Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38236895›Full record

ArticlePLoS medicine2024

Femicide, intimate partner femicide, and non-intimate partner femicide in South Africa: An analysis of 3 national surveys, 1999-2017.

Naeemah Abrahams, Shibe Mhlongo, Esnat Chirwa, Bianca Dekel, Asiphe Ketelo, Carl Lombard, Nwabisa Shai, Leane Ramsoomar, Shanaaz Mathews, Gérard Labuschagne and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
12.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Naeemah AbrahamsGender & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-6138-6256
Shibe MhlongoGender & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-3093-6646
Esnat ChirwaGender & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-0471-4978
Bianca DekelGender & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
Asiphe KeteloGender & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
Carl LombardBiostatistics Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-2136-6533
Nwabisa ShaiGender & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
Leane RamsoomarGender & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-1934-579X
Shanaaz MathewsChildren's Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-4743-3829
Gérard LabuschagneDepartment Forensic Medicine & Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Richard MatzopoulosBurden of Disease Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
Megan PrinslooBurden of Disease Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-0415-0973
Lorna J MartinForensic Medicine & Toxicology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Rachel JewkesGender & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-4330-6267
South African Medical Research Council · ZAUniversity of Cape Town · ZAUniversity of the Witwatersrand · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn most countries, reliable national statistics on femicide, intimate partner femicide (IPF), and non-intimate partner femicide (NIPF) are not available. Surveys are required to collect robust data on this most extreme consequence of intimate partner violence (IPV). We analysed 3 national surveys to compare femicide, IPF, and NIPF from 1999 to 2017 using age-standardised rates (ASRs) and incidence rate ratios (IRRs). METHODS AND

findingsWe conducted 3 national mortuary-based retrospective surveys using weighted cluster designs from proportionate random samples of medicolegal laboratories. We included females 14 years and older who were identified as having been murdered in South Africa in 1999 (n = 3,793), 2009 (n = 2,363), and 2017 (n = 2,407). Further information on the murdered cases were collected from crime dockets during interviews with police investigating officers. Our findings show that South Africa had an IPF rate of 4.9/100,000 female population in 2017. All forms of femicide among women 14 years and older declined from 1999 to 2017. For IPF, the ASR was 9.5/100,000 in 1999. Between 1999 and 2009, the decline for NIPF was greater than for IPF (IRR for NIPF 0.47 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42 to 0.53) compared to IRR for IPF 0.69 (95% CI 0.63 to 0.77). Rates declined from 2009 to 2017 and did not differ by femicide type. The decline in IPF was initially larger for women aged 14 to 29, and after 2009, it was more pronounced for those aged 30 to 44 years. Study limitations include missing data from the police and having to use imputation to account for missing perpetrator data.

conclusionsIn this study, we observed a reduction in femicide overall and different patterns of change in IPF compared to NIPF. The explanation for the reductions may be due to social and policy interventions aimed at reducing IPV overall, coupled with increased social and economic stability. Our study shows that gender-based violence is preventable even in high-prevalence settings, and evidence-based prevention efforts must be intensified globally. We also show the value of dedicated surveys in the absence of functional information systems.

Indexed as

Intimate Partner ViolenceSexual BehaviorFemaleHomicideHumansRetrospective StudiesSexual PartnersSouth Africa

Identifiers

PMID38236895
PMCPMC10796052
OpenAlexW4390968575

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.