In April 2020, the United Nations predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic will have a 'calamitous' impact on the lives of women. This was based on concerns about an upsurge in Intimate Partner Violence ...(IPV) arising from increased opportunities for relational conflict due to forced co-existence and therefore additional time spent with abusive partners. Individual, telephonic interviews were conducted with 16 women living in domestic violence shelters within three Provinces during South Africa's lockdown period. This study reminds us that being ordered to stay at home is not always the safest option for women and thus, in a country with one of the highest levels of GBV, it becomes imperative to ensure that IPV safeguards are integrated into COVID-19 measures. It also becomes evident that COVID-19 requires enhanced ways of responding by paying attention to gender disparities.
Summary Background Homicide is an important cause of premature mortality globally, but evidence for the magnitude of homicides by intimate partners is scarce and hampered by the large amount of ...missing information about the victim–offender relationship. The objective of the study was to estimate global and regional prevalence of intimate partner homicide. Methods A systematic search of five databases (Medline, Global Health, Embase, Social Policy, and Web of Science) yielded 2167 abstracts, and resulted in the inclusion of 118 full-text articles with 1122 estimates of the prevalence of intimate partner homicide after double-blind screening. All studies were included that reported the number or proportion of women or men who were murdered by an intimate partner in a country, province, or town, using an inclusive definition of an intimate partner. Additionally, a survey of official sources of 169 countries provided a further 53 estimates. We selected one estimate per country-year using a quality assessment decision algorithm. The median prevalence of intimate partner homicide was calculated by country and region overall, and for women and men separately. Findings Data were obtained for 66 countries. Overall 13·5% (IQR 9·2–18·2) of homicides were committed by an intimate partner, and this proportion was six times higher for female homicides than for male homicides (38·6%, 30·8–45·3, vs 6·3%, 3·1–6·3). Median percentages for all (male and female) and female intimate partner homicide were highest in high-income countries (all, 14·9%, 9·2–18·2; female homicide, 41·2%, 30·8–44·5) and in southeast Asia (18·8%, 11·3–18·8; 58·8%, 58·8–58·8). Adjustments to account for unknown victim–offender relationships generally increased the prevalence, suggesting that results presented are conservative. Interpretation At least one in seven homicides globally and more than a third of female homicides are perpetrated by an intimate partner. Such violence commonly represents the culmination of a long history of abuse. Strategies to reduce homicide risk include increased investment in intimate partner violence prevention, risk assessments at different points of care, support for women experiencing intimate partner violence, and control of gun ownership for people with a history of violence. Improvements in country-level data collection and monitoring systems are also essential, because data availability and quality varied strongly across regions. Funding WHO, Sigrid Rausing Trust, and the UK Economic and Social Research Council.
A paucity of research has been conducted within South Africa on abused women's experiences of motherhood, even though abused women tend to be at increased risk of negative physical and mental health ...difficulties, which can interfere with their ability to take care of themselves and their children. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore women's experiences of mothering in the context of an abusive relationship. Data was collected via individual, telephonic, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 16 mothers from three South African provinces, and analyzed according to the principles of grounded theory. Our findings highlight the mothers' experiences of: a simultaneous increased sense of responsibility with regards to their children and a loss of control over their mothering; as well as experiencing abuse aimed at either the mother or the child, which is simultaneously meant to affect the other; and lastly, mothers' assessing themselves negatively through normative paradigms of 'good mothering', regardless that they often mother in the best way they know how to, given challenging circumstances. Therefore, this study highlights that the motherhood institution continues to create 'good mothering' benchmarks against which women themselves evaluate their mothering, often leading to feelings of inadequacy. Our findings also emphasize that the environment created by men's abuse is in conflict with the great expectations placed upon mothers in abusive relationships. Thus, mothers may experience huge pressure, which may lead to feelings of failure, self-blame, and guilt. This study has demonstrated that the abuse mothers' encounter adversely impacted on their mothering. We therefore emphasize the need to better understand how mothering is influenced by and responsive to violence. This is important as understanding abused women's experiences can assist us to further develop appropriate support mechanisms needed to ensure minimal impact on both women and their children.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is very high in Africa. However, information obtained from the increasing number of African studies on IPV among pregnant women has not been scientifically analyzed. ...This paper presents a systematic review summing up the evidence from African studies on IPV prevalence and risk factors among pregnant women.
