Abstract
Background: Sexual violence (SV) against adolescent girls is public health problem and is often under-reported. Present study was conducted to gather information regarding SV against unwed adolescent girls in tribal, rural communities. Methodology: Community-based cross-sectional analytic study included 2500 randomly selected unwed adolescent girls aged ≥10-<20 years, residing in 140 remote villages and who consented to participate. Face-to-face interviews of participants regarding SV suffered at home and workplaces were conducted for 15-30 minutes using semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Of 2500 women interviewed, majority (51.56%) belonged to ≥18-<20 years of age, educated up to higher secondary (43.4%), laborer by occupation (36.5%), and belonged to lower economic class (77.4%). Of all participants, 1342 (53.7%) suffered SV, 1158(46.3%) at both home and workplace, and 184(7.4%) only at the workplace. Of all women, 72.4% who suffered SV at home and workplaces informed about SV to someone, with family members being most common (84.8%). Only 13.4% of girls who suffered SV at home and workplaces informed police. Similarly, of all adolescent girls who suffered SV at home and workplaces, 65.9% sought health care. Conclusion: In present study, 53.7% unwed adolescent girls suffered SV at home and workplaces. Most girls informed family members after suffering SV at home and workplaces with very few reporting to police about SV. It is therefore necessary to generate awareness, formulate laws and policies for protection of adolescent girls against violence as they constitute a vulnerable population and they suffer silently due to social stigma.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call