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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Glob. Womens Health
Sec. Women's Mental Health
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1340038
This article is part of the Research Topic Sexual Violence in Times of Conflict View all 3 articles

A study on sexual violence among women in Northern Ethiopia's 2022 conflict: Mixed methods

Provisionally accepted
Atitegeb Abera Kidie Atitegeb Abera Kidie 1*Seteamlak Adane Seteamlak Adane 1Birtukan Gizachew Ayal Birtukan Gizachew Ayal 1Kindie Mekuria Kindie Mekuria 2Tsion Kokeb Kodo Tsion Kokeb Kodo 1Abayneh Tunta Abayneh Tunta 3Misganaw Guadie Tiruneh Misganaw Guadie Tiruneh 1Fassikaw Kebede Fassikaw Kebede 1Eneyew Talie Eneyew Talie 4
  • 1 Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia
  • 2 Department of Nursing, Collage of Medicine and Health Science, Woldia University,, Woldia, Ethiopia
  • 3 Department of Medicine, Collage of Medicine and Health Science, Woldia University,, Woldia, Ethiopia
  • 4 Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Injibara University, Injibara, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Violence against women is both a human rights violation and a significant reproductive health issue, causing substantial morbidity. It's a pervasive global public health concern, particularly prevalent in developing regions like sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia faces this issue extensively despite its preventable nature, persisting as a significant challenge within the country.Objective: The study aimed to identify the extent and factors associated with sexual violence among women, children, and adolescent girls during the 2022 armed conflict in Northern Ethiopia.: A community-based cross-sectional study combined quantitative and phenomenological methods. We used multistage and snowball sampling, involving 574 individuals along with 10 in-depth interviews and 3 focus group discussions (FGDs). Statistical analysis relied on Stata version 16 and open code version 4.03. Quantitative analysis employed multivariable binary logistic regression, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis.The study found a 9.76% prevalence of sexual violence, with 2.4% experiencing rape during the conflict. Prostitutes faced a fourfold increased risk (AOR: 4.2, 95% CI: 1.3, 10.9).Living in areas with attacks raised the risk 2.7 times (AOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.1, 6.2), and a monthly income of 2001-4000 ETB increased it 2.5 times (AOR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 5.7). The impacts included psychosocial effects, stigma, and fear of humiliation, divorce, and displacement.Approximately one in ten women experienced sexual violence during the conflict.Factors such as being a prostitute, having a lower income, and living in attacked villages were significant predictors of this violence. The main impacts included psychosocial effects, external blame, and stigma, fear of humiliation, divorce, and displacement.

    Keywords: Women, sexual violence, North Wollo zone, Ethiopia, conflict

    Received: 22 Jan 2024; Accepted: 13 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kidie, Adane, Ayal, Mekuria, Kodo, Tunta, Tiruneh, Kebede and Talie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Atitegeb Abera Kidie, Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia

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