TY - JOUR
T1 - Intimate partners violence against women during a COVID-19 lockdown period: results of an online survey in 7 provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo
AU - Ditekemena, John D
AU - Luhata, Christophe
AU - Mavoko, Hypolite M
AU - Siewe Fodjo, Joseph Nelson
AU - Nkamba, Dalau M
AU - Van Damme, Wim
AU - Ebrahim, Shahul H
AU - Noestlinger, Christiana
AU - Colebunders, Robert
N1 - FTX; DOAJ
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Intimate Partners' Violence (IPV) is a public health problem with long-lasting mental and physical health consequences for victims and their families. As evidence has been increasing that COVID-19 lockdown measures may exacerbate IPV, our study sought to describe the magnitude of IPV in women and identify associated determinants. An online survey was conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from 24 August to 8 September 2020. Of the 4160 respondents, 2002 eligible women were included in the data analysis. Their mean age was 36.3 (SD: 8.2). Most women (65.8%) were younger than 40 years old. Prevalence of any form of IPV was 11.7%. Being in the 30-39 and >50 years' age groups (OR = 0.66, CI: 0.46-0.95; p = 0.026 and OR = 0.23, CI: 0.11-048; p < 0.001, respectively), living in urban setting (OR = 0.63, CI: 0.41-0.99; p = 0.047), and belonging to the middle socioeconomic class (OR = 0.48, CI: 0.29-0.79; p = 0.003) significantly decreased the odds for experiencing IPV. Lower socioeconomic status (OR = 1.84, CI: 1.04-3.24; p = 0.035) and being pregnant (OR = 1.63, CI: 1.16-2.29; p = 0.005) or uncertain of pregnancy status (OR = 2.01, CI: 1.17-3.44; p = 0.011) significantly increased the odds for reporting IPV. Additional qualitative research is needed to identify the underlying reasons and mechanisms of IPV in order to develop and implement prevention interventions.
AB - Intimate Partners' Violence (IPV) is a public health problem with long-lasting mental and physical health consequences for victims and their families. As evidence has been increasing that COVID-19 lockdown measures may exacerbate IPV, our study sought to describe the magnitude of IPV in women and identify associated determinants. An online survey was conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from 24 August to 8 September 2020. Of the 4160 respondents, 2002 eligible women were included in the data analysis. Their mean age was 36.3 (SD: 8.2). Most women (65.8%) were younger than 40 years old. Prevalence of any form of IPV was 11.7%. Being in the 30-39 and >50 years' age groups (OR = 0.66, CI: 0.46-0.95; p = 0.026 and OR = 0.23, CI: 0.11-048; p < 0.001, respectively), living in urban setting (OR = 0.63, CI: 0.41-0.99; p = 0.047), and belonging to the middle socioeconomic class (OR = 0.48, CI: 0.29-0.79; p = 0.003) significantly decreased the odds for experiencing IPV. Lower socioeconomic status (OR = 1.84, CI: 1.04-3.24; p = 0.035) and being pregnant (OR = 1.63, CI: 1.16-2.29; p = 0.005) or uncertain of pregnancy status (OR = 2.01, CI: 1.17-3.44; p = 0.011) significantly increased the odds for reporting IPV. Additional qualitative research is needed to identify the underlying reasons and mechanisms of IPV in order to develop and implement prevention interventions.
KW - Adult
KW - COVID-19
KW - Communicable Disease Control
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Democratic Republic of the Congo/epidemiology
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Intimate Partner Violence
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Prevalence
KW - Risk Factors
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - Sexual Partners
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Violence
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18105108
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18105108
M3 - A1: Web of Science-article
C2 - 34065852
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1660-4601
IS - 10
M1 - 5108
ER -