 41 5.3 6 0.8 45 5.8
Living with man, not 76 46.1 30 18.2 79 47.9 10 6.1 3 1.8 12 7.3
married
Currently no partner 11 14.5 6 7.9 12 15.8 1 1.3 1 1.3
p-value 0.00 0.03 0.01 0.59 0.44 0.40
Ever pregnant
No 80 27.1 37 12.5 87 37 15 5.1 2 0.7 16 5.4
Yes 208 28.8 70 9.7 220 70 37 5.1 7 1.0 42 5.8
p-value 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.18 0.68 0.21
Main economic activity
Employed in a public/ 131 27.6 59 12.4 146 30.7 19 4.0 7 1.5 24 5.1
private corporate
Self-employed 23 23.5 8 8.2 25 25.5 3 3.1 1 1.0 3 3.1
Housework/work as 85 32.6 23 8.8 85 32.6 18 6.9 1 0.4 19 7.3
unpaid family member
Unemployed 41 28.1 11 7.5 42 28.8 11 7.5 11 7.5
Out of the labour force 8 24.2 6 18.2 9 27.3 1 3.0 1 3.0
p-value 0.40 0.15 0.70 0.21 0.38 0.38
Main source of income
Income from own work 85 31.3 44 16.2 95 34.9 13 4.8 3 1.1 14 5.1
Support from partner/ 75 27.5 21 7.7 77 28.2 21 7.7 2 0.7 22 8.1
husband
Equal share self and 49 22.8 16 7.4 53 24.7 6 2.8 3 1.4 9 4.2
partner
Support from relatives/ 36 27.3 11 8.3 38 28.8 5 3.8 5 3.8
friends
No income/pension/ 43 35.5 15 12.4 44 36.4 7 5.8 1 0.8 8 6.6
social services/other
p-value 0.09 0.00 0.06 0.14 0.73 0.28
Age at first union (living together or married)
19 or older 179 27.1 70 10.6 192 29.1 30 4.5 8 1.2 36 5.5
18 or younger 83 47.4 27 15.4 85 48.6 19 10.9 1 0.6 19 10.9
p-value 0.00 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.47 0.01
Non-consensual marriage
No 169 28.2 52 8.7 177 29.5 33 5.5 6 1.0 37 6.2
Yes 39 32.0 18 14.8 43 35.2 4 3.3 1 0.8 5 4.1
p-value 0.46 0.04 0.25 0.30 0.84 0.35

82 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A1.10  revalence of Emotional Partner Violence for Ever-Partnered Women
P
According to Associated Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Lifetime emotional Current emotional
None violence violence
Number % Number % Number %
Total
Urban/rural
Urban 455 64.4 252 35.6 78 11.0
Rural 202 65.2 108 34.8 33 10.6
p-values 0.75 0.83
Respondent age
15–19 29 87.9 4 29
20–24 47 68.1 22 47 11 15.9
25–29 66 69.5 29 66 14 14.7
30–34 84 64.1 47 84 14 10.7
35–39 91 66.4 46 91 21 15.3
40–44 72 58.5 51 72 17 13.8
45–49 53 57.6 39 53 13 14.1
50–54 77 66.4 39 77 7 6.0
55–59 70 70.7 29 70 6 6.1
60–64 59 54.1 50 59 6 5.5
p-values 0.01 0.01
Religion
None 27 71.1 11 28.9 1 2.6
Roman Catholic 126 66.0 65 34.0 20 10.5
Evangelical 171 66.0 88 34.0 34 13.1
Hinduism 117 70.5 49 29.5 17 10.2
Baptist 59 59.0 41 41.0 8 8.0
Anglican 45 65.2 24 34.8 6 8.7
Other Christian 65 63.7 37 36.3 11 10.8
Other Non-Christian 42 49.4 43 50.6 13 15.3
p-values 0.05 0.42
Ethnicity
African 271 60.8 175 39.2 47 10.5
East Indian 232 68.0 109 32.0 37 10.9
Mixed (EI and A) 97 64.2 54 35.8 21 13.9
Other 55 72.4 21 27.6 5 6.6
p-values 0.09 0.41
Education of respondent
No/primary 101 62.7 60 37.3 13 8.1
Secondary 332 64.6 182 35.4 62 12.1
Higher 220 65.3 117 34.7 36 10.7
p-values 0.84 0.37
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 83

 TABLE A1.10  revalence of Emotional Partner Violence for Ever-Partnered Women
P
According to Associated Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
Lifetime emotional Current emotional
None violence violence
Number % Number % Number %
Current partnership status
Currently married 534 68.8 242 31.2 91 11.7
Living with man, not 65 39.4 100 60.6 15 9.1
married
Regular partner, living 58 76.3 18 23.7 5 6.6
apart
p-values 0.00 0.23
Ever pregnant
Yes 133 81.6 30 18.4 9 5.
No 520 61.2 330 38.8 102 12.0
p-values 0.00 0.01
Main economic activity
Employed in a public/ 653 64.5 360 35.5 111 11.0
private corporate
Self-employed 306 64.4 169 35.6 44 9.3
Housework/work as 63 64.3 35 35.7 8 8.2
unpaid family member
Unemployed 177 67.8 84 32.2 32 12.3
Out of the labour force 91 62.3 55 37.7 26 17.8
p-values 0.75 0.27
Main source of income
Income from own work 155 57.0 117 43.0 26 9.6
Support from partner/ 188 68.9 85 31.1 36 13.2
husband
Equal share self and 145 67.4 70 32.6 23 10.7
partner
Support from relatives/ 94 71.2 38 28.8 12 9.1
friends
No income/pension/ 71 58.7 50 41.3 14 11.6
social services/other
p-values 0.01 0.63
Age at first union (living together or married)
19 or older 420 63.6 240 36.4 74 11.2
18 or younger 90 51.4 85 48.6 27 15.4
p-values 0.00 0.13
Non-consensual marriage
No 395 65.8 205 34.2 67 11.2
Yes 70 57.4 52 42.6 12 9.8
p-values 0.10 0.63

84 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 TABLE A1.11  revalence of Partner Violence Based on Ever-Partnered Women’s Partner Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey
P
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Current Lifetime
Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime Current Current Current sexual and/ physical and/
physical sexual economic emotional physical sexual emotional or physical or sexual
violence violence violence violence violence violence violence violence violence
% n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value
Partner’s age
15–24 16.9 11 0.017 0.261 1.5 1 0.274 24.6 16 0.062 3.1 2 0.197 0.001 9.2 6 0.439 3.1 2 0.083 16.9 11 0.011
25–34 31.0 48 9.7 15 9.0 14 38.1 59 12.3 19 17.4 27 12.3 19 32.3 50
35–44 30.9 71 12.6 29 10.0 23 34.8 80 5.7 13 1.3 3 11.7 27 6.1 14 33.5 77
45–54 31.6 65 11.2 23 10.7 22 37.4 77 4.9 10 1.5 3 13.6 28 5.8 12 33.0 68
55–64 26.9 47 13.7 24 16.0 28 35.4 62 1.7 3 1.7 3 8.0 14 3.4 6 29.7 52
65 + 28.3 26 9.8 9 16.3 15 43.5 40 3.3 3 7.6 7 3.3 3 30.4 28
Difference of age between the partners
Woman is older 30.6 49 0.120 11.9 19 0.123 6.9 11 0.188 33.8 54 .273 3.8 6 0.297 .6 1 0.579 11.3 18 0.497 4.4 7 0.606 31.9 51 0.510
Partner at most 3 26.4 78 8.5 25 10.2 30 34.9 103 6.4 19 1.4 4 11.5 34 7.1 21 28.8 85
years older
Partner 4 to 8 26.9 74 10.5 29 12.4 34 33.8 93 4.7 13 .4 1 10.5 29 5.1 14 29.1 80

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

years older
Partner at least 9 34.7 67 14.0 27 14.5 28 43.5 84 6.2 12 1.6 3 14.5 28 7.3 14 36.3 70
years older
Partner’s
education
No/Primary 36.3 70 0.000 15.0 29 0.159 24.9 48 0.004 40.9 79 0.016 6.2 12 0.005 1.0 2 0.670 14.0 27 0.982 6.7 13 0.464 37.3 72 0.637
Secondary 28.2 144 10.6 54 7.6 39 34.6 177 5.5 28 1.0 5 11.2 57 6.3 32 30.5 156
Higher 21.6 50 6.5 15 4.7 11 32.3 75 4.3 10 .9 2 10.3 24 4.7 11 22.8 53

(continued on next page)

85
86
TABLE A1.11  revalence of Partner Violence Based on Ever-Partnered Women’s Partner Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey
P
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
Current Lifetime
Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime Current Current Current sexual and/ physical and/
physical sexual economic emotional physical sexual emotional or physical or sexual
violence violence violence violence violence violence violence violence violence
% n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value % n P-value
Partner’s
employment
status
Employed 27.9 209 0.043 10.2 76 0.100 9.2 69 0.042 35.2 263 0.049 5.3 40 0.035 1.1 8 0.009 11.9 89 0.703 6.0 45 0.117 29.9 224 0.022
Unemployed 45.2 19 16.7 7 19.0 8 50.0 21 14.3 6 19.0 8 14.3 6 47.6 20
Out of the labour 26.1 42 10.6 17 13.7 22 32.3 52 2.5 4 0.6 1 8.1 13 3.1 5 27.3 44
force
Partner drinks alcohol at least once a week
No 24.2 185 0.000 8.1 62 0.000 8.2 63 0.000 30.1 230 0.000 3.7 28 0.000 0.7 5 0.000 8.1 62 0.173 4.2 32 0.000 25.9 198 0.000
Yes 40.7 103 17.8 45 18.6 47 51.4 130 9.5 24 1.6 4 19.4 49 10.3 26 43.1 109
Partner uses recreational drugs at least once a week
No 26.1 241 0.000 9.5 88 0.000 9.6 89 0.000 33.0 305 0.001 4.1 38 0.000 .9 8 0.000 9.7 90 0.829 4.8 44 .000 28.0 259 0.000
Yes 51.1 47 20.7 19 22.8 21 59.8 55 15.2 14 1.1 1 22.8 21 15.2 14 52.2 48
Partner has had another relationship
No 23.8 193 0.000 8.0 65 0.000 7.8 63 0.000 29.9 243 0.000 3.8 31 0.000 0.6 5 0.000 9.4 76 0.068 4.3 35 0.002 25.4 206 0.000
Yes 46.3 95 20.5 42 22.9 47 57.1 117 10.2 21 2.0 4 17.1 35 11.2 23 49.3 101
Partner has had
children with
another woman
No 45.8 70 0.427 19.6 30 0.668 21.6 33 0.771 56.2 86 0.592 13.1 20 0.278 2.0 3 0.022 19.6 30 0.986 13.7 21 0.098 47.1 72 0.051
Yes 48.1 25 23.1 12 26.9 14 59.6 31 1.9 1 1.9 1 9.6 5 3.8 2 55.8 29

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A1.12  ercentage of Ever-Partnered Women According to Selected Lifetime
P
Experiences and Childhood Encounters with Violent Episodes: Women’s
Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Her mother was hit by She was hit She was insulted or
mother’s husband as a child humiliated as a child
Number % p-value Number % p-value Number % p-value
Lifetime physical and/or sexual violence
Ever-partnered 292 28.7 0.003 208 20.5 0.000 232 22.8 0.000
No 170 23.9 114 16.1 123 17.3
Yes 122 39.7 94 30.6 109 35.5
Type of IPV (physical and sexual)
No violence 170 23.9 0.000 114 16.1 0.000 123 17.3 0.000
Total
Sample Physical only 78 39.0 52 26.0 59 29.5
Sexual only 4 21.1 6 31.6 7 36.8
Both 40 45.5 36 40.9 43 48.9
Severity of lifetime physical violence
No violence 174 23.9 0.000 120 16.5 0.000 130 17.8 0.000
Moderate 40 38.5 29 27.9 25 24.0
Severe 78 42.4 59 32.1 77 41.8
Lifetime physical and/or sexual violence
Ever-partnered 72 32.1 47 21.0 50 22.3
No 49 30.8 27 17.0 31 19.5
Yes 23 35.4 20 30.8 19 29.2
Type of IPV (physical and sexual)
No violence 49 30.8 27 17.0 31 19.5
CSP Physical only 14 32.6 13 30.2 10 23.3
Sexual only 1 20.0 1 20.0 1 20.0
Both 8 47.1 6 35.3 8 47.1
Severity of lifetime physical violence
No violence 50 30.5 28 17.1 32 19.5
Moderate 7 28.0 10 40.0 6 24.0
Severe 15 42.9 9 25.7 12 34.3

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 87

88
TABLE A1.13  ender Attitudes – Percentage of Interviewed Women Favouring Specific Gender Norms/Roles According to Selected
G
Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Lifetime Current
Lifetime Current Lifetime Current Lifetime Current physical and/ physical and/
emotional emotional physical physical sexual sexual or sexual or sexual
violence violence violence violence violence violence violence violence
No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
(%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value
It is wife’s obligation to have sex with husband
No 65 35 0.899 89 10.7 0.696 72 28 0.832 95 5 0.863 90 10 0.728 99 1 0.325 70 30 0.991 95 5 0.444
Yes 65 35 88 11.7 72 28 95 5 89 11 99 1 70 30 93 7
Women and men should share authority in the family
No 63 38 0.640 88 12.5 0.595 73 27 .787 95 5 0.961 95 5 0.076 100 0 0.331 73 27 0.495 95 5 0.830
Yes 65 35 89 10.7 72 28 95 5 89 11 99 1 70 30 94 6
A woman’s role is to take care of her home
No 67 33 0.247 92 8.4 0.030 75 25 0.072 96 4 0.124 90 10 0.838 99 1 0.929 73 27 0.074 95 5 0.178
Yes 63 37 87 12.7 70 30 94 6 89 11 99 1 68 32 93 7
It is natural that men should be the head of the family
No 68 32 0.085 89 10.7 0.916 73 27 .691 95 5 0.784 91 9 0.364 99 1 0.458 73 27 0.194 94 6 0.788
Yes 63 37 89 11 71 29 95 5 89 11 99 1 69 31 94 6
A wife should always obey her husband
No 64 36 0.839 90 10.4 0.404 72 28 0.548 95 5 0.838 90 10 0.515 99 1 0.253 71 29 0.401 94 6 0.688
Yes 65 35 88 12.2 70 30 95 5 89 11 100 0 68 32 95 5
A woman should be able to spend her own money
No 65 35 0.818 92 7.9 0.175 67 33 0.164 95 5% 0.871 90 10 0.713 100 0 0.185 67 33 0.327 95 5 0.610
Yes 65 35 89 11.5 73 27 95 5% 89 11 99 1 70 30 94 6

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 TABLE A1.14  ormalization of Violence – Percentage of Interviewed Women Favouring Specific Norms Associated with Violence
N
According to Selected Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Lifetime Current
Lifetime Current Lifetime Current Lifetime Current physical and/ physical and/
emotional emotional physical physical sexual sexual or sexual or sexual
violence violence violence violence violence violence violence violence
No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
(%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val.
Violence between husband and wife is a private matter
No 64 36 0.448 89 11 0.753 72 28 0.863 95 5 0.577 89 11 0.726 99 1 0.111 70 30 0.893 94 6 0.920
Yes 67 33 90 10 72 28 94 6 90 10 100 0 70 30 94 6
A woman should tolerate violence to keep her family together
No 64 36 0.106 89 11 0.767 72 28 0.677 95 5 0.764 89 10.8 0.049 99 1 0.587 70 30 0.521 94 6 0.890
Yes 78 22 88 13 75 25 94 6 100 0.0 100 0 75 25 94 6
If a woman is raped she has done something careless to put herself in that situation
No 65 35 0.840 89 11 0.190 72 28 0.816 95 5 0.100 89 11 0.794 99 1 0.439 70 30 0.996 95 5 0.175