A key-word defined search of various electronic databases, specific journals and reference lists on IPV prevalence and risk factors during pregnancy resulted in 19 peer-reviewed journal articles which matched our inclusion criteria. Quantitative articles about pregnant women from Africa published in English between 2000 and 2010 were reviewed. At least two reviewers assessed each paper for quality and content. We conducted meta-analysis of prevalence data and reported odds ratios of risk factors.
The prevalence of IPV during pregnancy ranges from 2% to 57% (n = 13 studies) with meta-analysis yielding an overall prevalence of 15.23% (95% CI: 14.38 to 16.08%). After adjustment for known confounders, five studies retained significant associations between HIV and IPV during pregnancy (OR1.48-3.10). Five studies demonstrated strong evidence that a history of violence is significantly associated with IPV in pregnancy and alcohol abuse by a partner also increases a woman's chances of being abused during pregnancy (OR 2.89-11.60). Other risk factors include risky sexual behaviours, low socioeconomic status and young age.
The prevalence of IPV among pregnant women in Africa is one of the highest reported globally. The major risk factors included HIV infection, history of violence and alcohol and drug use. This evidence points to the importance of further research to both better understand IPV during pregnancy and feed into interventions in reproductive health services to prevent and minimize the impact of such violence.
HIV status disclosure is a central strategy in HIV prevention and treatment but in high prevalence settings women test disproportionately and most often during pregnancy. This study reports intimate ...partner violence (IPV) following disclosure of HIV test results by pregnant women.
In this cross sectional study we interviewed 1951 postnatal women who tested positive and negative for HIV about IPV experiences following HIV test disclosure, using an adapted WHO questionnaire. Multivariate regression models assessed factors associated with IPV after disclosure and controlled for factors such as previous IPV and other known behavioural factors associated with IPV.
Over 93% (1817) disclosed the HIV results to their partners (96.5% HIV- vs. 89.3% HIV+, p<0.0001). Overall HIV prevalence was 15.3%, (95%CI:13.7-16.9), 35.2% among non-disclosers and 14.3% among disclosers. Overall 32.8% reported IPV (40.5% HIV+; 31.5% HIV- women, p = 0.004). HIV status was associated with IPV (partially adjusted 1.43: (95%CI:1.00-2.05 as well as reporting negative reactions by male partners immediately after disclosure (adjusted OR 5.83, 95%CI:4.31-7.80). Factors associated with IPV were gender inequity, past IPV, risky sexual behaviours and living with relatives. IPV after HIV disclosure in pregnancy is high but lower than and is strongly related with IPV before pregnancy (adjusted OR 6.18, 95%CI: 3.84-9.93).
The study demonstrates the interconnectedness of IPV, HIV status and its disclosure with IPV which was a common experience post disclosure of both an HIV positive and HIV negative result. Health services must give attention to the gendered nature and consequences of HIV disclosure such as enskilling women on how to determine and respond to the risks associated with disclosure. Efforts to involve men in antenatal care must also be strengthened.
Summary Background Several highly publicised rapes and murders of young women in India and South Africa have focused international attention on sexual violence. These cases are extremes of the wider ...phenomenon of sexual violence against women, but the true extent is poorly quantified. We did a systematic review to estimate prevalence. Methods We searched for articles published from Jan 1, 1998, to Dec 31, 2011, and manually search reference lists and contacted experts to identify population-based data on the prevalence of women's reported experiences of sexual violence from age 15 years onwards, by anyone except intimate partners. We used random effects meta-regression to calculate adjusted and unadjusted prevalence for regions, which we weighted by population size to calculate the worldwide estimate. Findings We identified 7231 studies from which we obtained 412 estimates covering 56 countries. In 2010 7·2% (95% CI 5·2–9·1) of women worldwide had ever experienced non-partner sexual violence. The highest estimates were in sub-Saharan Africa, central (21%, 95% CI 4·5–37·5) and sub-Saharan Africa, southern (17·4%, 11·4–23·3). The lowest prevalence was for Asia, south (3·3%, 0–8·3). Limited data were available from sub-Saharan Africa, central, North Africa/Middle East, Europe, eastern, and Asia Pacific, high income. Interpretation Sexual violence against women is common worldwide, with endemic levels seen in some areas, although large variations between settings need to be interpreted with caution because of differences in data availability and levels of disclosure. Nevertheless, our findings indicate a pressing health and human rights concern. Funding South African Medical Research Council, Sigrid Rausing Trust, WHO.
