Connecting-Africa | Find publications

Advanced search

Find:


Title Characterizing the prevalence and contributing factors of sexual violence: A representative cross-sectional study among school-going adolescents in two East African countries
Full text https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2945818
Date 2020
Author(s) Goessmann, Katharina; Ssenyonga, Joseph; Nkuba, Mabula; Hermenau, Katharin; Hecker, Tobias ; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9272-0512
Abstract Goessmann K, Ssenyonga J, Nkuba M, Hermenau K, Hecker T. Characterizing the prevalence and contributing factors of sexual violence: A representative cross-sectional study among school-going adolescents in two East African countries. <em>Child Abuse & Neglect</em>. 2020;109: 104711. - Background: Sexual violence against minors is a global phenomenon with wide-ranging negative consequences. Global reports suggest that it is a particularly serious issue in East African coun- tries, although research on prevalence and characteristics of violence in these countries is scarce. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess sexual violence and its circumstances among Tan- zanian and Ugandan adolescents. Participants and setting: Two representative samples of secondary school students aged 12'17 from Tanzania and Uganda (N = 1402) were included in this study. Methods: Data assessed using standardized questionnaires were analyzed to determine prevalence, characteristics, and contributing factors of sexual violence among youth. Results: We found high levels of sexual violence (27.2 %) exceeding global average estimates of under 20 %. Signi cantly more sexual violence experiences were reported by boys (29.9 %) than girls (24.6 %) and by older compared to younger adolescents (30.2 % vs. 19.6 %). Peers were the most frequent perpetrator group, named by 47.6 % of those reporting abuse. Several potential contributing factors for victimization were identi ed, such as rural living area, external nancial support, and being in a romantic relationship. Conclusions: Sexual violence is a relevant issue among East African adolescents that occurs in a variety of settings but appears to be most prevalent between peers. Comprehensive sexual edu- cation approaches may help to improve the protection of adolescents and to enhance autonomous sexual development.
Subject(s) Sexual violence Adolescence Prevalence East Africa Correlates
Language eng
Publisher Elsevier BV
Relation info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104711; info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/0145-2134
Type of publication http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501; info:eu-repo/semantics/article; doc-type:article; text
Rights info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
Repository Bielefeld - University of Bielefeld
Added to C-A: 2020-09-14;09:08:15