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Yes 63 37 84 16 73 27 90 10 90 10 100 0 70 30 90 10
If a woman does not physically fight back, it is not rape
No 64 36 0.299 89 11 0.310 71 29 0.233 95 5 0.965 89 11 0.196 99 1 0.379 69 31 0.195 94 6 0.781
Yes 70 30 93 8 78 23 95 5 94 6 100 0 76 24 95 5
None
No 67 33 0.421 88 12 0.541 73 27 0.575 94 6 0.364 91 9 0.488 100 0 0.054 71 29 0.743 94 6 0.731
Yes 64 36 89 11 71 29 95 5 89 11 99 1 70 30 94 6

89
90
TABLE A1.15  ustification of Violence – Percentage of Interviewed Women Favouring Men Hitting their Wives/Partners for Specific
J
Reasons According to Selected Characteristics: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Lifetime Current
Lifetime Current Lifetime Current Lifetime Current physical and/ physical and/
emotional emotional physical physical sexual sexual or sexual or sexual
violence violence violence violence violence violence violence violence
No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
(%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val.
If she goes out without telling him
No 65 35 0.384 89 11 0.548 72 28 0.770 95 5 0.175 89 11 0.576 99 1 0.704 70 30 0.652 94 6 0.236
Yes 75 25 94 6 75 25 88 13 94 6 100 0 75 25 88 13
If she neglects the children
No 65 35 0.857 89 11 0.789 72 28 0.381 95 5 0.123 89 11 0.879 99 1 0.379 70 30 0.322 95 5 0.219
Yes 64 36 90 10 68 33 91 9 90 10 100 0 65 35 91 9
If she argues with him
No 65 35 0.574 89 11 0.847 72 28 0.549 95 5 0.546 89 11 0.253 99 1 0.753 70 30 0.650 94 6 0.625
Yes 73 27 91 9 64 36 91 9 100 0 100 0 64 36 91 9
If she refused to have sex with him
No 65 35 0.094 89 11 0.775 72 28 0.695 95 5 0.419 89 11 0.233 99 1 0.742 70 30 0.808 94 6 0.392
Yes 42 58 92 8 67 33 100 0 100 0 100 0 67 33 100 0
If she burns the food
No 65 35 0.472 89 11 0.433 72 28 0.681 95 5 0.603 89 11 0.443 99 1 0.832 70 30 0.621 94 6 0.582
Yes 80 20 100 0 80 20 100 0 100 0 100 0 80 20 100 0
None
No 63 37 0.739 89 11 0.881 68 32 0.357 91 9 0.032 88 12 0.531 100 0 0.305 66 34 0.363 91 9 0.079
Yes 65 35 89 11 72 28 95 5 90 10 99 1 70 30 95 5

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 TABLE A1.16 Controlling Behaviour, among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Lifetime Current
Lifetime Current Lifetime Current Lifetime Current physical and/ sexual and/
emotional emotional physical physical sexual sexual or sexual or physical
violence violence violence violence violence violence violence violence
No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
(%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val. (%) (%) p-val.
Does not permit you to meet your female friends
No 69 31 0.000 92 8 0.000 76 24 0.000 97 3 0.000 92 8 0.000 99 1 0.000 74 26 0.000 96 4 0.000
Yes 16 84 60 40 25 75 76 24 60 40 95 5 24 76 74 26
Tries to limit your contact with your family of birth
No 69 31 0.000 91 9 0.000 76 24 0.000 96 4 0.000 92 8 0.000 99 1 0.000 74 26 0.000 96 4 0.000
Yes 13 88 58 42 19 81 78 22 54 46 94 6 18 82 75 25
Insists on knowing where you are at all times
No 72 28 0.000 92 8 0.000 78 22 0.000 97 3 0.000 93 7 0.000 99 1 0.122 76 24 0.000 96 4 0.000
Yes 40 60 78 22 50 50 89 11 77 23 98 2 48 52 88 12
Gets jealous or angry if you talk with another man
No 75 25 0.000 94 6 0.000 80 20 0.000 97 3 0.000 94 6 0.000 100 0 0.013 78 22 0.000 97 3 0.000
Yes 39 61 76 24 53 47 89 11 79 21 98 2 51 49 88 12
Frequently accuses you of being unfaithful
No 71 29 0.000 93 7 0.000 78 22 0.000 97 3 0.000 93 7 0.000 100 0 0.000 76 24 0.000 97 3 0.000

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Yes 30 70 69 31 40 60 83 17 68 32 96 4 38 62 81 19
Expects you to ask his permission before seeking health care for yourself
No 66 34 0.000 90 10 0.000 73 27 0.000 95 5 0.005 90 10 0.000 99 1 0.005 71 29 0.000 95 5 0.012
Yes 24 76 68 32 39 61 85 15 68 32 95 5 37 63 85 15
Does not trust you with any money
No 67 33 0.000 91 9 0.000 74 26 0.000 95 5 0.006 91 9 0.000 100 0 0.000 72 28 0.000 95 5 0.000
Yes 35 65 71 29 43 57 88 12 70 30 94 6 43 57 84 16
Checks your cellphone to see who you have called/who has called you
No 68 32 0.000 91 9 0.000 76 24 0.000 96 4 0.000 92 8 0.000 99 1 0.000 74 26 0.000 96 4 0.000
Yes 30 70 68 32 36 64 81 19 67 33 96 4 34 66 79 21

91
92
TABLE A1.17 Controlling Behaviour, among Ever-Partnered Women: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Lifetime Current Lifetime Current Lifetime Current Lifetime physical Current
emotional emotional physical physical sexual sexual and/or sexual sexual and/or
violence violence violence violence violence violence violence physical violence
Controlling No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
Behaviour (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value (%) (%) p-value
None 77.5 22.5 0.000 94.8 5.2 0.000 82.4 17.6 0.000 97.6 2.4 0.000 94.4 5.6 0.000 99.7 0.3 0.105 80.5 19.5% 0.000 97.3% 2.7% 0.000
One 68 32 92.8 7.2 75.7 24.3 97.8 2.2 93.9 6.1 99.4 0.6 74 26 97.2% 2.8%
More than 31.9 68.1 73.5 26.5 44.1 55.9 87 13 75.6 24.4 98.3 1.7 42 58 85.7% 14.3%
one

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A1.18  eneral, Physical, and Mental Health Problems Reported among Ever-
G
Partnered Women, According to Women’s Experience of Physical
and/or Sexual Partner Violence, Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017
Overall Urban Rural CSP
Lifetime physical Lifetime physical Lifetime physical Lifetime physical
and/or sexual and/or sexual and/or sexual and/or sexual
General Health violence violence violence violence
Status Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%)
Some/many 40.4 28.0 38.0 27.7 45.7 28.7 38.5 32.1
problems with
overall health
Some/many 13.4 6.6 10.8 5.1 19.1 10.2 10.8 5.0
problems with
performing usual
activities
Some/many 24.4 10.6 26.3 9.3 20.2 13.4 24.6 5.7
problems of pain
None 48.2 66.3 50.7 66.8 42.6 65.3 53.8 64.8

TABLE A1.19  se of Health Services and Medication in the Past Four Weeks
U
Among Ever-Partnered Women, According to their Experience
of Physical and/or Sexual Partner Violence, Women’s Health Survey
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Overall Urban Rural CSP
Use of health
services and Lifetime physical Lifetime physical Lifetime physical Lifetime physical
medicines and/or sexual and/or sexual and/or sexual and/or sexual
in the past 4 violence violence violence violence
weeks Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%)
Took medicine to 13.4 6.5 12.2 6.7 16.0 6.0 10.8 8.8
sleep
Took medicine for 41.4 31.0 39.0 28.3 46.8 37.0 40.0 28.9
pain
Took medicine 4.9 2.1 3.8 1.6 7.4 3.2 4.6 0.6
for sadness/
depression
None 56.0 66.6 57.7 68.4 52.1 62.5 56.9 67.3

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 93

 TABLE A1.20  ther Psychological Risk Factors Reported Among Ever-Partnered
O
Women, According to Women’s Experience of Physical and/or Sexual
Partner Violence, Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Overall Urban Rural CSP
Lifetime physical Lifetime physical Lifetime physical Lifetime physical
Other and/or sexual and/or sexual and/or sexual and/or sexual
psychological violence violence violence violence
risk factors Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%)
Suicidal ideation or 27.4 12.0 26.3 11.9 29.8 12.0 23.1 13.8
attempt
Drink alcohol at least 10.7 5.6 9.9 5.3 12.8 6.5 12.3 5.7
once a week
Use of recreational 6.2 1.8 6.1 1.8 6.4 1.9 4.6 3.1
drugs at least once
a week

94 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 TABLE A1.21 Impact of Partner Behaviour on Income Generating Activities, According to Women’s Experience of Partner Violence,
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Overall Urban Rural CSP
Type of IPV Type of IPV Type of IPV Type of IPV
IPV Impact on income Physical Sexual Physical Sexual Physical Sexual Physical Sexual
Generating Activities (%) (%) Both (%) (%) (%) Both (%) (%) (%) Both (%) (%) (%) Both (%)
Work not disrupted 46.5 52.6 27.3 47.5 46.2 24.6 44.3 66.7 33.3 44.2 40.0 23.5
Husband/partner 3.0 — 14.8 3.6 — 13.1 1.6 — 18.5 2.3 — 17.6
interrupted work
Unable to concentrate 9.0 5.3 30.7 7.2 7.7 26.2 13.1 — 40.7 — — 35.3
Unable to work/sick leave 6.5 5.3 19.3 5.0 21.3 9.8 16.7 14.8 — — 11.8
Lost confidence in own 5.5 5.3 10.2 2.9 7.7 4.9 11.5 — 22.2 — — —

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

ability
N/A (no work for money) 35.0 21.1 23.9 36.7 23.1 21.3 31.1 16.7 29.6 48.8 20.0 23.5
None 3.0 10.5 1.1 3.6 15.4 1.6 1.6 66.7 — 4.7 40.0 23.5

95
 TABLE A1.22 Children’s Well-Being as Reported by Ever-Partnered Women with
Children 5–12 Years Old, According to the Woman’s Experience Physical
and/or Sexual Partner Violence, Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and
Tobago, 2017
Overall Urban Rural CSP
Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime
physical and/or physical and/or physical and/or physical and/or
IPV Impact on sexual violence sexual violence sexual violence sexual violence
Children Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%) Yes (%) No (%)
Impact IPV on children’s life
Nightmares 4.7 3.8 6.0 4.6 — 1.8 12.9 4.8
Bedwetting 14.0 8.1 13.1 9.2 17.4 5.5 19.4 9.5
Child quiet/withdrawn 12.1 4.9 9.5 4.6 21.7 5.5 12.9 2.4
Child aggressive 10.3 3.2 11.9 3.8 4.3 1.8 12.9 4.8
Child has run away 5.6 7.0 6.0 6.9 4.3 7.3 6.5 9.5
Impact of IPV on children at school
Child dropped out of 3.4 2.2 4.1 1.0 — 5.6 3.8 —
school
Child had to repeat 18.4 8.6 16.4 6.8 28.6 13.9 23.1 14.3
school

TABLE A1.23  ain Reasons for Leaving Home Last Time She Left, as Mentioned by
M
Women Who Experienced Physical or Sexual Partner Violence and
Who Left Home: Women’s Health Survey, Trinidad and Tobago, 2017

Reasons for leaving Overall Urban Rural CSP

home % Number % Number % Number % Number
Total 100.0 128 100.0 90 100.0 38 100.0 27
Encouraged by friends/ 5.5 7 4.4 4 7.9 3 7.4 2
her family
Could not endure more 52.3 67 52.2 47 52.6 20 44.4 12
Badly injured 5.5 7 4.4 4 7.9 3 3.7 1
He threatened or tried to 1.6 2 2.2 2 — — 3.7 1
kill her
He threatened or hit 1.6 2 2.2 2 — — — —
children
Saw that children were 0.8 1 — — 2.6 1 — —
suffering
Thrown out of the home 3.9 5 2.2 2 7.9 3 3.7 1
Afraid she would kill him 1.6 2 1.1 1 2.6 1 3.7 1
Encouraged by
organization
Afraid he would kill her 1.6 2 1.1 1 2.6 1 3.7 1
No particular incident 5.5 7 5.6 5 5.3 2 3.7 1
Other 20.3 26 24.4 22 10.5 4 25.9 7

96 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A1.24  ain Reasons for Not Leaving Home, as Mentioned by Women Who
M
Experienced Physical or Sexual Partner Violence and Who Never Left
Home: Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Overall Urban Rural CSP
Reasons for leaving home % Number % Number % Number % Number
Total 100.0 124 100.0 84 100.0 40 100.0 22
Didn’t want to leave children 38.7 48 36.9 31 42.5 17 36.4 8
Holiness of marriage 8.9 11 8.3 7 10.0 4 9.1 2
Didn’t want to bring shame on 2.4 3 — — 7.5 3 — —
family
Couldn’t support children 12.1 15 11.9 10 12.5 5 4.5 1
Loved him 16.1 20 17.9 15 12.5 5 22.7 5
Didn’t want to be single 3.2 4 2.4 2 5.0 2 — —
Family said to stay
Forgave him 20.2 25 21.4 18 17.5 7 22.7 5
Thought he would change 8.1 10 8.3 7 7.5 3 4.5 1
Threatened her/children
Nowhere to go 11.3 14 13.1 11 7.5 3 9.1 2
Violence normal/not serious 10.5 13 10.7 9 10.0 4 9.1 2
Children need a father/both 2.4 3 2.4 2 2.5 1 — —
parents

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 97

 Annex 2: W
 HS Sample Allocation
of Enumeration Districts

TABLE A2.1  ample Allocation of Enumeration Districts (EDs) for Women’s Health
S
Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Total no. of Total no. Total no.
households of EDs of HHs
Municipality No of EDs (HHs) Selected selected
Trinidad City of Port of Spain 128 13,158 5 75
City of San Fernando 125 16,421 4 60
Borough of Arima 67 9,587 3 45
Borough of Chaguanas 141 24,805 9 135
Borough of Point Fortin 52 7,203 2 30
Diego Martin 233 34,086 11 165
San Juan/Laventille 349 49,853 19 285
Tunapuna/Piarco 434 69,315 19 285
Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 352 50,212 14 210
Mayaro/Rio Claro 79 11,171 3 45
Sangre Grande 164 23,092 8 120
Princes Town 192 28,987 8 120
Penal/Debe 170 25,291 8 120
Siparia 182 25,918 7 105
Tobago St. George 13 2,184 0 0
St. Mary 7 975 1 15
St. Andrew 42 6,345 2 30
St. Patrick 35 6,288 3 45
St. David 23 2,927 0 0
St. Paul 17 1,700 1 15
St. John 12 1,067 0 0
Trinidad and Tobago 2817 410,585 127 1,905

