Forced Sex and Early Marriage: Understanding the Linkages and Norms in a Humanitarian Setting

Seff, Ilana; Williams, Anaise; Hussain, Farah; Landis, Debbie; Poulton, Catherine; Falb, Kathryn; Stark, Lindsay

doi:10.1177/1077801219845523

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…As with previous research (Raj et al, 2010;Raj & McDougal, 2014), current findings demonstrate an increased risk for sexual violence against adolescent girls in the context of marriage as compared with outside of marriage. Overall, these findings support other research showing the value of early and child marriage prevention as a strategy to reduce sexual violence against girls (Kidman, 2017;Raj et al, 2010;Seff et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Freedom of Movement and Adolescent Sexual Violence in India

Raj

Singh

Silverman

et al. 2020

J Interpers Violence

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This study assesses associations between freedom of movement and sexual violence, both in marriage and outside of marriage, among a representative sample of adolescents in India. We analyzed data from girls aged 15 to 19 years ( n = 9,593) taken from India’s nationally representative National Family Health Survey 2015–2016. We defined freedom of movement using three items on whether girls could go unaccompanied to specified locations; we summated responses and categorized them as restricted, or unrestricted. We used multivariable regression to assess associations between restricted movement and nonmarital violence, and with marital sexual violence among ever-married girls. Results show that only 2% of girls reported nonmarital sexual violence, among married and unmarried girls; 6% of married girls reported marital sexual violence. Most girls (78%) reported some restriction in movement. Restricted movement was negatively associated with nonmarital sexual violence (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.31, 0.87], p = .01) but positively associated with marital sexual violence (AOR = 3.87, 95% CI = [1.82, 8.25], p < .001). Further analyses highlight that the observed association with nonmarital sexual violence was specific to urban and not rural girls. These findings reveal that approximately one in 30 adolescent girls in India has been a victim of sexual violence. Restricted movement is associated with lower risk for nonmarital sexual violence for urban adolescent girls, possibly due to lower exposure opportunity. Married girls with restricted movement have higher odds of marital sexual violence, possibly because these are both forms of control used by abusive husbands. Freedom of movement is a human right that should not place girls at greater risk for nonmarital violence or be used as a means of control by abusive spouses. Social change is needed to secure girls’ safety in India.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Freedom of Movement and Adolescent Sexual Violence in India

Raj

Singh

Silverman

et al. 2020

J Interpers Violence

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“…Women with disabilities are less likely to choose their intimate partner, and several researchers have reported more frequent forced marriages among young people with disabilities, especially those with intellectual impairments [ 38–40 ]. Extreme cases include women with disabilities who were raped and then forced to marry the perpetrator [ 41 , 42 ]. In this quantitative research, such detailed information on the circumstances of cohabitation was not collected, and complementary qualitative research is therefore needed in order to better understand the issues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burden of and risk factors for sexual violence among women with and without disabilities in two sub-Saharan African countries

Beaudrap

Mouté

Pasquier

et al. 2022

Global Health Action

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Background Available data suggest that women with disabilities have an increased risk of sexual violence, but little is known about the situation of those women living in resource-limited settings. Objectives To assess the burden and examine the drivers of sexual violence among women with disabilities. Methods This is a pooled analysis of two population-based surveys conducted in Cameroon and Burundi. Adults with and without disabilities were randomly recruited from the general population. Structured interviews were conducted at both sites to collect data on participants’ functional limitations, life-course history of sexual violence, education, employment, and resources. Only women with disabilities whose impairments started before the age of 10 years (n = 359) and women without disabilities (n = 720) are included in this analysis. The age-adjusted prevalence of violence was computed, and risk factors were assessed using a discrete survival regression and mediation analysis. Results At both sites, the participants with disabilities had a lower education level and had an increased risk of food insecurity. The pooled age-adjusted prevalence of lifetime sexual violence was 19.8% (95%CI:15.3–24.3) among women with disabilities and 11.7% (95%CI:9.3–14.1) among those without disabilities (OR ap : 2.0, 95%CI:1.4–2.8). Women with cognitive limitations and those with visual impairments had the highest risk of sexual violence (OR ap : 3.5 (95%CI:2.0–6.3) and 2.7 (95%CI:1.4–5.0), respectively). Over the life course, the risk of sexual violence was especially high among women with disabilities who had lived with an intimate partner before the age of 25 years ( p < 0.001). Education level mediated approximately one-third of the total association between disability and sexual violence ( p = 0.001). There was no evidence of an indirect effect through food insecurity. Conclusion This study provides evidence of the high burden of sexual violence among women with disabilities who live in urban African contexts. The social environment and access to education may be key contributors to this vulnerability.

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“…Wessells and Kostelny (2021) also note that social norms can promote and sustain child marriage in many regions across the world, although they do not expound on how these normative pathways operate. Our research suggests that, in some contexts, norms around victim blaming and the unacceptability of sex outside marriage result in young victims of rape being forced to marry their rapists (Seff et al, 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 87%

The role of social norms, violence against women, and measurement in the global commitment to end violence against children.

Stark¹,

Seff²

2021

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology

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This commentary identifies and underscores the importance of key considerations for the global commitment to end violence against children. The authors draw from recent research to highlight the overlap in risk factors for violence against women and children and argue for greater coordination and collaboration in the prevention of both forms of violence; such collaboration may be particularly fruitful in humanitarian settings, where existing risk factors for violence against children are exacerbated and new risk factors abound. The review also emphasizes the integral role social norms can play in fostering and reducing violence against children, pointing to specific examples of how harmful social norms can lead to increased violence, stigma and mental health issues for children. Finally, recent innovations in the measurement of violence against children are discussed, highlighting the added value of mixed methods in research on this topic.

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Forced Sex and Early Marriage: Understanding the Linkages and Norms in a Humanitarian Setting

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

Freedom of Movement and Adolescent Sexual Violence in India

Freedom of Movement and Adolescent Sexual Violence in India

Burden of and risk factors for sexual violence among women with and without disabilities in two sub-Saharan African countries

The role of social norms, violence against women, and measurement in the global commitment to end violence against children.

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