Gender-based violence in a rural Nigerian community during the COVID-19 era: a call for policy action

Introduction: gender-based violence (GBV) is a global pandemic which is deeply rooted in culture, hence the need to contextually understand its occurrence and patterns in rural settings. The objective of this study assessed respondents´ attitude, prevalence, the perceived risk factors, patterns and predictors of GBV in Ife-Odan, Osun State, Nigeria. Methods: cross-sectional study design was used and multi-stage sampling method employed to recruit 450 consenting adults. A pretested interviewer-administered, semistructured questionnaire was used for data collection. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out. Results: mean age (±SD) of the respondents was 30.73±7.0, 58.7% of them were females and 88.0% had negative attitude to GBV. Prevalence of any form of GBV was 16.2%. Predominant GBV types included intimate partner violence (IPV) (58.3%), female genital mutilation (FGM) (31.1%), Sexual violence (6.9%) and incest (3.4%). Perceived risk factors of GBV included cultural acceptance, substance abuse, lack of punishments for GBV offenders, indecent female dressing styles, social media influences, effects of COVID-19 lockdown and male dominance. However, gender (AOR=7.82; 95%CI=2.35-8.17), marital status (AOR=3.23;95%CI=1.82-3.78), religion (AOR=5.02;95%CI=1.78-9.63) and attitude (AOR=4.23; 95%CI=2.267-5.82) were the significant predictors of past GBV experiences in the study setting. Conclusion: gender-based violence (GBV) is prevalent in the study setting, with IPV being the most common. There is need for policymakers to focus on cultural transformation by designing a robust awareness campaign against GBV in rural Nigerian communities. Traditional and religious leaders should be sensitized and involved in the campaign programs using all available channels of communication. Laws prohibiting perpetration of GBV need to be fully implemented.

COVID-19 impact on gender-based violence among women in South Africa during lockdown: a narrative review

COVID-19, first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, was declared a global pandemic by the WHO following the rapid spread of cases worldwide. The pandemic resulted in governments enforcing nationwide lockdowns, halting economic activities except for essential services. This review aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-based violence (GBV) among women in South Africa. The literature search for this review was limited to African peer-reviewed articles and studies published in English between March 2020 and July 2021. EBSCOhost (PubMed, EBSCOhost, APA PsycArticles, APA PsychINFO, Academic Search Ultimate, Africa-Wide Information, Sociology Source Ultimate, CAB Abstracts, CINAHL with full text, and MEDLINE) electronic database platforms and the Google Scholar search engine and bibliographies of identified sources were used to identify studies that are included in the review. 82 studies were identified for this review and 18 were included in the synthesis. Multiple factors contributed to the surge in GBV cases in South Africa, including alcohol availability and consumption, job losses, financial dependence, psychological distress, and emotional imbalances. Effective intervention strategies are proposed, calling for more research to better understand women's experiences of GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[7]: 59-71).

Gender-based violence during COVID-19 lockdown: case study of a community in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: Gender-based violence (GBV) has been identified to be one of the ripple effects of the global pandemic. In countries like Nigeria, the situation is hypothesized to be worse because of widespread poverty and gender inequalities. Objective: To examine the exposure of females to GBV during the first 3 months of the COVID-19 lockdown. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a low-income community in Lagos. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 130 respondents selected via systematic random sampling. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 26.89 ± 8.67 years. Majority worked informal jobs, while only 50% had attained beyond primary education. Within the period, the respondents had been subjected to sexual (54.6%), physical (52.3%), verbal assault (41.5%), and online sexual harassment (45.4%); of which only 30% reported to the police. Furthermore, respondents subjected to sexual (p=0.004) and physical assault (p=0.032) during the period earned significantly less money than other respondents. Conclusion: The fact that over 1 out of every 2 females was subjected to at least one form of GBV within the short timeframe shows how unsafe girls and women in low-income communities are. This calls for proactive community-level interventions to curb the GBV menace.

