Abstract
BackgroundWorkplace sexual violence is a significant public health problem in low and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. However, except for individual studies with varying prevalence rates in different occupations, there are no national prevalence studies conducted in workplace settings in Ethiopia. Appropriate estimation of the problem is essential to formulate health service plans most fitted for workplaces. Hence, this review and meta-analysis intended to estimate the national pooled prevalence of workplace sexual violence in Ethiopia.MethodsThe databases used were; PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL, and African Journals Online. For a critical appraisal of the papers, we used the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument for cross-sectional studies. The meta-analysis was conducted using comprehensive meta-analysis and MetaXL software. Descriptive information of studies was presented in narrative form, and quantitative results were presented in forest plots. The Cochran Q test and I2 test statistics were employed to test heterogeneity across studies. A random-effect model computed the pooled estimate prevalence with 95% confidence intervals.ResultsThe pooled prevalence of workplace sexual violence was 22% (95% CI 17%, 28%). The pooled prevalence was 14.1% (95% CI 10.4%, 18.9%) for attempted rape, 8% (95% CI 5.7%, 11.1%) for rape, and 33.2% (95% CI 24.1%, 43.7%) for sexual harassment. The pooled prevalence was the highest among female university staffs 49% (95% CI 45%, 56%), and among commercial sex workers 28% (95% CI 3%, 59%).ConclusionsThis analysis revealed that the prevalence of sexual violence and sexual harassment in Ethiopian workplaces is high. It was also exceptionally high among female faculty staff, commercial sex workers, and workplaces in Tigray National regional state. Thus, concerned stakeholders must design and implement effective interventions to prevent workplace sexual violence in workplaces in Ethiopia and provide necessary support and care to the victims.
Highlights
Workplace sexual violence is a significant public health problem in low and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia
Except for individual studies with varying prevalence rates, there are no national prevalence studies conducted in workplace settings in Ethiopia
Appropriate estimates of the problem are essential to formulate health service plans most fitted for workplace settings
Summary
Workplace sexual violence is a significant public health problem in low and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. Workplace sexual violence (WSV) is part of workplace violence that takes verbal, non-verbal, and physical forms. It can be construed as unwanted, unreciprocated, or unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature tending to humiliate, threaten, or embarrass [4]. It includes sexual harassment, rape, and attempted rape [5]. Studies showed that women suffer physical, mental, and reproductive health consequences of sexual violence like depression, loss of self-confidence, injuries, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and disability up to death [5, 6]. The problem can have an emotional impact and is linked to adverse health behaviors, such as substance use and mood disorders like anxiety and depression [8, 9]
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