Gender-Based Violence Perpetration by Male High School Students in Eastern Ethiopia.

Addisu Shunu Beyene,Catherine Chojenta,Deborah J Loxton

doi:10.3390/ijerph17155536

Abstract

Gender-based violence (GBV) perpetration is a global public health problem due to its detrimental effect on health and education. This study aims to determine the prevalence of gender-based violence perpetration by male students in eastern Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in eastern Ethiopia in December 2018. A total of 1064 male students were involved in the study. Data were collected using an adaptation of the WHO Multi-Country Study self-administered questionnaire on the Women Health and Life Event. Descriptive statistics were calculated using STATA version 14. The prevalence of gender-based violence committed by a male in the last 12 months was 55.83% (95% CI: 52.84–58.82%). The prevalence of emotional abuse against an intimate or non-partner was 45.86% (95% CI: 42.87–48.86%), physical abuse was 45.77% (95% CI: 42.77–48.77%), and sexual abuse was 31.11% (95% CI: 28.32–33.90%). The perpetration of multiple types of gender-based violence (emotional, physical, and sexual) was 47.15% (95% CI: 43.15–51.25%), with 17.72% (95% CI: 14.75–21.03%) reporting emotionally and physically violent acts, 14.21% (95% CI: 11.51–17.27%) reporting emotionally violent acts only, and 12.88% (95% CI: 10.29–15.82%) reporting physically violent acts only. There were statistically significant differences between the age of participants who committed acts of all forms of GBV in the “ever” timeframe and the past 12 months (p < 0.001). Effective prevention and intervention strategies should be developed at the school level to reduce gender-based violence perpetration.

Highlights

Gender-based violence (GBV) perpetration is a global public health problem due to its detrimental effect on health and education, including depression, injuries, self-harm, sexually transmitted infections, substance misuse, chronic diseases [1,2,3], low school achievement, an increased school dropout rate, and increased absenteeism [4,5]
Available studies on GBV perpetration by males have mainly been conducted in developed countries and a limited number of other settings [8,9,10,11]
This high prevalence may be due to male students being surveyed by male data collectors who were familiar with the culture of the study area

Summary

Introduction

Gender-based violence (GBV) perpetration is a global public health problem due to its detrimental effect on health and education, including depression, injuries, self-harm, sexually transmitted infections, substance misuse, chronic diseases [1,2,3], low school achievement, an increased school dropout rate, and increased absenteeism [4,5]. GBV is linked to gender inequalities, the absence of power and control, social norms, and the condoning of abuse. It creates and maintains the imbalance of power between men and women and is a fundamental violation of human rights [6,7]. Available studies on GBV perpetration by males have mainly been conducted in developed countries and a limited number of other settings [8,9,10,11]. The available studies on GBV perpetration by males are limited, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and GBV has been minimally researched in school settings [12].

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Conclusion