Women who remained adherent to COVID-19 preventive measures in Uganda in mid-2020 were more likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV) than women who were poorly adherent to the measures, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Ronald Anguzu of the Medical College of Wisconsin, US, and colleagues.
51% of young girls and women in Uganda have experienced one form of physical or sexual IPV. COVID-19 lockdowns have been associated with psychological distress and decreased quality of life, especially in households with high poverty levels. Concerns have been raised about the population-level effects of COVID-19 prevention strategies and policies on violence against women and girls.
In the new study, Anguzu and colleagues conducted a three-month prospective cohort study, from July to October 2020, among 148 women living in informal settlements of Kampala, Uganda. Participants had a mean age of 32.9 years, 50.7% were married or cohabitating, and 78.2% reported food insecurity during the lockdown period. They were surveyed at baseline, 3 weeks and 6 weeks on their adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures, sociodemographic factors, and IPV.
Overall, 10.1% of participants were poorly adherent to COVID-19 preventive measures—including social distancing, wearing face masks and use of hand sanitizer. 58.1% of women in the study experienced at least one form of IPV between baseline and endline surveys. After controlling for potential confounders, remaining adherent to all four COVID-19 preventive measures was independently associated with 3.87 times higher odds of experiencing IPV (OR 3.87, 95%CI 1.09, 13.79).
The current study was not able to follow up participants to further investigate the socio-cultural context surrounding their experiences of IPV during the first COVID-19 wave in Uganda. However, the authors conclude that integration of violence prevention and response strategies into the national COVID-19 prevention strategy for Uganda is critical.
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In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS Global Public Health: https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0000177
Citation: Anguzu R, Kabagenyi A, Cassidy LD, Kasasa S, Shour AR, Musoke BN, et al. (2022) Adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and its association with intimate partner violence among women in informal settings of Kampala, Uganda. PLOS Glob Public Health 2(4): e0000177. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000177
Author Countries: U.S.A., Uganda
Funding: This study was funded by the Government of Uganda through the special COVID-19 funding to the Research and Innovations Fund (RIF) of Makerere University: https://rif.mak.ac.ug/list-of-projects-awarded-under-the-special-mak-rif-covid-19-call/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Journal
PLOS Global Public Health
Method of Research
Survey
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and its association with intimate partner violence among women in informal settings of Kampala, Uganda
Article Publication Date
6-Apr-2022
COI Statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.