Intimate Partner Violence against Women Living in Inadequate Conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Meta-Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a major public health problem and is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, little is known about its environmental determinants. This study aimed to investigate whether inadequate living conditions are associated with IPV victimization in women in SSA. We analyzed cross-sectional data for 102,714 women in 25 SSA countries obtained from the Demographic and Health Surveys Program. Logistic regression was used to estimate the country-specific effects of inadequate living conditions (housing with at least one of four characteristics of unimproved water, unimproved sanitation, insufficient space, and unfinished materials) on multiple forms of IPV. Random effects meta-analysis was used to combined the country-specific estimates. We found an association between inadequate living conditions and a higher likelihood of experiencing any (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.23, p = 0.012), sexual (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.34, p = 0.008), emotional (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.23, p = 0.023), and physical (OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.28, p = 0.010) IPV. The associations were stronger for rural and less-educated women. These findings suggest that future research to establish a causal link between living conditions and IPV and to elucidate the underlying pathways is crucial to design IPV interventions in SSA.

Household Water Access, Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Status among Preschoolers in Poor, Rural Areas of Central and Western China

“…Poor maternal mental status, in turn, is associated with reduced dietary diversity in the offspring [ 38 , 39 ]. Fourth, unimproved water access might increase the risk of maternal exposure to intimate partner violence [ 40 ], which has been established as a risk factor for inadequate complementary feeding and early termination of exclusive breastfeeding [ 41 , 42 ].…”

Prevalence and Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence against Women in Liberia: Findings from 2019–2020 Demographic and Health Survey

“…The standardized domestic violence module of LDHS, like other DHSs previously conducted in many countries around the world including African countries, entailed modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale [ 7 , 15 , 20 , 21 ]. This scale was shown to have good validity and reliability in community as well as clinical settings [ 22 , 23 ].…”

“…Based on previous studies [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ], 10 variables at the individual, husband/partner, and familial levels were studied for association with respondents having ever experienced intimate partner violence, i.e., women’s age, women’s educational attainment, women’s occupation, wealth index of the household/family, residential status in terms of urban and rural, number of living children, participation in decision making, acceptance of IPV, husband/partner’s use of alcohol, and having witnessed one’s father physically beating up one’s mother. Details on the derivation of each explanatory variable is provided as under:…”

“…Lifetime physical and sexual IPV prevalence in ever partnered women aged 15–49 years were reported to be 27% globally, and 33% in WHO Africa region [ 5 ]. Myriad demographic, social, and cultural risk factors were identified in single country, multiple country, and meta-analyses studies for higher IPV prevalence against women, that include younger age, low household income, low educational attainment of women, having witnessed parental violence and intergenerational violence transmission, partner’s alcohol use, acceptance of violence by women, and rural residency status [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Notably, two important meta-analyses were recently reported that looked at selected risk factors associated with IPV.…”

“…Notably, two important meta-analyses were recently reported that looked at selected risk factors associated with IPV. A meta-analysis from 25 sub-Saharan African countries using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data reinforced the association of increased IPV prevalence with rural residency status, poor living conditions, and low educational attainment in women [ 7 ]. Another meta-analysis from 44 countries that included 29 countries from sub-Saharan Africa using DHS data also reported similar higher IPV prevalence with low educational attainment in women and rural residency status [ 15 ].…”