IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i9p4407-d540370.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Associated Factors of Gender-Based Violence against Women in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Muluken Dessalegn Muluneh

    (School of Nursing and Midwifery, Parramatta South Campus, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW 2151, Australia
    Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 20855, Ethiopia)

  • Lyn Francis

    (School of Nursing and Midwifery, Parramatta South Campus, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW 2151, Australia)

  • Kingsley Agho

    (School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Perth, NSW 2571, Australia
    African Vision Research Institute (AVRI), University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa)

  • Virginia Stulz

    (School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia)

Abstract

A systematic review and meta-analysis were employed to address the associated factors of gender-based violence (GBV) in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines were followed. Ovid Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane Central, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science were used to source articles with stringent eligibility criteria. A total of 4931 studies were found and 50 studies met the inclusion criteria. Pooled meta-analyses revealed that low educational attainment, higher alcohol consumption, substance use, history of child and family abuse, limited decision-making skills, experiencing depression, males having multiple sexual partners, and younger age were found to be individual- and family-associated factors that increase the experiences of GBV. Community tolerant attitudes to violence, women’s unemployment, being Muslim, lower socioeconomic class, food and social insecurity were found to be community- and societal-associated factors of GBV. Alcohol consumption, low educational attainment, experiencing depression, being younger, a history of child and family abuse, tolerant attitudes to violence, and low socioeconomic status were poignant factors associated with GBV amongst women in SSA countries. The need to develop a multipronged approach of intervention is a top priority in SSA to reach the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) target of 2030 to eliminate all forms of violence. Socio-behavioural change communication interventions at individual and community levels need to be introduced, and interventions need to address the prevention of child and family abuse and increase women’s feelings of empowerment in order to prevent GBV in SSA.