99
 TABLE A2.2  ample Allocation of CSP and Non-CSP Enumeration Districts (EDs) for
S
Women’s Health Survey Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Non-CSP Non-CSP No. CSP No. CSP No. of
Municipality No. of EDs of households of EDs Households
Trinidad City of Port of Spain 2 30 3 45
City of San Fernando 4 60 0 0
Borough of Arima 3 45 0 0
Borough of Chaguanas 6 90 3 45
Borough of Point Fortin 2 30 0 0
Diego Martin 8 120 3 45
San Juan/Laventille 10 150 9 135
Tunapuna/Piarco 18 270 1 15
Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 14 210 0 0
Mayaro/Rio Claro 3 45 0 0
Sangre Grande 5 75 3 45
Princes Town 8 120 0 0
Penal/Debe 6 90 2 30
Siparia 7 105 0 0
Tobago St. George 0 0 0 0
St. Mary 1 15 0 0
St. Andrew 1 15 1 15
St. Patrick 2 30 1 15
St. David 0 0 0 0
St. Paul 1 15 0 0
St. John 0 0 0 0
Trinidad and Tobago 101 1,515 26 390

100 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A2.3  urveyed Enumeration Districts (EDs) for Women’s Health Survey
S
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017
Admin Community
Community Rural/Urban Municipality Area Code ED Code
Talparo Rural Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 3603 600
Preysal Rural Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 4116 6100
Carlsen Field Rural Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 4207 9303
Todd’s Road Rural Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 4217 7500
Nancoo Village Rural Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 4308 12300
Gasparillo Rural Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 7309 29001
Freeport Rural Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 9913 2602
Libertville Rural Mayaro/Rio Claro 11 5207 3200
Radix Rural Mayaro/Rio Claro 11 5308 4800
Rio Claro Rural Mayaro/Rio Claro 11 9931 2800
Mendez Village Rural Penal/Debe 14 8113 14300
Penal Rural Penal/Debe 14 8117 12800
Scott Road Village Rural Penal/Debe 14 8125 12002
San Francique Rural Penal/Debe 14 9818 13600
Coryal Village Rural Princes Town 13 7507 14702
Princes Town Proper Rural Princes Town 13 7523 16300
Barrackpore Rural Princes Town 13 9802 6500
St Croix Village Rural Princes Town 13 9820 11400
Indian Walk Rural Princes Town 13 9919 11702
St Marys Village Rural Princes Town 13 9936 10600
Rampanalgas Rural Sangre Grande 12 6303 4000
Cumuto Rural Sangre Grande 12 6503 9702
Guaico Rural Sangre Grande 12 9915 5200
Sangre Grande Rural Sangre Grande 12 9933 6300
Sangre Grande Rural Sangre Grande 12 9933 5801
Sangre Grande Rural Sangre Grande 12 9933 6500
Tamana Rural Sangre Grande 12 9937 10500
Valencia Rural Sangre Grande 12 9940 4701
Dow Village Rural Siparia 15 8108 6400
Oropouche Rural Siparia 15 8116 4002
Siparia Rural Siparia 15 8127 7300
Los Bojos Rural Siparia 15 8209 9600
Guapo Lot 10 Rural Siparia 15 8309 11000
Vance River Rural Siparia 15 8318 11700
Goodwood Rural St Mary 92 9202 300
Delaford/Louis D’or Rural St Paul 96 9603 700
La Paille Village Rural Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3326 14402
Wallerfield Rural Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3416 29500
Canaan Semi-Urban St Patrick 94 9405 401
Bon Accord Semi-Urban St Patrick 94 9413 203
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 101

 TABLE A2.3  urveyed Enumeration Districts (EDs) for Women’s Health Survey
S
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
Admin Community
Community Rural/Urban Municipality Area Code ED Code
Mt Pleasant Semi-Urban St Patrick 94 9414 603
Arima Proper Urban Borough of Arima 30 3001 402
Malabar Urban Borough of Arima 30 3004 2501
Tumpuna Road Urban Borough of Arima 30 3005 4001
Enterprise Urban Borough of Chaguanas 40 4001 4700
Enterprise Urban Borough of Chaguanas 40 4001 5600
Enterprise Urban Borough of Chaguanas 40 4001 6700
Esmeralda Urban Borough of Chaguanas 40 4005 1401
St Charles Village Urban Borough of Chaguanas 40 4009 3800
Edinburgh 500 Urban Borough of Chaguanas 40 4012 8506
Lange Park Urban Borough of Chaguanas 40 4014 9600
Charlieville Urban Borough of Chaguanas 40 4019 400
Longdenville Urban Borough of Chaguanas 40 9814 7900
Point Ligoure Urban Borough of Point Fortin 50 8005 1703
Cochrane Urban Borough of Point Fortin 50 9808 2800
Gonzales Urban City of Port of Spain 10 1005 9100
Newtown Urban City of Port of Spain 10 1007 3400
Woodbrook Urban City of Port of Spain 10 1011 2900
East Port Of Spain Urban City of Port of Spain 10 1012 8700
East Port Of Spain Urban City of Port of Spain 10 1012 6900
San Fernando Urban City of San Fernando 20 2003 1000
Proper
Pleasantville Urban City of San Fernando 20 2006 8003
Tarouba Urban City of San Fernando 20 2015 6400
Cocoyea Village Urban City of San Fernando 20 2017 7200
Couva Central Urban Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 4409 17505
Mc Bean Urban Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 4417 16800
St Andrew’s Village Urban Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 4425 14702
Cedar Hill Urban Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 7303 23100
St Margaret Urban Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 7320 24100
Carapichaima Urban Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 9906 9900
St Mary’s Village Urban Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo 90 9944 14200
La Horquette Urban Diego Martin 60 3105 1902
Simeon Road Urban Diego Martin 60 3110 3900
Diego Martin Urban Diego Martin 60 3113 6500
Industrial Estate
Covigne Urban Diego Martin 60 3115 6900
Waterhole Urban Diego Martin 60 3120 17300
Champ Elysees Urban Diego Martin 60 3122 19200
Bagatelle Urban Diego Martin 60 3127 8200
(continued on next page)

102 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TABLE A2.3  urveyed Enumeration Districts (EDs) for Women’s Health Survey
S
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
Admin Community
Community Rural/Urban Municipality Area Code ED Code
Petit Valley Urban Diego Martin 60 3133 11101
Maraval Proper Urban Diego Martin 60 3138 12301
Dibe/Belle Vue Urban Diego Martin 60 3144 18900
Upper St James Urban Diego Martin 60 3145 17500
Duncan Village Urban Penal/Debe 14 7209 4000
La Romaine Urban Penal/Debe 14 7218 5900
La Romaine Urban Penal/Debe 14 7218 6802
Palmiste Urban Penal/Debe 14 7222 4800
Cedar Hill Urban Princes Town 13 7204 5600
St Madeline Urban Princes Town 13 7232 3900
Upper Belmont Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3204 1500
St Barbs Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3205 18400
Eastern Quarry Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3206 11700
El Socorro Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3207 7100
Barataria Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3209 4300
San Juan Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3210 6500
Aranguez Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3211 8700
Laventille Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3212 13000
Morvant Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3213 16500
Morvant Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3213 14800
Morvant Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3213 21000
Cascade Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3214 17901
Mon Repos Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3215 20000
Petit Bourg Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3217 30200
Beetham Estate/ Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3218 31800
Gardens
Mt Hope Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3224 17000
Santa Cruz Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3232 26500
Mount D’or Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 3237 31000
Champ Fleurs Urban San Juan/Laventille 70 9807 31101
Cochrane Urban Siparia 15 9808 11200
Darrel Spring Urban St Andrew 93 9307 1202
Patience Hill Urban St Andrew 93 9312 501
Tunapuna Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3302 5001
St Augustine Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3303 1702
Tacarigua Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3305 8200
Cane Farm Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3310 18900
Arouca/St Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3311 20704
Valley View Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3317 11102
Five Rivers Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3335 19300
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 103

 TABLE A2.3  urveyed Enumeration Districts (EDs) for Women’s Health Survey
S
Trinidad and Tobago, 2017 (continued)
Admin Community
Community Rural/Urban Municipality Area Code ED Code
Curepe Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3341 1500
Curepe Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3341 3500
Dinsley Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3344 16702
Dinsley/Trincity Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3346 18600
La Resource Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3408 25500
Pinto Road Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3413 27600
La Horquetta Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 3418 31700
Champ Fleurs Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 9807 100
Mausica Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 9927 23600
D’abadie Urban Tunapuna/Piarco 80 9942 25103

104 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Annex 3: National Committee
Members

National Steering Committee

Chair: Antoinette Jack-Martin, Director Gender Affairs (Ag), Office of the Prime Minister,
Gender and Child Affairs Division
Ashvini Nath, Ministry of Health
Charmaine Manzano Antoine, Ministry of Planning
Neisha George-Thomas, Central Administrative Services, Tobago (CAST)
Owen Hender. Office of the Prime Minister, Gender and Child Affairs Division
Sherla McKenzie, Tobago House of Assembly, Division of Health and Social Services

Research Sub-Committee
Chair: Gabrielle Hosein, Director, Institute for Gender and Development Studies
Marina Smith, Statistical Analyst, Office of the Prime Minister, Gender and Child Affairs
Division
Preeya Mohan, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, SALISES
Sally-Ann Lucas, Statistician II, Population, Social and Vital Statistics Division, Central
Statistical Office
Simone Rawlins, Senior Statistician, Central Statistical Office

Consultative Sub-Committee
Asiya Mohammed, Conflict Women Limited
Aurora Noguera-Ramkissoon/Stephanie Leitch, UNFPA
Deborah McFee, WINAD
Dona Da Costa Martinez, FPATT
Elizabeth Talma-Sankar, The Shelter
Khadija Sinanan, WOMANTRA
Monique Augustine, National Domestic Violence Hotline (800 SAVE)
Natalie O’Brady, Rape Crisis/Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Pepsi Monderoy, TTPS Victim and Witness Support Unit
Sharon Mottley/Moira Lindsay, PSI Caribbean

105
 Annex 4: Trinidad and Tobago
WHS 2017 Survey
Instrument

Administration Form
Identification
Country Code ____
Parish (Tobago) [ ][ ]
Municipality [ ][
Enumeration District (ED)............................................................................... [ ][ ][ ]
Dwelling No. .................................................................................................. [ ][[ ][ ]
Household Number ....................................................................................... [ ][ ]
[ ]
Name Of Household Head : _____________________________________
Urban = 1/Rural = 2
Interviewer Visits
1 2 3 Final Visit
Date __________ __________ __________ Day [ ][ ]
Interviewers Name __________ __________ __________ Month [ ][ ]
Result*** __________ __________ __________ Year [ ][ ][ ][ ]
Interviewer’s no
[ ][ ][ ][ ]
Result [ ][ ]
Next Visit: __________ __________ Total number
Date __________ __________ of visits [ ]
Time __________ __________
Location
Questionnaires *** Result Codes N
eed To Check HH selection form:
completed? Return
[ ] 1. None completed  Refused (Specify):....................  N eed To Total in household
................................................. Return (Q1)
............................................. 11 [ ][ ]
Dwelling vacant or
address not a dwelling.......... 12 Total eligible women in hh of
Dwelling destroyed............... 13 selected woman
Dwelling not found, (Q3, total with yes)
not accessible....................... 14 [ ][ ]
Entire HH absent for
extended period.................... 15 Line number of selected female
No HH Member at home at respondent
time of visit............................ 16 (Q3)
HH respondent postponed [ ][ ]
interview............................... 17
(continued on next page)

107
 (continued)
Interviewer Visits
[ ] 2. H
 H Selection Form Selected woman refused Need to
(and in most cases (Specify):.................................. return
HH questionnaire) .................................................  N
eed to
only   ............................................. 21 return
No eligible woman in
household............................. 22
Selected woman not
at home................................ 23
Selected woman
postponed interview............. 24
Selected woman
incapacitated........................ 25
[ ] 3. W
 oman’s Does not want to continue N
eed to
Questionnaire (Specify):.................................. return
partly   .................................................
............................................. 31
Rest of interview
postponed to next visit.......... 32
[ ] 4. W
 oman’s
questionnaire 41
completed  
Language of questionnaire [ ][ ]
Language Interview conducted in [ ][ ]
Field Supervisor/Editor Office Editor Entered
By
Name [ ][ ] Name [ ][ ] Entry 1:
Day [ ][ ] Day [ ][ ] _____________
Month [ ][ ] Month [ ][ ] Entry 2:
Year [ ][ ] Year [ ][ ] _____________

Administration Form
Identification
Country Code ____
Parish (Tobago) [ ][ ]
Municipality [ ][
Enumeration District (Ed)............................................................................... [ ][ ][ ]
Dwelling No. .................................................................................................. [ ][[ ][ ]
Household Number ....................................................................................... [ ][ ]

Name Of Household Head : _____________________________________ [ ]

Urban = 1/Rural = 2
Interviewer Visits
1 2 3 Final Visit
Date __________ __________ __________ Day [ ][ ]
Interviewers Name __________ __________ __________ Month [ ][ ]
Result*** __________ __________ __________ Year [ ][ ][ ][ ]
Interviewer’s no
[ ][ ][ ][ ]
Result [ ][ ]
(continued on next page)

108 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
Interviewer Visits
Next Visit: __________ __________ Total number
Date __________ __________ of visits [ ]
Time __________ __________
Location
Questionnaires *** Result Codes N
eed To Check HH selection form:
completed? Return
[ ] 1. None completed  Refused (Specify):....................  N eed To Total in household
................................................. Return (Q1)
............................................. 11 [ ][ ]
Dwelling vacant or
address not a dwelling.......... 12 Total eligible women in hh of
Dwelling destroyed............... 13 selected woman
Dwelling not found, (Q3, total with yes)
not accessible....................... 14 [ ][ ]
Entire HH absent for
extended period.................... 15 Line number of selected female
No HH Member at home at respondent
time of visit............................ 16 (Q3)
HH respondent postponed [ ][ ]
interview............................... 17
[ ] 2. H
 H Selection Form Selected woman refused Need to
(and in most cases (Specify):.................................. return
HH questionnaire) .................................................  N
eed to
only   ............................................. 21 return
No eligible woman in
household............................. 22
Selected woman not
at home................................ 23
Selected woman
postponed interview............. 24
Selected woman
incapacitated........................ 25
[ ] 3. W
 oman’s Does not want to continue N
eed to
Questionnaire (Specify):.................................. return
partly   .................................................
............................................. 31
Rest of interview
postponed to next visit.......... 32
[ ] 4. W
 oman’s
questionnaire ............................................. 41
completed  
Language of questionnaire [ ][ ]
Language Interview conducted in [ ][ ]
Field Supervisor/Editor Office Editor Entered
By
Name [ ][ ] Name [ ][ ] Entry 1:
Day [ ][ ] Day [ ][ ] __________
Month [ ][ ] Month [ ][ ] Entry 2:
Year [ ][ ] Year [ ][ ] __________

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 109

 If More than One HH in Selected Dwelling: Fill Out Seperate HH
Selection Form for Each One
Household Selection Form
Hello, my name is __________. I am visiting your household on behalf of Qure Limited, a research
firm We are conducting a survey on behalf of the Inter-American Development Bank across Trinidad
and Tobago to learn about family health and safety.
1 Please can you tell me how many people live here, and share Total number of people in
food? household
PROBE: Does this include children (including infants) living here? [ ][ ]
Does it include any other people who may not be members of
your family, such as domestic servants, lodgers or friends who
live here and share food?
Make sure these people are included in the total
2 Is the head of the household male Male................................................ 1
or female? Female........................................... 2
Both................................................ 3
Female household members Relationship Residence Age Eligible
to head of
HH
3 Today we would like to talk to What is the Does name How See
one woman or girl from your relationship of usually old is criteria
household. To enable me to name to the live here? name? below
identify whom I should talk to, head of the special (Years, (A +B)
would you please give me the first household.* cases: See more or
names of all girls or women who (use codes (A) below. less)
Line usually live in your household (and below)
num. share food). Yes No Yes No
1 1 2 1 2
2 1 2 1 2
3 1 2 1 2
4 1 2 1 2
5 1 2 1 2
6 1 2 1 2
7 1 2 1 2
8 1 2 1 2
9 1 2 1 2
10 1 2 1 2
Codes 7. Mother 13. Domestic Worker/Employee
1. Head 8. Mother-In-Law 14. Lodger
2. Wife 9. Sister 15. Friend
3. Partner) 10. Sister-In-Law 98. Other Non Relative:
4. Daughter 11. Other Relative ____________________________
5. Daughter-In-Law 12. Adopted/Foster/Step
6. Granddaughter Daughter
(continued on next page)

110 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
Household Selection Form
(A) Special cases to be considered member of household:

• Domestic worker/employee if they sleep 5 nights a week or more in the household.