Sexual violence against women and girls is a major public health problem globally and in South Africa. Although young men have been identified as an important risk group for prevention interventions, ...scant attention have been given to this age cohort in low and middle-income countries. There is strong evidence that perpetration starts early and increasing attention is being drawn to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as settings for prevention interventions. The main objective of this study was to adapt the One Man Can Intervention for use with male university students in residences and develop materials for implementation. This paper presents the qualitative findings of the adaptation process of the One Man Can Intervention with 15 young male student leaders at a HEI in South Africa. The same participants who started in the study, participated throughout. Only five of the 15 participants were located and participated in the interviews six months post intervention. The results show the emergence of a six-hour session adapted intervention that addresses key drivers of violence against women and girls (VAWG). Critical engagement and dialogue on sexual violence is shown to shift key norms on gender equality, on being a man and reflection on their role in preventing sexual violence. This paper contributes to the field where much learning, refining and improvement of prevention interventions for VAWG are ongoing.
Addressing violence against women: a call to action García-Moreno, Claudia, Dr; Zimmerman, Cathy, PhD; Morris-Gehring, Alison, PhD ...
The Lancet (British edition),
2015-Apr-25, Letnik:
385, Številka:
9978
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Summary Violence against women and girls is prevalent worldwide but historically has been overlooked and condoned. Growing international recognition of these violations creates opportunities for ...elimination, although solutions will not be quick or easy. Governments need to address the political, social, and economic structures that subordinate women, and implement national plans and make budget commitments to invest in actions by multiple sectors to prevent and respond to abuse. Emphasis on prevention is crucial. Community and group interventions involving women and men can shift discriminatory social norms to reduce the risk of violence. Education and empowerment of women are fundamental. Health workers should be trained to identify and support survivors and strategies to address violence should be integrated into services for child health, maternal, sexual, and reproductive health, mental health, HIV, and alcohol or substance abuse. Research to learn how to respond to violence must be strengthened. The elimination of violence against women and girls is central to equitable and sustainable social and economic development and must be prioritised in the agenda for development after 2015.
Experiencing adversities has been associated with the use of violence but this has not been explored with filicide offenders in South Africa. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted ...with 22 parents/stepparents/caregivers convicted of child homicide in South Africa, resulting in 49 in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed by means of grounded theory. Using an ecological framework, this study alludes to the widespread and cumulative nature of violence and trauma experiences within multiple domains of the participants' lives. The study highlighted the absence of support in the aftermath of experiencing trauma, possibly resulting in these parents lacking resources to mitigate the sequelae of adverse experiences. This study calls for trauma related, mental health components to be integrated into violence interventions and for these to address the impact of trauma at the individual, family, and societal levels, to prevent the transition from victim to offender.
South Africa has unprecedented levels of violence and many South African women are exposed to violence during their lifetime. This article explores how gender and disability intersect in women’s ...experiences of violence during their lifetime. Repeat in-depth qualitative interviews with 30 physically disabled women in Cape Town reveal that women with physical disabilities are exposed to various forms of violence, and shows how their impairments shape their violence experiences. The most common forms of violence women with disabilities experience are psychological violence, financial abuse, neglect, and deprivation, with disability stigma playing a central role and contributing to how women with disabilities are exploited and dehumanized. Constructions of women as asexual shape their sexual relationships and experiences of sexual violence. This article identifies that women with disabilities are more at risk and experience additional layers of violence than women without disabilities. These additional risks and layers of violence need to be recognized and inform interventions to prevent and respond to violence against women with disabilities in the country. Prevention of violence against women with physical disabilities in South Africa needs to address the role of disability stigma that shapes the types of violence they experience, change gender norms, and create accessible and safe environments and economic empowerment opportunities.
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