Exposure to interparental violence and risk of intimate partner violence among women in sexual unions in sub-Saharan Africa

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has emerged as a serious human rights issue as well as a public health concern globally. We examined the association between exposure to interparental violence and experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) among women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data.

METHODS

We included 96 782 women in 23 countries with a recent DHS dataset conducted from 2012 to 2020. We employed multivariable multinomial logistic regression to examine the association between exposure to interparental violence and experience of IPV.

RESULTS

Overall, women who were exposed to interparental violence were more likely to experience physical (adjusted OR [aOR]=2.17, 95% CI 2.07 to 2.28), emotional (aOR=1.87, 95% CI 1.78 to 1.96) and sexual violence (aOR=2.02, 95% CI 1.90 to 2.15) than those who were not exposed. In all countries except Comoros, women exposed to interparental violence had higher odds of physical and emotional violence than those who were not exposed. Experience of sexual violence was higher among women exposed to interparental violence from all countries except for Liberia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

CONCLUSIONS

Women's exposure to interparental violence increases their risk of experiencing IPV. Policies should focus on women or young girls who who witness IPV to reduce their likelihood of experiencing it. Special support can be provided for women who were exposed to interparental violence and are currently experiencing IPV.

Prevalence and predictors of gender-based violence among Wolkite University female students, southwest Ethiopia, 2021: Cross-sectional study

Background

Gender-based violence is an important topic that needs to be taken into account when identifying gender-related gaps and disadvantages that a person might face because of their gender. Violence against women could result in psychological and physical adverse outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence and predictors of gender-based violence among female students at Wolkite University, southwest Ethiopia, 2021.

Method

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 393 female students and the students were selected by using a systematic sampling method. Data were checked for completeness and entered into EpiData version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS version 23 for further analysis. Binary and multivariable logistic regressions were employed to determine the prevalence and predictors of gender-based violence. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) at a p-value of ≤0.05 was used to check statistical association.

Result

In this study, the overall prevalence of gender-based violence among female students was 46.2%. The prevalence of physical violence and sexual violence was 56.1% and 47.0%, respectively. Factors that were significantly associated with gender-based violence among female university students were: being a 2nd-year student or having a lower educational level [AOR = 2.56 (95% CI, 1.06-6.17)], being married or living with a male partner [AOR = 3.35 (95% CI, 1.07-10.5], having a father with no formal education [AOR = 15.46 (95% CI, 5.204-45.39)], having a drinking habit [AOR = 2.53 (95% CI, 1.21-6.30)] and not being able to freely discuss issues with their families [AOR = 2.48 (95% CI, 1.27-4.84)].

Conclusions and recommendations

The result of this study showed that more than one-third of the participants were exposed to gender-based violence. Thus, gender-based violence is an important topic deserving of more consideration; further investigations are important to decrease gender-based violence among university students.

Examining the relationship between physical and sexual violence and psychosocial health in young people living with HIV in rural South Africa

Introduction

Experiences of violence during youth contravene young people’s rights and increase the risk of depression and poor human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care outcomes among youth living with HIV (YLWH). Intervention targets for mitigating the negative psychosocial effects of violence are needed, particularly in areas like rural South Africa where violence remains pervasive and mental healthcare is limited. This study aims to quantify the associations between physical and sexual violence and depressive symptoms in YLWH in rural South Africa and explore the modification of these associations by key measures of psychosocial well‐being.

Methods

We conducted a cross‐sectional survey among 362 YLWH ages 12 to 24 in rural South Africa to ascertain participants’ history of physical and sexual violence, current depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies‐Depression Scale) and levels of social support (Medical Outcomes Social Support Scale), resilience (Conner‐Davidson Resilience Scale) and self‐esteem (Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale). Log‐binomial regression was used to estimate the association between history of physical or sexual violence and clinically meaningful depressive symptoms (scores ≥16). Effect measure modification by high versus low resilience, social support and self‐esteem was assessed using likelihood ratio tests (α = 0.20).

Results

A total of 334 individuals with a median age of 21 (interquartile range: 16 to 23) were included in this analysis. Most participants were female (71.3%), single (81.4%) and attending school (53.0%). Ninety‐four participants (28.1%) reported a history of physical or sexual violence and 92 individuals (27.5%) had clinically meaningful depressive symptoms. Meaningful depressive symptoms were significantly higher among participants with a history of physical or sexual violence as compared to those with no history of violence (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.43, 2.83). However, this association was significantly modified by social support (p = 0.04) and self‐esteem (p = 0.02).

Conclusions

In this setting, the prevalence of meaningful depressive symptoms was significantly higher among YLWH with a history of physical or sexual violence as compared to those without a history of violence. However, higher levels of self‐esteem or social support appeared to mitigate this association. Programmes to improve self‐esteem and social support for youth have the potential to minimize depressive symptoms in YLWH who have experienced physical or sexual violence.

Polygyny and intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from 16 cross-sectional demographic and health surveys

In sub-Saharan Africa, where intimate partner violence has been found to be predominant, several scholars have made efforts to understand its predictors. Socio-culturally, polygyny has been considered as a key determinant of intimate partner violence. This study aimed to examine the association between polygyny and intimate partner violence in 16 sub-Saharan African countries. Binary logistic regression models were used in testing the association and the results were presented as crude and adjusted odds ratios at 95% confidence interval. The proportion of women in polygamous marriages in the 16 countries was 20.2%, ranging from as high as 40% in Chad to as low as 1.6% in South Africa. The prevalence of IPV was 30.7% in the 16 countries, ranging from as high as 44% in Uganda to as low as 12.7% in South Africa. The odds of IPV were higher among women in polygamous marriages in Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe but was lower among women in polygamous marriages in Cameroon [COR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.44-0.66] and Nigeria [COR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.55-0.67], and this persisted after controlling for level of education, place of residence, wealth quintile, media exposure, and justification of violence. This study has found a significant association between polygyny and intimate partner violence. The practice of intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa is fused into the socio-cultural norms and religious traditions of most countries in the sub-Saharan African region. The findings imply that family structures expose women to intimate partner violence. Therefore, global efforts in dealing with intimate partner violence through the Sustainable Development Goals should be done with attention on the socio-cultural norms and traditions around marriage and family structures.