• Visitors if they have slept in the household for the past 4 weeks.

(B) Eligible: Any woman between 15 and 64 years living in household.

More than one eligible women in HH:

• Randomly Select One Eligible Woman For Interview Using A Kish Table.
• Put circle around line number of woman selected. Ask If you can talk with the selected woman. If she is
not at home, agree on date for return visit.
• Continue with household questionnaire

No eligible woman in HH:

• Say “I cannot continue because i can only interview women 15–64 years old. thank you for your
assistance.” Finish here.
* If both (male and female) are the head, refer to the male.

Administered to Any Responsible Adult in Household

Household Questionnaire
Questions & Filters Coding Categories
QUESTIONS 1–6: COUNTRY-SPECIFIC SOCIOECONOMIC INDICATORS, TO BE ADAPTED IN EACH
COUNTRY
1 If you don’t mind, I would like to ask you a Public piped into dwelling ................................................... 01
few questions about your household. Public piped into yard.......................................................... 02
What is the main source of drinking-water Private piped into dwelling .................................................. 03
for your household? Private catchment, not piped............................................... 04
Public standpipe.................................................................. 05
Truckborne (and not piped into dwelling) ........................... 06
Spring/river/well/pond.......................................................... 07
Other:.................................................................................. 96
Don’t know/don’t remember................................................ 98
Refused/no answer............................................................. 99
2 What type of toilet facilities does your Flush toilet.........................................………………………..01
household have? Flush toilet shared............................................................... 02
Pit latrine............................ …………………………………..03
None.................................................................................... 04
Other:.................................................................................. 96
Don’t know/don’t remember................................................ 98
Refused/no answer............................................................. 99
3 What is the main type of material used in Sheet metal (zinc, aluminum, galvanize)............................... 1
constructing the roof? Shingle – (asphalt)................................................................ 2
Record observation Shingle (wood)...................................................................... 3
Concrete................................................................................ 4
Tile......................................................................................... 5
Thatch/makeshift................................................................... 6
Other:.................................................................................... 7
Don’t know/don’t remember.................................................. 8
Refused/no answer............................................................... 9
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 111

 (continued)
Household Questionnaire
Questions & Filters Coding Categories
4 Does your household have: a. Electricity Yes No DK
b. Refrigerator 1 2 8
a. Electricity c. Computer 1 2 8
b. A refrigerator d. Air Con 1 2 8
c. Computer e. Clothes 1 2 8
d. Air Conditioner Dryer 1 2 8
e. Clothes Dryer f. Internet 1 2 8
f. Internet g. Vehicle 1 2
g. A vehicle
5
6
7 How many rooms in your household are Number of rooms..................................................... [ ][ ]
used for sleeping? Don’t know/don’t remember................................................ 98
Refused/No answer............................................................. 99
8 Are you concerned about the levels Not concerned....................................................................... 1
of crime and/or violence in your A little concerned................................................................... 2
neighbourhood (like robberies or assaults)? Very concerned..................................................................... 3
Would you say that you are not at all Don’t know/don’t remember.................................................. 8
concerned, a little concerned, or very Refused/no answer............................................................... 9
concerned?
9 In the past 4 weeks, has someone from Yes......................................................................................... 1
this household been the victim of a crime in No.......................................................................................... 2
this neighbourhood, such as a robbery or Don’t know/don’t remember.................................................. 8
assault? Refused/no answer............................................................... 9
10 Note sex of respondent Male....................................................................................... 1
Female ................................................................................. 2
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Is now a good time to talk?
It’s very important that we talk in private. Is this a good place to hold the interview, or is there somewhere else that
you would like to go?

112 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Individual Consent Form for Woman’s Questionnaire
Hello, my name is *. I work for QURE Limited. We are conducting a survey for the Inter-
American Development Bank in Trinidad and Tobago to learn about Women’s Health and
Wellbeing. You and many other women have been chosen by chance to participate in the
study.
The questionnaire will include questions regarding your general health and life expe-
riences including incidents of gender-based violence. Some of the topics may be personal
and difficult to discuss, but many women have found it useful to have the opportunity to
talk. You have the right to skip any questions that you don’t want to answer or to pause
or stop the interview at any time. There are no right or wrong answers.
I want to assure you that all of your answers will be kept strictly confidential. I will not
keep a record of your name or address. Your participation is completely voluntary, but
your experiences could be very helpful to other women in Trinidad and Tobago. The infor-
mation you provide will be anonymously combined with that of women aged 15–64 from
around the country to inform policies and programmes that will benefit women and girls.
In order to protect your privacy, depending on the topic of the interview, if anyone
enters the room while we are talking, we may stop the interview or change questions. We
don’t want you to feel under any pressure to talk to us, especially if you’re worried that it
might be risky for you. Please take a few moments to consider whether talking to us may
increase your risk of violence, whether at home or in your community. We want to ensure
you that you are as safe as possible if you do choose to participate.
Do you have any questions?
The interview takes about an hour to complete. Do you agree to be interviewed?

NOTE WHETHER RESPONDENT AGREES TO INTERVIEW OR NOT

[ ] DOES NOT AGREE TO BE INTERVIEWED THANK PARTICIPANT FOR HER
TIME AND END
[ ] AGREES TO BE INTERVIEWED

______________________________________________________________

TO BE COMPLETED BY INTERVIEWER
I CERTIFY THAT I HAVE READ THE ABOVE CONSENT PROCEDURE TO THE PARTICIPANT.
SIGNED: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 113

 DATE OF INTERVIEW: day [ ][ ] month [ ][ ] year [ ][ ][ ][ ]
100. Record the start time of the woman’s HH:MM [ ][ ]:[ ][ ] (00–24 h)
interview (24H system)
SECTION 1 RESPONDENT AND HER COMMUNITY
Questions & Filters Coding Categories Skip to
If you don’t mind, I would like to start by asking you a little about <COMMUNITY NAME>.

Insert name of community/village/neighbourhood above and in questions below.

If no name, say “in this community/village/area” as appropriate.
101 Do neighbours in this community generally Yes................................................................. 1
tend to know each other well? No.................................................................. 2
Don’t know..................................................... 8
Refused/no answer....................................... 9
102 If there were a street fight in this community Yes................................................................. 1
would people generally do something to stop No.................................................................. 2
it? Don’t know..................................................... 8
Refused/no answer....................................... 9
103
104
105 If someone in your family suddenly fell ill or Yes................................................................. 1
had an accident, would your neighbours offer No.................................................................. 2
to help? Don’t know..................................................... 8
Refused/no answer....................................... 9
106 I would now like to ask you some questions Day.................................................. [ ][ ]
about yourself. Month ............................................. [ ][ ]
What is your date of birth (day, month and Year ................................ [ ][ ][ ][ ]
year that you were born)? Don’t know year....................................... 9998
Refused/no answer................................. 9999
107 How old are you (completed years)? Age (years) ..................................... [ ][ ]
(More or less)
108 How long have you been living continuously in Number of years ............................. [ ][ ]
this community? Less than 1 year.......................................... 00
Lived all her life .......................................... 95
Visitor (at least 4 weeks in household) ....... 96
Don’t know/don’t remember........................ 98
Refused/no answer..................................... 99
108a What is your religious affiliation or None............................................................ 01
denomination? Anglican....................................................... 02
(Do not read categories) Baptist – Spiritual Shouter.......................... 03
Baptist – Other............................................ 04
Hinduism..................................................... 05
Islam............................................................ 06
Jehovah Witness......................................... 07
Methodist..................................................... 08
Moravian...................................................... 09
Orisha.......................................................... 10
Pentecostal/evangelical/full gospel............. 11
Presbyterian................................................ 12
Rastafarian.................................................. 13
Roman Catholic........................................... 14
Seventh Day Adventist................................ 15

Other:.......................................................... 96
Don’t Know/Don’t Remember...................... 98
Refused/No Answer..................................... 99
(continued on next page)

114 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 1 RESPONDENT AND HER COMMUNITY
Questions & Filters Coding Categories Skip to
108b To which race or ethnic group would you say African......................................................... 01
you belong? (Do not read categories) Caucasian................................................... 02
Chinese....................................................... 03
East Indian.................................................. 04
Indigenous................................................... 05
Mixed (african and east indian)................... 06
Mixed – other............................................... 07
Portuguese.................................................. 08
Syrian/lebanese........................................... 09
Other (specify).................................................
.................................................................... 96
Refused/no answer..................................... 99
110 Have you ever attended school? Yes................................................................. 1  1
11c
No.................................................................. 2
Don’t know/don’t remember.......................... 8
Refused/no answer....................................... 9
111 a. What is the highest level of education that Primary....................... Year........................... 1
you achieved? Mark Highest Level. Secondary.................. Year........................... 2
b. Convert total years in school, locally- Higher......................... Year........................... 3
specific coding Number of years schooling.............. [ ][ ]
Don’t know/don’t remember........................ 98
Refused/no answer..................................... 99
111c What is your main daily occupation? Not Working................................................... 1
Housewife...................................................... 2
Prompt: Do you earn money by yourself? Student.......................................................... 3
[mark one] Agricultural work............................................ 4
Government................................................... 5
Clerical........................................................... 6
Small business.............................................. 7
Professional................................................... 8
Retired........................................................... 9
Seasonal work............................................. 10
Selling/trading.............................................. 11
Other (specify).................................................
.................................................................... 96
Don’t know/don’t remember........................ 98
Refused/no answer..................................... 99
111d What is now the main source of income for No income..................................................... 1
you and your household? Money from own work................................... 2
[Mark one] Equal share own work and partner................ 3
Support from husband/partner...................... 4
Support from other relatives.......................... 5
Pension......................................................... 6
Social services/welfare.................................. 7
Remittances (from abroad) ........................... 8
Other (specify).................................................
...................................................................... 9
Refused/no answer..................................... 99
Now I would like to ask you some questions about things that you own and your earnings. We
need this information to understand the financial position of women nowadays.
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 115

 (continued)
SECTION 1 RESPONDENT AND HER COMMUNITY
Questions & Filters Coding Categories Skip to
1101 Please tell me if you own Yes own Yes own No, don’t
any of the following, either by self with own
by yourself or with someone others
else:
a. Land Land 1 2 3
b. Your house House 1 2 3
c. A company or business Company 1 2 3
d. Large animals (cows, Large animals 1 2 3
horses, etc.) Small animals 1 2 3
e. Small animals (chickens, Small animals 1 2 3
pigs, goats, etc) Financial 1 2 3
f. Produce or crops from Vehicle 1 2 3
certain fields or tree
g. A financial investment
(units, mutual funds,
h. stocks or bonds)
i. Vehicle

For each, probe: Do you own

this on your own, or do you
own it with others?
112 Where did you grow up? This Community/neighbourhood................................. 1
Probe: Before age 12 where Another rural area/village............................................ 2
did you live longest? Another Town/city........................................................ 3
Another country........................................................... 4
Another neighbourhood in same town......................... 5
Don’t know/don’t remember........................................ 8
Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
113 Do you have access to your Yes............................................................................... 1 1
15
family so that you can easily No................................................................................ 2
see or visit them? Living with family of birth............................................. 3
Don’t know/don’t remember........................................ 8
Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
114 How often do you talk freely Daily/at least once a week........................................... 1
to a member of your family? At least once a month ................................................. 2
Would you say at least once a At least once a year .................................................... 3
week, once a month, once a Never (hardly ever)...................................................... 4
year, or never? Don’t know/don’t remember........................................ 8
Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
115 When you need help or have Yes............................................................................... 1
a problem, can you usually No................................................................................ 2
count on members of your Don’t know/don’t remember........................................ 8
family for support? Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
115a How do you receive OR Personal doctor .......................................................... A
access information on Health centre/hospital/clinic ........................................B
women’s Friends/family..............................................................C
health? Newspaper/magazine..................................................D
[Don’t read/check all that Radio...........................................................................E
apply) Television..................................................................... F
Internet health sites.................................................... G
Social media sites/facebook........................................H
Refused/no answer...................................................... I
Other...........................................................................X
(continued on next page)

116 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 1 RESPONDENT AND HER COMMUNITY
Questions & Filters Coding Categories Skip to
119 Are you currently married and Currently married, living together................................ 1 1
23
living together? Currently married, not living together ......................... 2 1
23
Living with man, not married (common-law).................. 1
23
If no: are you involved in 3 1
23
a relationship with a man Currently having a regular male partner (engaged or
without living together? dating or Visiting) not living together........................... 4
Not currently married or having a male partner........... 5
If needed probe: Such as a Currently having a female partner .............................. 6
regular boyfriend or a fiancé?

If needed probe: Do you and

your partner live together?
120 a Have you ever been married Yes, married................................................................ 1  1
21
or lived with a male partner? Yes, lived with a man, but never married..................... 3 1 21

No................................................................................ 5
120b Have you ever been involved Yes .............................................................................. 1 S
2
in a relationship with a man No................................................................................ 2 S
2
without living together (such Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
as being engaged or dating or
a boyfriend)?
121 Did the last partnership Divorced ..................................................................... 1 1
23
with a man end in divorce Separated/broken up................................................... 2
or separation, or did your Widowed/partner died................................................. 3
husband/partner die? Don’t know/don’t remember........................................ 8
Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
122 Was the divorce/separation Respondent................................................................. 1
initiated by you, by your Husband/partner.......................................................... 2
husband/partner, or did you Both (respondent and partner).................................... 3
both decide that you should
separate? Other:.......................................................................... 6
Don’t know/don’t remember........................................ 8
Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
123 How many times in your life Number of times married or S
2
have you been married and/or lived together................................................. [ ][ ]
lived together with a man? Never Married or lived together................................. 00
(include current partner if Don’t Know/don’t remember...................................... 98
living together) Refused/No Answer................................................... 99
123a How old were you the first Age In Years.................................................. [ ][ ]
time you were married or lived Don’t know/don’t remember...................................... 98
together with a man? Refused/no answer................................................... 99
124 The next few questions His family..................................................................... 1
are about your current or Her family.................................................................... 2
most recent partnership. Both families................................................................ 3
Do/did you live together (in Alone .......................................................................... 4
the same home) with your
husband’s family, your family, Don’t know/don’t remember........................................ 8
both families, or alone by Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
yourselves?
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 117

 (continued)
SECTION 1 RESPONDENT AND HER COMMUNITY
Questions & Filters Coding Categories Skip to
131 Did you yourself choose Both chose ................................................................. 1  1103
your current/most recent Respondent chose...................................................... 2  1103
husband/partner, did someone Respondent’s family chose ......................................... 3
else choose him for you, or Husband/partner chose............................................... 4
did he choose you? Husband/partner’s family chose.................................. 5
Other:.......................................................................... 6
If she did not choose Don’t know/don’t remember........................................ 8
herself, probe: Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
Who chose your current/most
recent husband/partner for
you?
132 Before the marriage with your Yes............................................................................... 1
current partner/most recent No................................................................................ 2
husband, were you asked Don’t know/don’t remember........................................ 8
whether you wanted to marry Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
him or not?
* CHECK: Currently married/currently Not currently married or living with a man/current S2
Ref. living with a man or past male dating Partner
sheet, (Option K) [ ]  (Options L, M, N) [ ]  
Box A (1) (2)
(s11mar)
CHECK 1. Options 2 or 3 2. Any other option marked [ ]  S2
111D Marked [ ] 
1103 Are you able to spend the Self/Own Choice.......................................................... 1
money you earn how you Give part to husband/partner....................................... 2
want yourself, or do you have Give all to husband/partner......................................... 3
to give all or part of the money Don’t know................................................................... 8
to your husband/partner? Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
1104 Would you say that the More than husband/partner......................................... 1
money that you bring into the Less than husband/partner.......................................... 2
family is more than what your About the same........................................................... 3
husband/partner contributes, Do not know................................................................ 8
less than what he contributes, Refused/no answer..................................................... 9
or about the same as he
contributes?

