Sexual violence against female university students in Ethiopia

Violence against women includes any act of gender based violence that results in physical, sexual, and psychological harm to women [1]. Any sexual act or attempt, unwelcomed sexual advances, against a person’s sexuality using force, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting is considered sexual violence [2, 3].

Sexual violence is one dimension of violence in schools which creates an atmosphere of intimidation and danger in an environment [4]. It is a fundamental violation of human right to liberty and freedom from fear, and is now recognized as a public health priority [5]. It ranges from forcible rape to physical forms of pressure that compel women to engage in sex against their consent. It is common among children, adolescents and women both in industrial and developing nations [6, 7].

Studies showed that violence against girls by older male students and teachers is very common [8‐10]. Women’s suffer physical, mental and reproductive health consequences of sexual violence like depression, loss of self-confidence, injuries, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and disability up to death [11, 12]. Rape alone results in about 32,000 unwanted pregnancies each year globally [13]. This can have an emotional impact and is also linked to negative health behaviors, such us substance use and mood disorders like anxiety and depression [14, 15].

Violence against women is major public health and human rights agenda in Ethiopia. However, the magnitude of sexual violence among youths is not deeply recognized. Therefore, determining the magnitude and identifying predictors helps to design prevention and controlling strategies to tackle it. Thus this study was aimed at assessing sexual violence and its predictors among female students of Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia.

Goal five, gender equality, of sustainable development goals will not be achieved without eliminating gender based violence [5]. But sexual violence appears to be a major characteristic of school life for many young females in Ethiopia [16, 18, 19]; as it persist affecting many [20]. Most of the young people are not aware of their sexual rights and do not even appreciate the degree of their violations [21]. Thus, this study was aimed to assess sexual violence and its predictors among female Wolaita Sodo University students.

Sexual violence was found a major problem among the students with 45.4% life time prevalence. The finding was higher than the prevalence (37.3%) among female college students in Bahirdar [22]. Another study from Madawalabu University [23] revealed 41.1% life time prevalence of sexual violence which is close to this finding. However, it was lower than the prevalence among female Ambo university students 76.4% [24].

Lifetime rape was conveyed by 10.4% of respondents and it was comparable with the findings of Madawalabu and Addis Ababa Universities that revealed 10.9% [25] and 12.7% [26] rape respectively. However, it was higher than the findings from Dabat [27], Debark [28] and Addis Ababa [29] high schools students where the findings fell between 5.1% and 8.8%. This might be due to the differences in age and socio-cultural factors between study participants. The findings of attempted rape (19.2%) and rape (5.6%) in the current academic year were lower than the result from Hawassa University [30] that revealed 10.2% attempted and 3% rape.

Female students whose childhood residence was in rural areas reported higher frequency of sexual coercion. Similar findings were reported from studies among university students in Madawalabu [25] Addis Ababa [26] and Hawassa [31]. Also, study of violence that compares rural, suburban, and urban teen found teens in rural school districts to be more victims of violence than their suburban and urban counterparts [32].

Participants who had history of consuming or currently consuming alcohol and have friends who do so regularly reported higher level of sexual violence. Though, it is difficult to conclude which one comes first as the timing cannot be determined by cross sectional study; the association can be explained by various mechanisms. At a behavioral or psychological level, alcohol may decrease the risk perception and the ability to communicate assertively [33, 34], making an individual more vulnerable to sexual coercion [35]. In Ethiopia, universities and schools are alcohol free; as a result students mostly go to bars and night clubs whenever they want to drink. A previous study from Uganda suggests a causal link between alcohol consumption at bars or parties and the occurrence of sexual coercion [36]. Studies conducted in Ethiopian Universities also revealed increased risk of sexual violence among alcohol consumers [25, 30, 31]. However, it would be difficult to separate the direct effect of the alcohol consumed by the victim, from the effects associated with the setting, where the perpetrators are present [34]. Moreover, the fact that alcohol consumption and sexual assault frequently co-occur does not necessarily demonstrate that alcohol causes sexual assault; the causal direction could be the opposite. Women who report drinking could be doing so in response to having experienced sexual violence as a coping mechanism [14]. Meaning, alcohol is associated to sexual violence both as a risk and coping mechanism which makes it difficult to conclude which one comes first as the timing cannot be determined by the current study design.

Witnessing inter-parental violence or mother being beaten by her husband or male partner was associated with increased odds of sexual violence. This is also indicated in studies conducted among college students in Madawalabu [25], Hawassa [30, 31] and Chile [37] where witnessing inter-parental violence as a child increased the likelihood of experiencing sexual violence. A girl that grows observing her mother being beaten by her partner would likely believe that threats and violence are the norm in relationships [14].

Having regular boyfriend was also found to increase the risk of experiencing sexual violence. This finding is in line with study from Madawalabu University [25] where students who had a regular boyfriend experienced more sexual violence than their counterparts. As they became intimate couples might spend time in private places where the boy can force the girl for sex. As evidenced by literature, forced sex is more likely to occur later in the dating relationship than earlier [12]. Plus studies have also revealed the most frequently reported rapists to be intimate partners (husband/ boyfriend) [38, 39].

Discussing sexual issues with parents or anyone else was negatively associated with sexual violence. Students who had not reported discussion of sexual issues with anyone else showed high prevalence of sexual violence than those who did. Communication with parents on sexual topics helps young women resist partner sexual pressure [40]; as what parents have told them and might think influence their decisions about sex and relationships [41].

The high prevalence of sexual violence requires attention. More detailed research has to be conducted to develop prevention and intervention strategies.