Prevalence of Sexual Violence among Individuals of Different Socio-Economic Status in Eldoret Municipality, Kenya

Abstract

Incidences of sexual violence in Kenya, especially in urban areas, have been shrouded in mute and silence. This is partly because of the social stigma attached to this problem among several socio-cultural and socio-economic groups in the country. This examines the prevalence of sexual violence among individuals of different socio-economic status. The paper is based on a study conducted in Eldoret Municipality in Kenya. The study focused on of the socio-economic characteristics of victims, gender differences derived from sexual violence, age of victims, marital status and sexual violence and income levels of victims. This study adopted descriptive survey design. The target population comprised victims of sexual violence drawn from FC and households. Key informants were selected staff members of FC, police department and the Centre for Human Rights as well as chiefs, assistant chiefs and village elders. The study employed multi-stage, snowball, simple random and purposive sampling techniques in the selection of the study sample. Since the study was majorly descriptive, it mainly collected qualitative data although a small percentage of quantitative data was also collected. Questionnaire, structured and unstructured interview schedule, participant observation, CVA and content analysis were the main instruments of data collection for this study. Descriptive data was analyzed descriptively by computing measures of central tendency, frequency counts and percentages. Chi-square Correlation Coefficient was computed to establish the level of significance of correlation between study variables. The study established that sexual violence was more prevalent in individuals who were either illiterate or had attained primary level of education. Sexual violence was also prevalent among women than men. The study recommends that a comprehensive public awareness campaign on sexual violence be developed, delivered and evaluated by the Ministry of Health. The study also recommends that medical and legal charges for sexual violence victims be waived by the government.