118 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Before Starting with Section 2:
Review Responses in Section 1 and Mark Marital Status on Reference Sheet, Box A.

SECTION 2 GENERAL HEALTH

201 I would now like to ask a few Excellent ..................................1
questions about your health and Good.........................................2
use of health services. Fair...........................................3
In general, would you describe Poor..........................................4
your overall health as excellent, Very poor..................................5
good, fair, poor, or very poor? Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9
201a Do you have difficulty seeing, even No – no difficulty.......................1
if wearing glasses? Yes – some diffculty..................2
Yes – a lot of diffculty................3
Cannot do at all........................4
Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9
201b Do you have difficulty hearing, No – no difficulty.......................1
even if using a hearing aid? Yes – some diffculty..................2
Yes – a lot of diffculty................3
Cannot do at all........................4
Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9
201c Do you have difficulty walking or No – no difficulty.......................1
climbing steps? Yes – some diffculty..................2
Yes – a lot of diffculty................3
Cannot do at all........................4
Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9
201d Do you have difficulty No – no difficulty.......................1
remembering or concentrating? Yes – some diffculty..................2
Yes – a lot of diffculty................3
Cannot do at all........................4
Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9
201e Do you have difficulty (with self- No – no difficulty.......................1
care such as) washing all over or Yes – some diffculty..................2
getting dressed? Yes – a lot of diffculty................3
Cannot do at all........................4
Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9
201f Using your usual (customary) No – no difficulty.......................1
language, do you have difficulty Yes – some diffculty..................2
communicating, for example Yes – a lot of diffculty................3
understanding or being Cannot do at all........................4
understood? Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 119

 (continued)
SECTION 2 GENERAL HEALTH
202 Now I would like to ask you about No problems.............................1
your health in the past 4 weeks Some problems........................2
ONLY. How would you describe Many problems.........................3
your ability to walk around? Unable to walk at all.................4
I will give 5 options, which one Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
best describes your situation: Refused/no answer..................9
Would you say that you have no
problems, , some problems, many
problems or that you are unable to
walk at all?
203 In the past 4 weeks did you No problems.............................1
have problems (difficulty) with Some problems........................2
performing usual activities, such Many problems.........................3
as work, study, household, family, Unable to perform activities......4
or social activities? Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Please choose from the following Refused/no answer..................9
options.
Would you say no problems, some
problems, many problems or
unable to perform usual activities?
204 In the past 4 weeks have you No pain or discomfort...............1
been in pain or discomfort? Some pain or discomfort..........2
Please choose from the following Moderate pain or discomfort.....3
options. Severe pain or discomfort........4
Would you say not at all, some Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
pain or discomfort, moderate, or Refused/no answer..................9
severe or discomfort?
205 In the past 4 weeks have you No problems.............................1
had problems (difficulty) with your Some problems........................2
memory or concentration? Many problems.........................3
Please choose from the following Extreme memory problems......4
5 options. Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Would you say no problems, some Refused/no answer..................9
problems, many problems or
extreme memory or concentration
problems?
207 In the past 4 weeks, have you For sleep No Once A few Many
taken medication: For pain or times times
For sadness twice
a. To help you calm down or 1 2 3 4
sleep? 1 2 3 4
b. To relieve pain? 1 2 3 4
c. To help you not feel sad or
depressed?

For each, if yes probe:

How often? Once or twice, a few
times or many times?
209 Over the last 2 weeks, have Yes No
you been bothered by any of the
following problems?
d. Feeling nervous, anxious or on 1 2
edge
e. Not being able to stop or control 1 2
worrying
(continued on next page)

120 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 2 GENERAL HEALTH
f. Worrying too much about 1 2
different things
g. Trouble relaxing 1 2
h. Being so restless that it is hard 1 2
to sit still
i. Becoming easily annoyed or 1 2
irritable
j. Feeling afraid as if something 1 2
awful might happen
k. Little interest or pleasure in 1 2
doing things
l. Feeling down, depressed, or 1 2
hopeless
m. Trouble falling or staying asleep, 1 2
or sleeping too much
n. Feeling tired or having little 1 2
energy
o. Poor appetite or overeating
p. Feeling bad about yourself—or 1 2
that you are a failure or have let
yourself or your family down
q. Trouble concentrating on things, 1 2
such as reading the newspaper
or watching television
r. Moving or speaking so slowly 1 2
that other people could have
noticed? Or the opposite—being
so fidgety or restless that you
have been moving around a lot
more than usual
s. Thoughts that you would be 1 2
better off dead or of hurting
yourself in some way
210 Just now we talked about Yes............................................1  214
problems that may have bothered No.............................................2
you recently. I would like to ask Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
you now: Have you ever seriously Refused/no answer..................9
thought about ending your life?
211 Have you ever tried to take your Yes............................................1
life? No.............................................2
Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9
211a Have you thought seriously about Yes............................................1  214
ending your life in the last 12 No.............................................2  214
months? Don’t know/don’t remember.....8  214
Refused/no answer..................9
211b Have you ever tried to end your Yes............................................1  214
life in the past 12 months? No.............................................2
Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 121

 (continued)
SECTION 2 GENERAL HEALTH
211 c At the (last) time when you tried Yes............................................1
to end your life, did you require No.............................................2
medical care or hospitalization? Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
Refused/no answer..................9
214 Do you now smoke Daily..........................................1  216
cigarettes…............................…. Occasionally.............................2  216
Not at all...................................3
1. Daily? Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
2. Occasionally? Refused/no answer..................9
3. Not at all?
215 Have you ever smoked cigarettes Daily..........................................1
in your life? Occasionally.............................2
Not at all...................................3
1. Daily? (smoking at least once Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
a day) Refused/no answer..................9
2. Occasionally?
3. Not at all?
216 How often do you drink alcohol? Every day or nearly  220
Would you say: every day..................................1
Once or twice a week...............2
1. Every day or nearly every day 1–3 Times in a month...............3
2. Once or twice a week Less than once a month...........4
3. 1–3 times a month Never .......................................5
4. Occasionally, less than once a Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
month Refused/no answer..................9
5. Never/Stopped more than a
year ago
217 On the days that you drank in the Usual number
past 4 weeks, about how many of drinks......................[ ][ ]
alcoholic drinks did you usually No alcoholic drinks in
have in a day? past 4 weeks..........................00
218 In the past 12 months (In the last Yes No Don’t
12 months of your relationship), Know
have you experienced any of the A) Money problems 1 2 3
following problems, related to your
drinking? B) Family problems 1 2 3
x) Other: ________________ 1 2 3
a. Money problems
b. Family problems
c. Any other problems, specify.
220 Did you ever use marijuana? Every day or nearly
Would you say: every day..................................1
Once or twice a week...............2
1. Every day or nearly every day 1–3 Times in a month...............3
2. Once or twice a week Less than once a month...........4
3. 1–3 times a month Never .......................................5
4. Occasionally, less than once a Don’t know/don’t remember.....8
month Refused/no answer..................9
5. Never/Stopped more than a
year ago

122 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

SECTION 3 REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Now I would like to ask about all of the children that you may have given birth to during
your life.
301 Have you ever given birth? How many children Number of children born [ ][ ]  302a
have you given birth to that were alive when If 1 or more 
they were born? (include births where the
baby didn’t live for long) None................................................ 00
302 Have you ever been pregnant? Yes..................................................... 1  310
No...................................................... 2  310
Maybe/not sure ................................. 3  S5
N.A. (Never had intercourse)............. 7  310
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8  310
Refused/no answer........................... 9
302a How old were you when you first became Age in years [ ][ ]
pregnant?
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
303 How many children do you have, who are alive Children .............................. [ ][ ]
now? None ............................................... 00
Record number
304 Have you ever given birth to a boy or a girl who Yes..................................................... 1  306
was born alive, but later died? This could be at No ..................................................... 2
any age.
If no, probe: Any baby who cried or showed
signs of life but survived for only a few hours or
days?
305 a) How many sons have died? A) Sons dead ...................... [ ][ ]
How many daughters have died? B) Daughters dead.............. [ ][ ]
(This is about all ages)
If none enter ‘00’
306 Do (did) all your children have the same One father......................................... 1  308
biological father, or more than one father? More than one father......................... 2
N/A (never had live birth)................... 7
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
307 How many of your children receive financial None.................................................. 1
support from their father(s)? Would you say Some................................................. 2
none, some or all? All....................................................... 3
If only one child and she says ‘yes,’ code ‘3’ N/A .................................................... 7
(‘all’). Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
308 How many times have you been pregnant? a) Total no. of pregnancies.. [ ][ ]
Include pregnancies that did not end up in a b) Pregnancies with twins............ [ ]
live birth, and if you are pregnant now, your c) Pregnancies with triplets......... [ ]
current pregnancy? d) other........................................ [ ]
Probe: How many pregnancies were with
twins, triplets?
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 123

 (continued)
SECTION 3 REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
309 Have you ever had a pregnancy that a) Miscarriages ................... [ ][ ]
miscarried, or ended in a stillbirth? Or a b) Stillbirths ......................... [ ][ ]
terminated pregnancy (abortion)? c) Abortions......................... [ ][ ]
Probe: How many times did you miscarry, how
many times did you have a stillbirth, and how If none enter ‘00’
many times did you abort?
Probe may need to be locally adapted
310 Are you pregnant now? Yes..................................................... 1 A
No...................................................... 2 B
Maybe................................................ 3 B
Do either a or b: if pregnant now ==> [301].......+ [309 A+b+c]....... + 1 =
[308A]....+ [308b]......... + [ 2x308c].......=.......

If not pregnant now ==> [301].......+ [309 A+b+c]....... =

[308A]....+ [308b]......... + [ 2x308c].......=.......
Verify that addition adds up to the same figure. If not,
probe again and correct.
311 Have you ever used anything, or tried in any Yes..................................................... 1  315
way, to delay or avoid getting pregnant? No ..................................................... 2  S.5
N.A. (Never had intercourse)............. 7
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
312 Are you currently doing something, or using Yes..................................................... 1  315
any method, to delay or avoid getting pregnant? No...................................................... 2
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
313 What (main) method are you and your partner Pill/tablets........................................ 01
currently using? Injectables....................................... 02
Implants (norplant).......................... 03
If more than one, only mark main method Iud (mirena/copper t)....................... 04
Diaphragm/foam/jelly....................... 05
Calendar (rhythm)/mucus method... 06
Female sterilization......................... 07
Condoms......................................... 08
Male sterilization (vasectomy)......... 09
Withdrawal....................................... 10
Herbs................................................11
Other:.............................................. 96
Don’t know/don’t remember............ 98
Refused/no answer......................... 99
314
315 Has/did your current/most recent husband/ Yes..................................................... 1  S.5
partner ever refused to use a method or tried to No ..................................................... 2
stop you from using a method to avoid getting N.A. (Never had a partner)................ 7
pregnant? Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
316
317
317a
318
319 Has your current/most recent husband/partner Yes..................................................... 1
ever refused to use a condom? No ..................................................... 2
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9

124 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Before Starting with Section 4:
Review Responses and Mark Reproductive History on Reference Sheet, Box B.

SECTION 4 CHILDREN
CHECK: ANY LIVE BIRTHS NO LIVE BIRTHS [ ]  S.5
Ref. Sheet, [ ] (2)
box B, point Q 
(s4bir) (1)
401 I would like to ask about the last time that you Day...................................... [ ][ ]
gave birth (Live birth, regardless of whether Month.................................. [ ][ ]
the child is still alive or not). What is the date of Year..................... [ ][ ][ ][ ]
birth of this child? Refused/no answer........................... 9
402 Is your last child a boy or a girl? Boy.................................................... 1
Girl..................................................... 2
Refused/no answer........................... 9
403 Is that child still alive? Yes..................................................... 1  405
No...................................................... 2
Refused/no answer........................... 9
404 How old was (he/she) at his/her last birthday? Age in years ....................... [ ][ ]  406
Record age in completed years If not yet completed 1 year ............. 00  406
Check age with birth date Refused/no answer........................... 9  406
405 How old was (he/she) when he/she died? Years................................... [ ][ ]
Months (if less than 1 year). [ ][ ]
Days (if less than 1 month).. [ ][ ]
Refused/no answer........................... 9
406 Check if date of birth of last child (in q401) 5 Or more years ago......................... 1  417
is more or less than 5 years ago Less than 5 years ago....................... 2
Refused/no answer........................... 9
407 I would like to ask you about the pregnancy Become pregnant then...................... 1
for your last born (son/daughter). At the time Wait until later.................................... 2
you became pregnant with (him/her), did you Not want children............................... 3
want to become pregnant then, did you want to Not mind either way........................... 4
wait until later, did you want no (more) children, Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
or did you not mind either way? Refused/no answer........................... 9
408 At the time you became pregnant with (him/her) Become pregnant then...................... 1
did your husband/partner want you to become Wait until later.................................... 2
pregnant then, did he want to wait until later, Not want children............................... 3
did he want no (more) children at all, or did he Not mind either way........................... 4
not mind either way? Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
409 When you were pregnant with this child did you No one .............................................. a
see anyone for an antenatal (prenatal) check? Obstetrician/gynaecologist................ b
IF YES: Whom did you see? Other doctor.......................................c
Nurse/midwife ................................... d
Anyone else? Traditional birth attendant.................. e
Mark all that apply Other:.................................................x
Use ‘prenatal’ if better understood
410 Did your husband/partner stop you, encourage Stop................................................... 1
you, or have no interest in whether you Encourage......................................... 2
received antenatal care for your pregnancy? No interest......................................... 3
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
(continued on next page)

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 (continued)
SECTION 4 CHILDREN
411 When you were pregnant with your last (son/ Son.................................................... 1
daughter) did your husband/partner have Daughter............................................ 2
preference for a son, a daughter or did it not Did not matter.................................... 3
matter to him whether it was a boy or a girl? Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
412 During this pregnancy, did you consume any Yes..................................................... 1
alcoholic drinks? No...................................................... 2
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
413 During this pregnancy, did you smoke any Yes..................................................... 1
cigarettes or use tobacco? No ..................................................... 2
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
414 Were you given a (postnatal) check-up at any Yes..................................................... 1
time during the 6 weeks after delivery? No...................................................... 2
No, child not yet six weeks old.......... 3
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
415 Was your (son/daughter) weighed at birth? Yes..................................................... 1  417
No ..................................................... 2  417
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
416 How much did he/she weigh? Lbs/ozs from card [ ][ ]............. 1
Record from health card where possible Lbs/ozs from recall [ ][ ]........... 2
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Refused/no answer........................... 9
417 Do you have any children aged between 5 and Number ............................... [ ][ ]  S.5
12 years? How many? (include 5-year-old and None................................................ 00
12-year-old children)

This should be school age—if needed adapt

age range for this and subsequent questions
418 a. How many are boys? a) Boys........................................ [ ]
b. How many are girls? b) Girls......................................... [ ]

Make sure only children aged 5–12 years.