Reporting of sexual and gender-based violence and associated factors among survivors in Mayuge, Uganda

background: Reporting of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) allows survivors to access support services to minimize the impact of the violence on their lives. However, research shows that most SGBV survivors do not report. Objective: We aimed to determine the proportion of survivors of SGBV in Mayuge District, Uganda, who report SGBV, and the factors associated with reporting. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, we analyzed data of SGBV survivors in eight villages in Mayuge district collected in a baseline survey of a larger experimental study. Data were analyzed using Modified Poisson Regression. Results: Of the 723 participants, 65% were female. Only 31.9% had reported the SGBV experienced. Reporting was 43% lower among survivors aged 45 years and older (p-value = 0.003), and 41% lower among survivors with higher than a primary school education (p-value = 0.005). Likewise, reporting was 37% lower among survivors who relied on financial support from their partners (p-value = 0.001). Female survivors were also 63% more likely to report (p-value = 0.001), while survivors who were separated/widowed were 185% more likely to report than those who were never married (p-value = 0.006). Conclusions: Reporting of SGBV by survivors in Mayuge was found to below

Preparedness of civil society in Botswana to advance disability inclusion in programmes addressing gender-based and other forms of violence against women and girls with disabilities

Background: In low-income and middle-income countries women and girls with disabilities are more likely to experience violence than those without disabilities. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and disabled people's organisations (DPOs) can help to address this. However, in countries like Botswana we know little about the preparedness of NGOs and DPOs to increase inclusion in and access to programmes addressing violence. Objectives: To explore the capacity and preparedness of NGOs and DPOs to ensure that women and girls with disabilities can participate in and access programmes addressing violence. Methods: A qualitative study was undertaken using interviews with 17 NGOs and DPOs in Botswana to understand the organisations' level of and ability to deliver programmes addressing violence against women and girls. Results: Both NGOs and DPOs lack elements of universal design and reasonable accommodation, and thus are inaccessible to some people with disabilities. Some programmes address violence against women but lack skills and resources to accommodate people with disabilities. In contrast, DPOs work with people with disabilities, but lack focus on violence against women with disabilities. Participants identified opportunities to fill these gaps, including adaptation of policies and structural changes, training, approaches to mainstream disability across programmes, development of disability-specific interventions and improved networking. Conclusions: Botswana's NGOs and DPOs are well positioned to address violence against women and girls with disabilities, but need to increase their accessibility, staff knowledge and skills and disability inclusion. Training, resource allocation and participation of women with disabilities in NGOs and DPOs is needed to drive this change

Constrained relationship agency as the risk factor for intimate partner violence in different models of transactional sex

Women who engage in transactional sex are more likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and are at higher risk of HIV. However, women engage in transactional sex for a variety of reasons and the precise mechanism linking transactional sex and IPV is not fully understood. We conducted a behavioural survey with a cross-sectional sample of 401 women attending 1 rural and 1 urban public antenatal clinic in Swaziland between February and June 2014. We used structural equation modelling to identify and measure constrained relationship agency (CRA) as a latent variable, and then tested the hypothesis that CRA plays a significant role in the pathway between IPV and transactional sex. After controlling for CRA, receiving more material goods from a sexual partner was not associated with higher levels of physical or sexual IPV and was protective against emotional IPV. CRA was the single largest predictor of IPV, and more education was associated with decreased levels of constrained relationship agency. Policies and interventions that target transactional sex as a driver of IPV and HIV may be more successful if they instead target the broader social landscape that constrains women's agency and drives the harmful aspects of transactional sex

Making abortion safer in Rwanda: operationalization of the Penal Code of 2012 to expand legal exemptions and challenges

Penal code was revised in Rwanda in 2012 allowing legal termination of pregnancy resulting from rape, incest, forced marriage, or on medical grounds. An evaluation was conducted to assess women's access to abortion services as part of an ongoing program to operationalize the new exemptions for legal abortion. Data was collected from eight district hospitals; seven gender-based violence (GBV) centers and six intermediate courts. Three focus group discussions and 22 in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants. At hospitals, of the 2,644 uterine evacuation records (July 2012-June 2014), and 312 monitoring cases (August-December 2014), majority of all uterine evacuations (97% and 85% respectively, for the two periods) were for obstetric conditions, and induced abortion on medical grounds accounted for 2% vs. 15% respectively. Medical abortion was the prominent method of uterine evacuation. At the GBV centers, 3,763 records were identified retrospectively; 273 women were pregnant. Since the legal reform there was only one abortion for a pregnancy resulting from rape. Abortion stigma and court order requirement are major barriers to access services. The operationalization program has made significant contributions to make abortion safer in Rwanda but this evaluation demonstrates that further work is required to reach the goal of providing safe abortion services to all eligible women. Addressing abortion stigma at the community, organizational and structural levels; further strengthening of service provision; and streamlining legal requirements to protect particularly young women from sexual violence and making abortion a realistic option for GBV victims are some of the important next steps