Suggested Citation

  • Muluken Dessalegn Muluneh & Lyn Francis & Kingsley Agho & Virginia Stulz, 2021. "A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Associated Factors of Gender-Based Violence against Women in Sub-Saharan Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-28, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:9:p:4407-:d:540370
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4407/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4407/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    2. Amanda Selin & Stephanie M. DeLong & Aimée Julien & Catherine MacPhail & Rhian Twine & James P. Hughes & Yaw Agyei & Erica L. Hamilton & Kathleen Kahn & Audrey Pettifor, 2019. "Prevalence and Associations, by Age Group, of IPV Among AGYW in Rural South Africa," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(1), pages 21582440198, February.
    3. Muluken Dessalegn Muluneh & Virginia Stulz & Lyn Francis & Kingsley Agho, 2020. "Gender Based Violence against Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cross-Sectional Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Muluken Dessalegn & Mhiret Ayele & Yeshitila Hailu & Genetu Addisu & Sintayehu Abebe & Haset Solomon & Geteneh Mogess & Virginia Stulz, 2020. "Gender Inequality and the Sexual and Reproductive Health Status of Young and Older Women in the Afar Region of Ethiopia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-14, June.
    5. Andrew Gibbs & Rachel Jewkes & Samantha Willan & Laura Washington, 2018. "Associations between poverty, mental health and substance use, gender power, and intimate partner violence amongst young (18-30) women and men in urban informal settlements in South Africa: A cross-se," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Kade Finnoff, 2012. "Intimate partner violence, female employment, and male backlash in Rwanda," Economics of Peace and Security Journal, EPS Publishing, vol. 7(2), pages 14-24, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Muluken Dessalegn Muluneh & Lyn Francis & Mhiret Ayele & Sintayehu Abebe & Misrak Makonnen & Virginia Stulz, 2021. "The Effect of Women’s Empowerment in the Utilisation of Family Planning in Western Ethiopia: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-14, June.
    2. Wei Wei & Tanwne Sarker & Wioletta Żukiewicz-Sobczak & Rana Roy & G. M. Monirul Alam & Md. Ghulam Rabbany & Mohammad Shakhawat Hossain & Noshaba Aziz, 2021. "The Influence of Women’s Empowerment on Poverty Reduction in the Rural Areas of Bangladesh: Focus on Health, Education and Living Standard," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Helen Cahill & Babak Dadvand & Anne Suryani & Anne Farrelly, 2023. "A Student-Centric Evaluation of a Program Addressing Prevention of Gender-Based Violence in Three African Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(15), pages 1-19, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Muluken Dessalegn Muluneh & Virginia Stulz & Lyn Francis & Kingsley Agho, 2020. "Gender Based Violence against Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cross-Sectional Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-21, February.
    2. Muluken Dessalegn Muluneh & Lyn Francis & Mhiret Ayele & Sintayehu Abebe & Misrak Makonnen & Virginia Stulz, 2021. "The Effect of Women’s Empowerment in the Utilisation of Family Planning in Western Ethiopia: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-14, June.
    3. İlkay Unay-Gailhard & Mark A. Brennen, 2022. "How digital communications contribute to shaping the career paths of youth: a review study focused on farming as a career option," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1491-1508, December.
    4. Mahin Ghafari & Vali Baigi & Zahra Cheraghi & Amin Doosti-Irani, 2016. "The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Iranian Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-10, June.
    5. Elizabeth T Cafiero-Fonseca & Andrew Stawasz & Sydney T Johnson & Reiko Sato & David E Bloom, 2017. "The full benefits of adult pneumococcal vaccination: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, October.
    6. Santos Urbina & Sofía Villatoro & Jesús Salinas, 2021. "Self-Regulated Learning and Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments in Higher Education: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-12, June.
    7. Oded Berger-Tal & Alison L Greggor & Biljana Macura & Carrie Ann Adams & Arden Blumenthal & Amos Bouskila & Ulrika Candolin & Carolina Doran & Esteban Fernández-Juricic & Kiyoko M Gotanda & Catherine , 2019. "Systematic reviews and maps as tools for applying behavioral ecology to management and policy," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 30(1), pages 1-8.
    8. Nadine Desrochers & Adèle Paul‐Hus & Jen Pecoskie, 2017. "Five decades of gratitude: A meta‐synthesis of acknowledgments research," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 68(12), pages 2821-2833, December.
    9. Maryono, Maryono & Killoes, Aditya Marendra & Adhikari, Rajendra & Abdul Aziz, Ammar, 2024. "Agriculture development through multi-stakeholder partnerships in developing countries: A systematic literature review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    10. Alene Sze Jing Yong & Yi Heng Lim & Mark Wing Loong Cheong & Ednin Hamzah & Siew Li Teoh, 2022. "Willingness-to-pay for cancer treatment and outcome: a systematic review," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(6), pages 1037-1057, August.
    11. Xue-Ying Xu & Hong Kong & Rui-Xiang Song & Yu-Han Zhai & Xiao-Fei Wu & Wen-Si Ai & Hong-Bo Liu, 2014. "The Effectiveness of Noninvasive Biomarkers to Predict Hepatitis B-Related Significant Fibrosis and Cirrhosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, June.
    12. Vicente Miñana-Signes & Manuel Monfort-Pañego & Javier Valiente, 2021. "Teaching Back Health in the School Setting: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-18, January.
    13. Agnieszka A. Tubis & Katarzyna Grzybowska, 2022. "In Search of Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0 in Small-Medium Enterprises—A State of the Art Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-26, November.
    14. Obsa Urgessa Ayana & Jima Degaga, 2022. "Effects of rural electrification on household welfare: a meta-regression analysis," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 69(2), pages 209-261, June.
    15. Caloffi, Annalisa & Colovic, Ana & Rizzoli, Valentina & Rossi, Federica, 2023. "Innovation intermediaries' types and functions: A computational analysis of the literature," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    16. García-Poole, Chloe & Byrne, Sonia & Rodrigo, María José, 2019. "How do communities intervene with adolescents at psychosocial risk? A systematic review of positive development programs," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 194-209.
    17. Jie Zhao & Ji Chen & Damien Beillouin & Hans Lambers & Yadong Yang & Pete Smith & Zhaohai Zeng & Jørgen E. Olesen & Huadong Zang, 2022. "Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    18. Qing Ye & Bao-Xin Qian & Wei-Li Yin & Feng-Mei Wang & Tao Han, 2016. "Association between the HFE C282Y, H63D Polymorphisms and the Risks of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis o," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, September.
    19. Bishal Mohindru & David Turner & Tracey Sach & Diana Bilton & Siobhan Carr & Olga Archangelidi & Arjun Bhadhuri & Jennifer A. Whitty, 2020. "Health State Utility Data in Cystic Fibrosis: A Systematic Review," PharmacoEconomics - Open, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 13-25, March.
    20. Subramaniam, Mega & Pang, Natalie & Morehouse, Shandra & Asgarali-Hoffman, S. Nisa, 2020. "Examining vulnerability in youth digital information practices scholarship: What are we missing or exhausting?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:9:p:4407-:d:540370. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.