419 How many of these children (ages 5–12 years) a) Boys........................................ [ ]  S.5
currently live with you? Probe: b) Girls......................................... [ ]

a. How many boys? If “0” for both sexes ==== go to 

b. How many girls?
420 Do any of these children (ages 5–12 years): Yes No Dk
a. Nightmares 1 2 8
a. Have frequent nightmares? b. Wet bed 1 2 8
b. Wet their bed often? c. Timid 1 2 8
c. Are any of these children very timid or d. Aggressive 1 2 8
withdrawn?
d. Are any of them aggressive with you or other
children?
421 Of these children (ages 5–12 years), how many a) Number of boys run away....... [ ]
of your boys and how many of your girls have b) Number of girls run away........ [ ]
ever run away from home?
If none enter ‘0’
(continued on next page)

126 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 4 CHILDREN
422 Of these children (ages 5–12 years), how many a) Boys........................................ [ ]  S.5
of your boys and how many of your girls are b) Girls......................................... [ ]
studying/in school/homeschooled?
If “0” for both sexes ==== go to 
423 Have any of these children had to repeat Yes..................................................... 1
(failed) a year at school? No...................................................... 2
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Make sure only children aged 5–12 years. Refused/no answer........................... 9
424 Have any of these children stopped school for a Yes..................................................... 1
while or dropped out of school? No...................................................... 2
Don’t know/don’t remember.............. 8
Make sure only children aged 5–12 years. Refused/no answer........................... 9

SECTION 5 CURRENT OR MOST RECENT HUSBAND/PARTNER

CHECK: CURRENTLY MARRIED, OR LIVING FORMERLY NEVER MARRIED/  S.6
Ref. sheet, WITH A MAN/ENGAGED OR DATING A MARRIED/LIVING NEVER LIVED
Box A MALE PARTNER WITH A MAN/ WITH A MAN
(s5mar) (Options K, L) [ ] ENGAGED OR (NEVER MALE
 DATING A MALE PARTNER)
(1) PARTNER (Option N) [ ]
(Option M) [ ] [ ]
(3)

(2)
501 I would now like you to tell me a little Age (years) ............................ [ ][ ]
about your current/most recent Refused/no answer............................ 99
husband/partner. How old is your
husband/partner (completed years)?
Probe: more or less
if most recent husband/partner died:
How old would he be now if he were
alive?
502 In what year was he born? Year........................ [ ][ ][ ][ ]
Don’t know/don’t remember........... 9998
Refused/no answer........................ 9999
502a Where is he from? Is he from the same Same community/neighbourhood......... 1
community or town as you? Another rural area/village..................... 2
Another town/city.................................. 3
Another country.................................... 4
Other:................................................... 6
Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
Refused/no answer.............................. 9
503 Can (could) he read and write? Yes........................................................ 1
No ........................................................ 2
Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
Refused/no answer.............................. 9
504 Did he ever attend school? Yes........................................................ 1  506
No ........................................................ 2
Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
Refused/no answer.............................. 9
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 127

 (continued)
SECTION 5 CURRENT OR MOST RECENT HUSBAND/PARTNER
505 a. What is the highest level of education Primary ___________ year ................. 1
that he achieved? Mark highest level. Secondary _________ year.................. 2
b. Convert total years in school Higher ____________ year.................. 3
Don’t know............................................ 8
Number of years schooling..... [ ][ ]
Don’t know/don’t remember............... 98
Refused/no answer............................ 99
506 If currently with husband/partner: Is Working ............................................... 1  508
he currently working, looking for work or Looking for work/unemployed.............. 2  508
unemployed, retired or studying? Retired ................................................. 3  509
Student ................................................ 4
If not currently with husband/partner: Disabled/long term sick........................ 5
Towards the end of your relationship Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
was he working, looking for work or Refused/no answer.............................. 9
unemployed, retired or studying?
507 When did his last job finish? Was it in the In the past 4 weeks.............................. 1  509
past 4 weeks, between 4 weeks and 12 4 Wks – 12 months ago........................ 2
months ago, or before that? (For most More than 12 months ago.................... 3
recent husband/partner: in the last 4 Never had a job.................................... 4
weeks or in the last 12 months of your Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
relationship?) Refused/no answer.............................. 9
508 What kind of work does/did he normally Professional:....................................... 01
do? Semi-skilled:....................................... 02
Unskilled/manual:............................... 03
Specify kind of work Military/police:..................................... 04
Other:.....................................................
........................................................... 96
Don’t know/don’t remember............... 98
Refused/no answer............................ 99
509 How often does/did your husband/partner Every day or nearly every day.............. 1  512A
drink alcohol? Once or twice a week........................... 2
1–3 Times in a month........................... 3
a. Every day or nearly every day Less than once a month....................... 4
b. Once or twice a week Never ................................................... 5
c. 1–3 times a month Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
d. Occasionally, less than once a month Refused/no answer.............................. 9
e. Never/
510 In the past 12 months (In the last 12 Most days............................................. 1
months of your last relationship), how Weekly.................................................. 2
often have you seen (did you see) your Once a month....................................... 3
husband/partner drunk? Would you say Less than once a month....................... 4
most days, weekly, once a month, less Never ................................................... 5
than once a month, or never? Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
Refused/no answer.............................. 9
511 In the past 12 months (In the last 12 Yes No Refused/
months of your relationship), have a. Money 1 2 don’t
you experienced any of the following problems 1 2 know
problems, related to your husband/ b. Family 1 2 9
partner’s drinking? problems 9
c. Other: 9
a. Money problems __________
b. Family problems __________
c. Any other problems, specify.
(continued on next page)

128 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 5 CURRENT OR MOST RECENT HUSBAND/PARTNER
512A Does your husband/partner currently or Every day or nearly every day.............. 1
has he ever used marijuana? Once or twice a week........................... 2
1–3 Times in a month........................... 3
1. Would you say: Less than once a month....................... 4
2. Every day or nearly every day Never.................................................... 5
3. Once or twice a week In the past, not now.............................. 6
4. 1–3 times a month Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
5. Occasionally, less than once a month Refused/no answer.............................. 9
6. Never

In countries where appropriate to ask

about drug use. Include local examples
512 Doesyour husband/partner currently or Every day or nearly every day.............. 1
has he ever used other illegal drugs (e.g. Once or twice a week........................... 2
cocaine)? 1–3 Times in a month........................... 3
Less than once a month....................... 4
1. Would you say: Never ................................................... 5
2. Every day or nearly every day In the past, not now.............................. 6
3. Once or twice a week Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
4. 1–3 times a month Refused/no answer.............................. 9
5. Occasionally, less than once a month
6. Never
513 Since you have known him, has he Yes........................................................ 1  515
ever been involved in a physical fight with No ........................................................ 2  515
another man? Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
Refused/no answer.............................. 9
514 In the past 12 months (In the last 12 Never (not in past 12 months).............. 1
months of the relationship), has this Once or twice....................................... 2
happened once or twice, a few times, A few (3–5) times.................................. 3
many times or never? Many (more than 5) times.................... 4
Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
Refused/no answer.............................. 9
515 As far as you know Has your current/ Yes........................................................ 1  1008
most recent husband/partner had a No......................................................... 2  1008
relationship with any other women while May have ............................................. 3
being with you? Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
Refused/no answer.............................. 9
516 As far as you know has your current/ Yes........................................................ 1
most recent husband/partner had No......................................................... 2
children with any other woman while May have.............................................. 3
being with you? Don’t know/don’t remember................. 8
Refused/no answer.............................. 9
As far as you know, was your (most Yes........................................................ 1
recent) husband/partner’s mother hit or No ........................................................ 2
beaten by her husband/partner? Parents did not live together ................ 3
Don’t know ........................................... 8
Refused/no answer.............................. 9
As far as you know, was your (most Yes........................................................ 1
recent) husband/partner himself hit or No......................................................... 2
beaten regularly by someone in his Don’t know............................................ 8
family, when he was a child? Refused/no answer.............................. 9

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 129

 SECTION 6 ATTITUDES
In this community and elsewhere, people have different ideas about men and women, families
and what is acceptable behaviour for men and women in the home. I am going to read you a list
of statements, and I would like you to tell me how much you personally agree or disagree with
the statement. There are no right or wrong answers.
601 Gender norms/roles Agree Disagree Don’t know
a It is the wife’s obligation to have sex with her 1 2 8
husband whenever he wants it, except when
she is sick or menstruating.
b Women and men should share authority in 1 2 8
the family.
c A woman’s most important role is to take care 1 2 8
of her home and cook for her family.
d It is natural (god intended) that men should be 1 2 8
the head of the family.
e A wife should obey her husband even if she 1 2 8
disagrees.
f A woman should be able to spend her own 1 2 8
money according to her own will.
Normalization/acceptability of
602 violence Agree Disagree Don’t Know
a Violence between husband and wife is a 1 2 8
private matter and others should not intervene
c A woman should tolerate violence to keep her 1 2 8
family together
d If a woman is raped, she has usually done 1 2 8
something careless to put herself in that
situation
e If a woman doesn’t physically fight back, you 1 2 8
can’t really call it rape
607 In your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting Yes No DK
or beating his wife in the following situations: a. Goes out 1 2 8
b. Neglects child 1 2 8
a. If she goes out without telling him? c. Argues 1 2 8
b. If she neglects the children? d. No sex 1 2 8
c. If she argues with him? e. Burns food 1 2 8
d. If she refuses to have sex with him? f. Ouside 1 2 8
e. If she burns the food? relationship
f. If he suspects she has an outside
relationship?

130 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

SECTION 7 RESPONDENT AND HER HUSBAND/PARTNER
CHECK: EVER MARRIED/EVER LIVING WITH A NEVER MARRIED/NEVER LIVED WITH A  S.10
Ref. MAN/MALE PARTNER MAN/NEVER MALE PARTNER
sheet, (Options K, L, M) [ ] (Option N) [ ]
Box A  (2)
(s7mar) (1)
When two people marry or live together, they usually share both good and bad moments. I would
now like to ask you some questions about your current and past relationships and how your husband/
partner treats (treated) you. If anyone interrupts us I will change the topic of conversation. I would again
like to assure you that your answers will be kept confidential, and that you do not have to answer any
questions that you do not want to. If you need some time to rest between questions, please let me
know. You do not have to give me any reason for not responding to any question. May I continue?
701 In general, do (did) you Yes No DK
and your (current or most a. His day 1 2 8
recent) husband/partner b. Your day 1 2 8
discuss the following topics c. Your worries 1 2 8
together: d. His worries 1 2 8

a. Things that have

happened to him in the
day
b. Things that happen to
you during the day
c. Your worries or feelings
d. His worries or feelings
702 In your relationship with Rarely .........................................................................................1
your (current or most Sometimes..................................................................................2
recent) husband/partner, Often............................................................................................3
how often would you say Don’t know/don’t remember........................................................8
that you quarrelled? Would Refused/no answer.....................................................................9
you say rarely, sometimes
or often?
703 I am now going to ask you Yes No
about some situations that a. Seeing 1 2
are true for many women. friends
Does your current or most b. Contact 1 2
recent husband/partner family
generally do any of the c. Wants to 1 2
following?: know
d. Jealous or 1 1
a. Stops you from angry
meetingyour female e. Suspicious 1 2
friends f. Health care 1 2
b. Tries to limit contact with g. Money 1 2
your family of birth h. Cellphone 1 2
c. Insists on knowing where
you are at all times
d. Gets jealous or angry if
you talk with another man
e. Frequently accuses you
of being unfaithful
f. Expects you to ask
his permission before
seeking health care for
yourself
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 131

 (continued)
SECTION 7 RESPONDENT AND HER HUSBAND/PARTNER
703 i. Does not trust you with
any money
j. Checks your cellphone
logs/messages to see
who you have called
or messaged/who has
called or messaged you
703N Does your current or most Yes No
recent husband/partner a. Prohibited 1 2
generally do any of the work
following? b. Taken 1 2
earning
a. Prohibits you from getting c. Refused 1 2
a job, going to work, money
trading, earning money
or participating in income
generation projects?
b. Takes your earnings from
you against your will?
c. Refuses to give you
money you needed for
household expenses
even when he has money
for other things (such as
alcohol and cigarettes)?
The next questions are a) b) c) d)
about things that happen to
many women, and that your (If YES Has this In the past Did this happen
current partner, or any other continue with happened 12 months before the past 12
partner may have done to B. in the would you months?
you. If NO skip to past 12 say that this
next item) months? has happened If yes: would you
Has your current husband/ (If YES once, a few say that this has
partner, or any other ask C times or many happened once, a
partner ever…. and D. If times? few times or many
NO ask D times?
only)

a. Insulted you or made you Yes No Yes No One Few Many No One Few Many
feel bad about yourself?
b. Belittled or humiliated 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
you in front of other 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
people? 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
c. Done things to scare 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
or intimidate you on
purpose (e.g. by the
way he looked at you,
by yelling and smashing
things)?
d. Verbally threatened to
hurt you or someone you
care about?
(continued on next page)

132 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 7 RESPONDENT AND HER HUSBAND/PARTNER
Check: Mark when yes for any act Mark when all answers no circled (only “2” circled in  705
Question (at least one “1” circled in column a) [ ]
704 column a)
[ ]

704 e Who did the things you Current/most recent husband/partner........................................ 1
just mentioned happen? Previous husband/partner.......................................................... 2
(Mention acts reported in Both............................................................................................ 3
704) Was it your current Don’t know/don’t remember....................................................... 8
or most recent husband/ Refused/no answer.................................................................... 9
partner, any other husband
or partner that you may
have had before or both?
705 Has he or any a) b) c) d)
other partner (If YES Has this In the past 12 Did this happen
ever…. continue happened in months would you before the past 12
with B. the past 12 say that this has months?
If NO skip months? happened once, a If yes: would you
to next (If YES ask C few times or many say that this has
item) and D. If NO times? happened once, a
ask D only) few times or many
times?

