Experiences of violence among female and male grade eight learners: baseline findings from the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) trial across three South African townships

Abstract

Background: South African adolescents experience disproportionally high rates of violence, with lifelong health, social and economic impacts. Few papers present risk factors associated with experiences of adolescent violence. Methods: A baseline cross-sectional survey was done (April 2017 – Sept 2018) with 3432 grade 8 learners in the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) trial from 26 high schools in three townships (Soweto and Tembisa, Gauteng and Khayelitsha, Western Cape). Collected data on lifetime experiences of different types of violence, perpetrators, and place of violence. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to enumerate experiences of, and factors associated with violence. Results: A total of 2383 respondents are included. Most (63.1%) were girls, 81.5% aged 12-14. In total 26% had ever experienced violence, higher among boys (p=<0.001). Physical violence was most common (35.7%), then psychological (21.8%), sexual (13.1%), neglect (10.6%), cyberbullying (7.6%), corporal punishment (6.5%) and economic abuse (4.8%). Boys experienced more physical violence (36.0%); girls experienced more psychological violence (22.2%). Gauteng had double the reports of sexual violence (18.4% vs 7.6%, p<0.001). Violence happened most at school (27.4%), followed by the park (19.8%) or their friends’ home (12.9%). Multivariate analysis showed that boys (aOR 1.57; 95% CV 1.27-1.94; p=0.000), those aged 15-17 years (aOR 1.41; 95% CV 1.07-1.84; p=0.013), those who ever used substances (aOR 1.92; 95% CI 1.54-2.37; p=0.000), and those who sometimes feel worthless (aOR 1.35; 95% CI 1.10-1.64, p=0.003) were at higher odds of ever experiencing violence. Those who had never had sex were less likely to have ever experienced violence (aOR 0.66; 95% CI 0.51-0.83; p=0.001). Conclusion: Urgently need wider adoption, scaling, and sustaining of evidence-based primary violence prevention and structural interventions are required to reduce the high burden of adolescent violence. Stakeholders across the ecological model are needed to tackle harmful cultural norms that perpetuate violence.

Learner experiences of safety at public high schools in three South African townships: Baseline findings from the National School Safety Framework learner surveys

“…While not statistically significant, our findings on sexual harassment and exposure to illicit drugs are concerning, however they do align with other studies. Our results confirm findings from Kutywayo et al 54 and Ward et al 16 indicating that both female and male learners are vulnerable to sexual harassment and violence. The Optimus Study school survey 16 , and other South African studies 2,55 also found similar results: one in 10 of young people had experienced unwanted sexual touching by a known or unknown adult in their lifetime 21 .…”

Who’s got the power? Expressions of empowerment among in-school adolescents enrolled in the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) trial in three peri-urban settings of South Africa

“…To date, there is one other publication from the GAP Year baseline data, exploring the experiences of violence among grade eight learners 34 .…”

Contraception knowledge and uptake among in-school adolescents in three South African townships: Baseline findings from the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) Trial

“…As previously reported [24][25][26]28 , overall, 3432 eligible learners across 26 schools participated in the baseline survey: we included 2383 in the analysis who completed both sections of the survey. In some cases, due to lack of time, learners were unable to complete both components and were excluded from this analysis.…”

“…This research is part of the Girls Achieve Power Trial (GAP Year) cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) conducted in 26 non-fee-paying high schools, in three peri-urban townships of South Africa: Khayelitsha (Western Cape Province), and Soweto and Thembisa (Gauteng Province) [24][25][26][27][28] . GAP Year was seeking to test the effectiveness of a CSE asset-building intervention aiming to reduce school dropout among adolescent girls between grades 8-10 while shifting gender attitudes and encouraging positive behaviour change among adolescent boys 27 .…”