Examining the Factors Associated With Sexual Violence Against Women in Sierra Leone: A Nationwide Cross Sectional Study

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dc.contributor.authorShour, Abdul Rahman
dc.contributor.authorAnguzu, Ronald
dc.contributor.authorZhou, Yuhong
dc.contributor.authorBeyer, Kirsten
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-02T17:57:18Z
dc.date.available2023-06-02T17:57:18Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractIn 2019, Sierra Leone declared national emergency over rape and other forms of sexual violence (SV), hence diverting resources from other issues to tackle SV. However, little is known about nationwide risk/protective factors for SV, and this has been a source of critique for the new policy. To fill this gap in knowledge, we investigated the factors for SV toward women using a nationally representative sample. We analyzed the 2013 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data, including 16,658 women, aged 15–49 years. The outcome was current SV, defined as being physically forced to have sexual intercourse within the last 12 months. We examined respondent’s background, sexual activities, and experience of domestic violence (DV). Logistic regression analyses were performed using STATA/SE v.15.1, accounting for survey design and sample weights. Values of p less than .05 were considered statistically significant. ArcMap was used to demonstrate geographic distribution of SV cases. We found that about 258 (6.3%) women reported SV. In adjusted analysis, women in the north (than south; 2.88, 95% CI = [1.44, 5.75]) and women circumcised between the ages of 1 and 14 (1.67, 95% CI = [1.10, 2.54]) reported higher risk of SV, respectively. Women who had sex more than 25 times per year were 6.9 times more likely to report SV, compared with those with 1 to 24 times (6.91, 95% CI = [1.48, 32.19]). The odds of SV were 6 times higher among women who reported experiencing recent physical violence (5.86, 95% CI = [2.49, 13.80]) or history of SV (6.34, 95% CI = [2.57, 15.65]). In conclusion, this study adds to the literature by providing information on major factors associated with SV toward women in Sierra Leone using a nationally representative sample. Women in the north (Tonkolili), circumcised between the ages of 1 and 14, had sex more than 25 times per year, reported physical violence (12 months before the survey) and SV (ever forced to have sex) reported higher risk for current SV. While more research is needed, these findings will help inform the current emergency operations against SV in Sierra Leone.en_US
dc.identifier.citationShour, A. R., Anguzu, R., Zhou, Y., & Beyer, K. (2022). Examining the Factors Associated With Sexual Violence Against Women in Sierra Leone: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of interpersonal violence, 37(3-4), 1384-1403.https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520922344en_US
dc.identifier.issn1552-6518
dc.identifier.urihttps://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/8885
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherJournal of interpersonal violenceen_US
dc.subjectDemographic and Health Surveyen_US
dc.subjectsexual violenceen_US
dc.subjectNational emergencyen_US
dc.subjectWomenen_US
dc.titleExamining the Factors Associated With Sexual Violence Against Women in Sierra Leone: A Nationwide Cross Sectional Studyen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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