Yes No Yes No One Few Many No One Few Many

a. Slapped you 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
or thrown
something at
you that could
hurt you?
b. Pushed you or 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
shoved you or
pulled your hair?
c. Hit you with 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
his fist or with
something else
that could hurt
you?
d. Kicked you, 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
dragged you or
beaten you up?
e. Choked or burnt 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
you on purpose?
f. Threatened you 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
with or actually
used a gun,
knife or other
weapon against
you?
Check: Mark when yes for Mark when  706
Question any act (at least all answers
705 one “1” circled in no circled
column a) (only “2”
[ ] circled in
 column a)
[ ]
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 133

 (continued)
SECTION 7 RESPONDENT AND HER HUSBAND/PARTNER
705 g Who did the things you just Current/most recent husband/partner.................................... 1
mentioned? (Mention acts Previous husband/partner...................................................... 2
reported in 705) Was it your Both........................................................................................ 3
current or most recent husband/ Don’t know/don’t remember................................................... 8
partner, any other husband or Refused/no answer................................................................ 9
partner that you may have had
before or both?
706 a) b) c) d)
(If YES Has this In the past 12 Did this happen
continue happened in months would you before the past 12
with B. the past 12 say that this has months?
If NO months? happened once, a If yes: would you
skip to (If YES ask few times or many say that this has
next C and D. If times? happened once, a few
item) NO ask D times or many times?
only)

706 a. Did your Yes No Yes No One Few Many No One Few Many
current partner 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
or any other
partner ever
force you to
have sexual
intercourse
when you did
not want to,
for example by
threatening you
or holding you
down?
If necessary:
We define
sexual
intercourse as
vaginal, oral or
anal penetration.
b. Did you ever 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
have sexual
intercourse you
did not want to
because you
were afraid
of what your
current partner
or any other
partner might do
if you refused?
For example,
because you
were intimidated
by him or afraid
he would hurt
you?
(continued on next page)

134 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 7 RESPONDENT AND HER HUSBAND/PARTNER
c. Did your current 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
partner or any
other partner
ever force you to
do anything else
sexual that you
did not want or
that you found
degrading or
humiliating?
CHECK: Mark when yes for any act (at least one “1” Mark when all answers no circled (only  707
Question circled in column a) “2” circled in column a)
706 [ ] [ ]

706 d Who did the things you just mentioned? Current/most recent husband/partner..........1
(Mention acts reported in 706) Was this your Previous husband/partner............................2
current or most recent husband/partner, any Both..............................................................3
other husband or partner that you may have Don’t know/don’t remember.........................8
had before or both? Refused/no answer......................................9
Verify whether answered yes to any question Yes, physical violence .................................1 Mark
on physical violence, see question 705 No physical violence ....................................2 in box
c
Verify whether answered yes to any Yes, sexual violence ....................................1 Mark
question on sexual violence, No sexual violence ......................................2 in box
see question 706 c
708a Are you afraid of your current/most recent Never............................................................1
husband or partner? Would you say never, Sometimes...................................................2
sometimes, many times, most/all of the time? Many times...................................................3
Most/all of the times.....................................4
Don’t know/don’t remember.........................8
Refused/no answer......................................9
CHECK: (s7preg) Ever been pregnant (option p) Never pregnant  s8
Ref. (s7prnum) (1) [ ] (2) [ ]
sheet, (s7prcur) 
Box B
Number of pregnancies (option t) [ ][ ]
[ ]


Currently pregnant? (Option s) yes….1

No…. 2

709 You said that you have been pregnant TOTAL Yes................................................................1  S8
times. Was there ever a time when you were No.................................................................2  S8
pushed, slapped, hit, kicked or beaten by (any Don’t know/don’t remember.........................8  S8
of) your husband/partner(s) while you were Refused/no answer......................................9
pregnant?
710 If respondent was pregnant only once, enter Number of pregnancies in
“01” which this happened.......................[ ][ ]

If respondent was pregnant more than once:

Did this happen in one pregnancy, or more than
one pregnancy? In how many pregnancies did
this happen (in how many pregnancies were
you pushed, slapped, hit, kicked or beaten)?
(continued on next page)

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 (continued)
SECTION 7 RESPONDENT AND HER HUSBAND/PARTNER
710a Did this happen in the last pregnancy? Yes................................................................1
No.................................................................2
If respondent was pregnant only once, Don’t know/don’t remember.........................8
circle code ‘1’. Refused/no answer......................................9
711 Were you ever punched or kicked in the Yes................................................................1
abdomen while you were pregnant? No.................................................................2
Don’t know/don’t remember.........................8
Refused/no answer......................................9
If violence reported in one pregnancy, refer to that particular pregnancy
If violence reported in more than one pregnancy, the following questions refer to the last/most recent
pregnancy in which violence reported
712 During the most Yes................................................................1
recent pregnancy No.................................................................2
in which you were Don’t know/don’t remember.........................8
beaten, was the Refused/
husband/partner no answer.....................................................9
who did this to you
the father of the
child?
713 Was the man Yes................................................................1
who did this your No.................................................................2
current or most Don’t know/don’t remember.........................8
recent husband/ Refused/
partner? no answer.....................................................9
714 Had the same Yes................................................................1  S8
person also done No ................................................................2  S8
such things to you Don’t know/don’t remember.........................8
before you were Refused/
pregnant? no answer.....................................................9
715 Compared to Got less........................................................1
before you were Stayed about the same................................2
pregnant, did the Got worse.....................................................3
slapping/beating Don’t know/
(REFER TO don’t remember............................................8
RESPONDENT’S Refused/
PREVIOUS no answer.....................................................9
ANSWERS) get
less, stay about
the same, or get
worse while you
were pregnant?
By worse I mean,
more frequent or
more severe.

136 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

SECTION 8 INJURIES
Check: WOMAN EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL AND/OR SEXUAL WOMAN HAS NOT  S.10
Ref. sheet VIOLENCE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL
Box C (“YES” TO Option U or V)          [ ] OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE
(S8phsex)       (“NO” to BOTH Option U
(1) and V)
 [ ] 
(2)
I would now like to learn more about the injuries that you experienced from (any of) your
husband/partner’s acts that we have talked about (may need to refer to specific acts
respondent mentioned in section 7). By injury, I mean any form of physical harm,
including cuts, sprains, burns, broken bones or broken teeth, or other things like this.
801 Have you ever been injured as a result of these acts by Yes..................................... 1  805a
(any of) your husband/partner(s). Please think of the acts No...................................... 2
that we talked about before. Don’t know/don’t
remember.......................... 8
Refused/no answer........... 9
802a In your life, how many times were you injured by (any of) Once.................................. 1
your husband(s)/partner(s)? Several (2–5) times........... 2
Would you say once, several times or many times? Many (more than 5)
times.................................. 3
Don’t know/don’t
remember.......................... 8
Refused/no answer........... 9
802b Has this happened Yes..................................... 1
in the past 12 No...................................... 2
months? Don’t know/don’t
remember.......................... 8
Refused/no answer........... 9
803a What type of injury b) only ask for responses
did you have? marked in 803a:
Please mention any Has this happened in the
injury due to (any past 12 months?
of) your husband/
partners acts, no YES NO DK
matter how long ago Cuts, bites..................................... a 1 2 8
it happened. Scratch, abrasion, bruises............. b 1 2 8
Mark all Sprains, dislocations..................... c 1 2 8
probe: Burns............................................. d 1 2 8
Any other injury? Penetrating injury, deep cuts,
gashes........................................... e 1 2 8
Broken eardrum, eye injuries......... f 1 2 8
Fractures, broken bones............... g 1 2 8
Broken teeth.................................. h 1 2 8

Internal injuries............................... i 1 2 8
Other (specify):................................ 1 2 8
...................................................... x
(continued on next page)

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 (continued)
SECTION 8 INJURIES
805a In your life, were you ever hurt badly enough by (any Times needed  S.9
of) your husband/partner(s) that you needed health care health care............. [ ][ ]
(even if you did not receive it)? Don’t know/
If yes: How many times? If not sure: More or less? don’t remember................. 98
Refused/no answer........... 99
Not needed........................ 00
805b Has this happened in the past 12 months? Yes....................................... 1
No........................................ 2
Don’t know/
don’t remember................... 8
Refused/no answer............. 9
806 In your life, did you ever receive health care for this injury Yes, sometimes................... 1  S.9
(these injuries)? Would you say, sometimes or always or Yes, always.......................... 2
never? No, never............................. 3
Don’t know/
don’t remember................... 8
Refused/no answer............. 9
807 In your life, have you ever had to spend any nights in a Number of nights
hospital due to the injury/injuries? in hospital.............. [ ][ ]
If yes: How many nights? (More or less) If none enter ‘00’
Don’t know/
don’t remember................. 98
Refused/no answer........... 99
808 Did you tell a health worker the real cause of your injury? Yes....................................... 1
No........................................ 2
Don’t know/
don’t remember................... 8
Refused/no answer............. 9

SECTION 9 IMPACT AND COPING

This section is for women who report physical or sexual violence by husband/partner.
I would now like to ask you some questions about what effects your husband/partner’s acts have had on you.
By acts I mean… (refer to specific acts the respondent has mentioned in section 7).
If reported more than one violent husband/partner, add: I would like you to answer these questions in
relation to the most recent/last husband/partner who did these things to you.
CHECK: WOMAN EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE WOMAN HAS EXPERIENCED  906
Ref. sheet (“YES” TO Option U) SEXUAL VIOLENCE ONLY
Box C  [ ] (“NO” to Option U and “YES” to
(S9phys)  option V)
(1)
[ ]
(2)
Are there any particular situations that tend to lead No particular reason.......................a
to (or trigger) your husband/partner’s behaviour? When man drunk............................b
Refer to acts of physical violence mentioned Money problems.............................c
before. Difficulties at his work.....................d
When he is unemployed.................e
Probe: Any other situation? No food at home..............................f
Problems with his or her family......g
Mark all mentioned She is pregnant..............................h
He is jealous of her..........................i
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138 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 9 IMPACT AND COPING
901 She refuses sex...............................j
She is disobedient..........................k
He wants to teach her a lesson,
educate or discipline her.................l
He want to show he is boss ..........m
Other (specify):.................................
.......................................................x
CHECK: CHILDREN LIVING [ ] NO CHILDREN ALIVE [ ]   906
(Ref.  (2)
sheet, (1)
Box B,
option R)
(s9child)
902 For any of these incidents, were your children Never..............................................1
present or did they overhear you being beaten? Once...............................................2
If yes: How often? Would you say once, several Several (2–5) times........................3
times or most of the time? Many times/most of the time..........4
Don’t know......................................8
Refused/no answer........................9
904 During the times that you were hit, did you ever fight Never..............................................1  905
back physically or to defend yourself? Once...............................................2
If yes: How often? Would you say once, several Several(2–5) times.........................3
times or most of the time? Many times/most of the time..........4
Don’t know/don’t remember...........8
Refused/no answer........................9
904a What was the effect of you fighting back on the No change/no effect.......................1
violence at the time? Would you say, that it had no Violence became worse.................2
effect, the violence became worse, the violence Violence became less.....................3
became less, or that the violence stopped, at least Violence stopped............................4
for the moment. Don’t know/don’t remember...........8
Refused/no answer........................9
905 Have you ever, hit or beaten your husband/partner Never..............................................1
when he was not hitting or beating you? Once ..............................................2
If yes: How often? Would you say once, several 2–5 Times.......................................3
times or many times? > 5 Times........................................4
Don’t know/don’t remember...........8
Refused/no answer........................9
906 Would you say that your husband/partner’s No effect.........................................1
behaviour towards you has affected your physical A little..............................................2
health? Would you say, that it has had no effect, a A lot................................................3
little effect or a large effect? Don’t know/don’t remember...........8
Refer to specific acts of physical and/or sexual Refused/no answer........................9
violence she described earlier
907 In what way, if any, has your husband/partner’s N/a (no work for money).................a
behaviour (the violence) disrupted your work or Work not disrupted.........................b
other income-generating activities? Husband/partner interrupted
Mark all that apply work................................................c
Unable to concentrate....................d
Unable to work/sick leave...............e
Lost confidence in own ability..........f
Other (specify):.................................
.......................................................x
(continued on next page)

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 (continued)
SECTION 9 IMPACT AND COPING
908 Whom have you told about his behaviour? No one............................................a
Mark all mentioned Friends...........................................b
Probe: Anyone else? Mother............................................c
Father.............................................o
Brother or sister..............................d
Uncle or aunt..................................e
Husband/partner’s family.................f
Children..........................................g
Neighbours.....................................h
Police...............................................i
Doctor/health worker.......................j
Priest/religious leader.....................k
Counsellor.......................................l
Ngo/women’s organization............m
Community leader..........................n
Other (specify):.................................
.......................................................x
909 Did you ever seek help from anyone for your No one............................................a
situation? Friends...........................................b
If yes, whom did you ask for help? Parents...........................................c
Mark all mentioned Brother or sister..............................d
Probe: Anyone else? Uncle or aunt..................................e
Husband/partner’s family.................f
Children..........................................g
Neighbours.....................................h
Police...............................................i
Doctor/health worker.......................j
Priest/religious leader.....................k
Counsellor.......................................l
Ngo/women’s organization............m
Local leader....................................n
Other (specify):.................................
.......................................................x
910a Did you ever go to any of the Police 910 b.
following for help? read each Hospital/hC ASK ONLY
one Social Services FOR THOSE
Community drop-in MARKED YES
a. Police Court/magistrate in 910a.
b. Hospital or health center Were you
c. Social Services satisfied with
d. Court/Magistrate the help given?
e. Hotline (800-SAVE)
f. Women’s Shelter
g. Women’s organization,
specify
­________________
h. Community Drop-in centre
Yes No Yes No
a. Police 1 2 1 2
b. Hospital/Health center 1 2 1 2
c. Social services 1 2 1 2
d. Court/magistrate 1 2 1 2
e. Hotline (800-Save) 1 2 1 2
f. Women’s shelter 1 2 1 2
g. Women’s organization 1 2 1 2
h. Community drop-in centre 1 2 1 2
(continued on next page)

140 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 9 IMPACT AND COPING
CHECK: MARK WHEN YES FOR MARK WHEN ALL ANSWERS NO CIRCLED (ONLY  912
Question ANY IN Q. 910a (AT LEAST “2” CIRCLED **) [ ]
910a * ** ONE “1” CIRCLED IN (2)
(s9check) COLUMN MARKED WITH *)
[ ]

(1)
911 What were the reasons that Encouraged by friends/family........................................... A For all
made you go for help? Could not endure more.....................................................B options
Badly injured.....................................................................C go to
Mark all mentioned and go He threatened or tried to kill her.......................................D 913
to 913 He threatened or hit children............................................E
Saw that children suffering............................................... F
Thrown out of the home.................................................. G
Afraid she would kill him...................................................H
Afraid he would kill her ..................................................... I
Afraid he would hit her/more violence.............................. J
Other (Specify):..................................................................
.........................................................................................X
912 What were the reasons that Don’t know/no answer...................................................... A
you did not go to any of Fear of threats/consequences/
these? More violence...................................................................B
Violence normal/not serious.............................................C
Mark all mentioned Embarrassed/ashamed/afraid would
not be believed or would be blamed ................................D
Believed not help/know other women not helped.............E
Afraid would end relationship .......................................... F
Afraid would lose children............................................... G
Bring bad name to family .................................................H
Did not know her options................................................... I
Other (Specify):..................................................................
.........................................................................................X
913 Is there anyone that you No one mentioned............................................................ A
would like (have liked) to His relatives......................................................................B
receive (more) help from? Her relatives.....................................................................C
Who? Friends/neighbours...........................................................D
Health centre....................................................................E
Mark all mentioned Police................................................................................ F
Priest/religious leader...................................................... G
Social worker .................................................................... I
Other (Specify):..................................................................
.........................................................................................X
914 Did you ever leave, even if Number of times left........................................... [ ][ ]  919
only overnight, because of Never.............................................................................. 00  S.10
his behaviour? N.A. (not living together) ................................................ 97
Don’t know/don’t remember........................................... 98
If Yes: How many times? Refused/no answer........................................................ 99
(More or less)
(continued on next page)

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 (continued)
SECTION 9 IMPACT AND COPING
915 What were the reasons why No particular incident........................................................ A
you left the last time? Encouraged by friends/family...........................................B
Could not endure more.....................................................C
Mark all mentioned Badly Injured....................................................................D
He threatened or tried to kill her.......................................E
He threatened or hit children............................................ F
Saw that children suffering.............................................. G
Thrown out of the home...................................................H
Afraid she would kill him.................................................... I
Encouraged by organization:............................................ J
Afraid he would kill her ....................................................K
Other (Specify):..................................................................
......................................................................................... x
916 Where did you go the last Her relatives................................................................... 01
time? His relatives.................................................................... 02
Her friends/neighbours................................................... 03
Mark one Hotel/lodgings................................................................. 04
Street.............................................................................. 05
Church/temple................................................................ 06
Shelter............................................................................ 07
Other (Specify):.............................................................. 96
Don’t know/don’t remember........................................... 98
Refused/no answer........................................................ 99
917 How long did you stay away Number of days (if less than 1 month).......... [ ][ ] ..1  S.10
the last time? Number of months (if 1 month or more)........ [ ][ ] ..2
Left husband/partner / did not return/
Record number of days or Not with husband/partner ................................................ 3
months
918 What were the reasons that Didn’t want to leave children............................................ A For all
you returned? Holiness of marriage........................................................B options
For sake of family/children go to
Mark all mentioned and go (Family honour)................................................................C section
to section 10 Couldn’t support children..................................................D 10
Loved him.........................................................................E
He asked her to go back.................................................. F
Family said to return........................................................ G
Forgave him.....................................................................H
Thought he would change................................................. I
Threatened her/children................................................... J
Could not stay there (where she went).............................K
Violence normal/not serious ............................................ L
The children need a father/both parents ........................ M
Other (Specify):..................................................................
.........................................................................................X
919 What were the reasons that Didn’t want to leave children............................................ A
made you stay? Holiness of marriage .......................................................B
Didn’t want to bring shame on family ..............................C
Mark all mentioned Couldn’t support children..................................................D
Loved him.........................................................................E
Didn’t want to be single.................................................... F
Family said to stay........................................................... G
Forgave him.....................................................................H
Thought he would change................................................. I
(continued on next page)

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(continued)
SECTION 9 IMPACT AND COPING
919 Threatened her/children................................................... J
Nowhere to go..................................................................K
Violence normal/not serious ............................................ L
The children need a father/both parents......................... M
Other (Specify):..................................................................
.........................................................................................X

SECTION 10 OTHER EXPERIENCES

N01 Read to respondent:
In their lives, many women have unwanted experiences and experience different forms of
maltreatment and violence from all kinds of people. These may be relatives, other people that they
know, and/or strangers. If you don’t mind, I would like to ask you about some of these situations.
Everything that you say will be kept confidential. I will first ask about what has happened in your whole
life, and thereafter during the past 12 months.
FOR WOMEN WHO WERE EVER MARRIED OR PARTNERED ADD: These questions are about
people other than your husband/partner(s).
N06 A) B) C) D)
(If YES Has this In the past 12 Did this happen before the
continue happened in months would you past 12 months?
with B. the past 12 say that this has If yes: would you say that
If NO skip months? happened once, a this has happened once, a
to next (If YES ask few times or many few times or many times?
item) C and D. If times?
NO ask D
only)
Yes No Yes No One Few Many No One Few Many
a. During your 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
whole life,
including when
you were a child
has any male
person except
any husband/
male partner
ever forced
you into sexual
intercourse when
you did not want
to, for example by
threatening you,
holding you down,
or putting you in
a situation where
you could not say
no. Remember to
include people you
have known, as
well as strangers.
Please at this point
exclude attempts
to force you.
(continued on next page)

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 143

 (continued)
SECTION 10 OTHER EXPERIENCES
b. Has a man who 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
was not a husband
or boyfriend ever
forced you to
have sex with
when you were too
drunk or drugged
to refuse?
If necessary:
We define sexual
intercourse as
penetration (when a
man puts his penis,
other body part, or
an object inside) of
a vagina, mouth or
anus.
Note that this
question is about
rapes that actually
happened
CHECK AT LEAST ONE ‘YES’ (‘1’) MARKED IN COLUMN A. ONLY ‘NO’ (‘2’)  N08
[ ] MARKED
[ ]
N07 a) Who did this to you [Mention acts above]? b) How old were c) How old was
Probe: you when it this person?
Anyone else? How about a relative? happened with this PROBE:
How about someone at school or work? person for the first roughly
How about a friend or neighbour? A stranger or anyone else? time? (more or (more or less).
less)
Do not read out the list
Mark letter for all mentioned
Make sure that the person perpetrating this abuse was not
already covered in section 7

Father....................................................................................... a [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Father-in-law............................................................................ b [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Sibling (brother or sister) ......................................................... c [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Other family member ............................................................... d [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Someone at work..................................................................... e [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Friend/acquaintance ................................................................. f [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Recent acquaintance................................................................ g [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Complete stranger.................................................................... h [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Teacher ..................................................................................... i [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Doctor/health staff..................................................................... j [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Religious leader........................................................................ k [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Police/soldier............................................................................. l [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Boyfriend (not mentioned in section 7).................................... m [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Other (specify).......................................................................... x [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
DK = 98
(continued on next page)

144 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 10 OTHER EXPERIENCES
N07e I am now going to ask you about your Less than one year ago ..................................1
experience of forced sex, when was the Between one and five years ago ....................2
most recent incident that you were forced to Longer than five years ago .............................3
have sex? Refused/no answer.........................................9
N07f Did you report the incident to the police? Yes...................................................................1  N07i
No....................................................................2
Refused/no answer.........................................9
N07g How did the police respond? They opened a case........................................1
COUNTRY SPECIFIC CODING They sent me away.........................................2
Other...............................................................3
Refused/no answer.........................................9
N07h Was the person who did this to you arrested Not arrested.....................................................1
and convicted? Arrested but not convicted...............................2
Convicted........................................................3
Refused/no answer.........................................9
N07i Did you report it to a health service (doctor Yes...................................................................1  N07l
or nurse)? No....................................................................2
Refused/no answer.........................................9
N07j Were you offered any medication/treatment Yes...................................................................1
for preventing pregnancy? No....................................................................2
Don’t know.......................................................8
Refused/no answer.........................................9
N07k Were you offered any medication/treatment Yes...................................................................1
for preventing transmission of HIV (PEP)? No....................................................................2
Don’t know.......................................................8
Refused/no answer.........................................9
N07l Did you receive (formal) counselling Yes...................................................................1
with regards to the incident that you No....................................................................2
experienced? Refused/no answer.........................................9
N07m Did you tell anyone in your family about the No one.............................................................a  N08
incident? Female member of your family of birth............b
Anyone else, such as a friend or neighbour? Male member of your family of birth................c
Female member of your in-laws......................d
Male member of your in-laws..........................e
Your child/children............................................f
Friend/neighbour.............................................g
Other (specify):..................................................
........................................................................x
N07n How did they respond? Blamed me for it..............................................a
Anything else? Supported me..................................................b
Were indifferent...............................................c
Told me to keep it quiet ..................................d
Advised to report to police...............................e
Other (specify):..................................................
........................................................................x

(continued on next page)

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 (continued)
SECTION 10 OTHER EXPERIENCES
N08 I want you to think about any male person. A. B. Has this happened in
For women who ever had a partner add: except the past 12 months?
your husband/male partner.
Apart from anything you may have mentioned, can
you tell me if, in your whole life, if any male person
has done the following to you? Remember to include
people you have known, as well as strangers. Yes No Yes No DK
a. Has anyone attempted but NOT succeeded to 1 2 1 2 8
force you into sexual intercourse when you did
not want to, for example by holding you down or
putting you in a situation where you could not say
no?
b. Has anyone touched you sexually when you 1 2 1 2 8
did not want them to. This includes for example
touching of breasts or private parts?

c. Has anyone made you touch their private parts 1 2 1 2 8

against your will?
N09 Now, I want you to think about any male or female B. If yes: What was the
person. sex of the person or
For women who ever had a partner add: except people who did this?
your husband/male partner. Yes No Male Female Both
Apart from anything you may have mentioned, can
you tell me if, in your whole life, any person, male 1 2 1 2 8
or female has done the following to you?
Have you ever been asked to perform sexual acts
against your will in order to get a job or keep your
job, or to get promoted?
N09 a. Have you ever been asked to perform sexual acts 1 2 1 2 8
against your will in order to pass an exam or get
good grades at school?
b. Have you ever been groped, sexually touched, or 1 2 1 2 8
had someone rubbed against you in the bus or
another public space?
c. Have you ever received personal electronic 1 2 1 2 8
messages with sexual content (e.g. remarks,
invitations, pictures) that were hurtful to you or
made you feel uncomfortable? For example,
via Facebook, Whatsapp, cellphone, e-mail,
excluding spam
N10 In the past 12 months, have you become sexually Yes…………………………................……........1
involved with someone because they provided you No………………………………..........................2
with, or you expected that they would provide you Don’t know........................................................8
with, gifts, help you to pay for things, or help you in Refused/no answer..........................................9
other ways?
(continued on next page)

146 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 10 OTHER EXPERIENCES
1004 How old were you when you first had sexual Age years (more or less)......... [ ][ ]  1006
intercourse? Not had sex.......................................... 95
If necessary: We define sexual intercourse as Refused/no answer............................... 99
vaginal, oral or anal penetration.
1005 How would you describe the first time that you Wanted to have sex ................................ 1
had sexual intercourse? Would you say that you Not want but had sex .............................. 2
wanted to have sex, you did not want to have Forced to have sex ................................. 3
sex but it happened anyway, or were you forced Don’t know/don’t remember.................... 8
to have sex? Refused/no answer................................. 9
1005c The first time you had sexual intercourse, was (Future) husband/partner…..................... 1
this with your (future) husband/cohabiting Someone else more or less your
partner, or was it with someone else? own age .................................................. 2
If someone else: Was he your age or was he Someone else who was older................. 3
older? Someone else who was younger............ 4
Refused/no answer ................................ 9
1006 If over 18 Yes........................................................... 1
When you were a child (under the age of 18), No............................................................ 2
was your mother hit by your father (or her Don’t know............................................... 8
husband or boyfriend)? Refused/no answer................................. 9
If under 18
Was your mother ever hit by your father (or her
husband or boyfriend)?
1006a If over 18 Yes........................................................... 1
When you were under the age of 18, were you No............................................................ 2
were beaten so hard at home that it left a mark Don’t know............................................... 8
or bruise? Refused/no answer................................. 9
If under 18
Were you ever beaten so hard at home that it left
a mark or bruise?
1006b If over 18 Yes........................................................... 1
When you were under the age of 18, were you No............................................................ 2
insulted or humiliated by someone in your family Don’t know............................................... 8
in front of other people? Refused/no answer................................. 9
If under 18
Were you insulted or humiliated by someone in
your family in front of other people?

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 147

 SECTION 11 COMPLETION OF INTERVIEW
1201 I would now like to give you a card. On this card are two pictures. No other Card given for
information is written on the card. The first picture is of a sad face, the second completion1
is of a happy face.
Card not given for
No matter what you have already told me, I would like you to put a mark below completion2
the sad face if someone has ever touched you sexually against your will, or
made you do something sexual that you didn’t want to, before you were 18
years old (when you were a girl younger than 18 years old).

For example, has any of these things ever happened to you?

• touching of breasts or private parts

• making sexual remarks or showing sexual explicit pictures against your will
• making you touch their private parts
• having sex or trying to have sex with you
Please put a mark below the happy face if this has never happened to you.
Once you have marked the card, please fold it over and put it in this envelope.
This will ensure that I do not know your answer.

Give respondent card and pen. Make sure that the respondent folds the card;
puts it in the envelope; and seals the envelope before giving it back to you.
On leaving the interview securely attach the envelope to the questionnaire (or
write the questionnaire code on the envelope).
1202 We have now finished the interview. Do you have any comments, or is there
anything else you would like to add?
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1202a Do you have any recommendations or suggestions that could help to stop
domestic violence against women in this country?
______________________________________________________________
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(continued on next page)

148 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

(continued)
SECTION 11 COMPLETION OF INTERVIEW
I have asked you about many difficult things. How has talking about these Good/better1
things made you feel? Bad/worse2
Same/
Write down any specific response given by respondent no difference 3
______________________________________________________________
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Finally, do you agree that we may contact you again if we need to ask a few Yes1
more questions for clarification? No2
Countries to specify time period depending on when they plan to do
quality control visits
Finish one – if respondent has disclosed problems/violence

I would like to thank you very much for helping us. I appreciate the time that
you have taken. I realize that these questions may have been difficult for you
to answer, but it is only by hearing from women themselves that we can really
understand about their health and experiences of violence.

From what you have told us, I can tell that you have had some very difficult
times in your life. No one has the right to treat someone else in that way.
However, from what you have told me I can see also that you are strong, and
have survived through some difficult circumstances.

Here is a list of organizations that provide support, legal advice and

counselling services to women in STUDY LOCATION. Please do contact them
if you would like to talk over your situation with anyone. Their services are free,
and they will keep anything that you say confidential. You can go whenever
you feel ready to, either soon or later on.
Finish two – if respondent has not disclosed problems/violence

I would like to thank you very much for helping us. I appreciate the time that
you have taken. I realize that these questions may have been difficult for you
to answer, but it is only by hearing from women themselves that we can really
understand about women’s health and experiences in life.
In case you ever hear of another woman who needs help, here is a list of
organizations that provide support, legal advice and counselling services to
women in study location. Please do contact them if you or any of your friends
or relatives need help. Their services are free, and they will keep anything that
anyone says to them confidential.
1205 Record time of end of interview: HH:MM [ ][ ]:[ ][ ] (00–24 h)
1206 Ask the respondent. How long did you think the interview lasted? This should be her own estimate
Hours [ ]   minutes [ ][ ]

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 149

 INTERVIEWER COMMENTS TO BE COMPLETED AFTER INTERVIEW
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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For office use only: 3 Not clear
1 Sad 4 Card empty
2 Happy 5 No card

150 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Reference sheet (this will be used if violence questions applied to all women who ever
had a husband/partner, current or past)

Box A. Marital Status

Copy exactly from Q119 and 120. Follow arrows and mark only ONE of the following for
marital status:

119 Are you currently Currently married and living [ ] Currently married and/or
married, living together together.......................................... 1 living with man (K)
or involved in a Currently married not living
relationship with a man together.......................................... 2
without living together? Living with man, not married.......... 3

Currently having a regular [ ] Currently with regular

partner (engaged, dating), partner; dating relationship (L)
not living together........................... 4

Not currently married or living [ ] Previously married/

with a man (not involved in a previously lived with man; no
relationship with a man)................. 5 current (dating) relationship
(M1)
Currently having female partner..... 6
120a Have you ever been Yes, married................................... 1 [ ] Previously had
married or lived with a Lived with a man, not married….... .3 (dating) relationship (M2)
male partner? No .................................................. 5
[ ] Never married/never
120b Have you ever Yes……………................................ 1 lived with man; never (dating )
been involved in a No…............................................... 2 relationship (N)
relationship with a man
without living together
(such as being
engaged or dating)?
123 Number of times married/lived together with man: [ ][ ] (O)

Box B. Reproductive History

Check and complete ALL that applies for reproductive history of respondent:

Respondent has been pregnant at least once (Question 308, 1 or more) [ ] Yes [ ] No
Respondent had at least one child born alive (Question 301, 1 or more) [ ] Yes [ ] No
Respondent has children who are alive (Question 303, 1 or more) [ ] Yes [ ] No
Respondent is currently pregnant (Question 310, option 1) [ ] Yes [ ] No
Number of pregnancies reported (Question 308): [ ][ ]

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 151

 Box C. Violence by Husband/Partner
Check and complete ALL that applies for respondent:

Respondent has been victim of physical violence (Question 707) [ ] Yes [ ] No

Respondent has been victim of sexual violence (Question 708) [ ] Yes [ ] No

152 NATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH SURVEY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

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