ArticlePloS one2024
Is sexual autonomy a protective factor against intimate partner violence? Evidence from 27 sub-Saharan African countries.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Young women's healthcare screening behaviours and sexual autonomy in Ghana: a spatial distribution and socioeconomic inequality analysis of a large population-based survey.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2026Article
- A socio-ecological analysis of intimate partner violence among women of reproductive age in Nigeria: a multilevel analysis of data from 2008 to 2018 Nigeria demographic and health surveys.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Socioeconomic inequality of low sexual autonomy among reproductive-age women in four selected sub-Saharan African countries: a decomposition analysis by using performance monitoring for action data.Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Article
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5 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThough women in sub-Saharan Africa have increased risk of intimate sexual violence, research on the association between sexual autonomy and intimate partner violence among this population has not received the requisite attention. Consequently, we investigated if sexual autonomy is a protective factor against intimate partner violence among women in sub-Saharan Africa.
methodsSecondary data analysis was conducted based on the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHSs) of 27 sub-Saharan African countries from 2008 to 2021. A total of 104,523 married or cohabitating women were included in the study. We applied a multilevel Poisson regression model with robust variance to identify associated factors. Variables with a p-value<0.2 in the bi-variable multilevel Poisson regression analysis were considered for the multivariable analysis. The Adjusted Prevalence Ratio (APR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was reported, and variables with a p-value <0.05 were included in the multivariable analysis.
resultsThe prevalence of intimate partner violence and sexual autonomy among women in SSA were 32.96% [95% CI: 32.68%, 33.25%] and 88.79% [95% CI: 88.59%, 88.97%], respectively. Women in Sierra Leone had the highest prevalence of IPV (52.71%) while Comoros had the lowest prevalence of IPV (8.09%). The prevalence of sexual autonomy was highest in Namibia (99.22%) and lowest in Mali (61.83%). The MOR value in the null model was 1.26. We found that women who had sexual autonomy are 1.28 times [APR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.17, 1.40] more likely to experience IPV than women who had no sexual autonomy.
conclusionThis study has demonstrated that sexual autonomy is significantly associated with intimate partner violence, however, it does not necessarily act as a protective factor. The study suggests the need for more education on intimate partner violence targeting women's partners. This can help secure the commitment of the perpetrators to rather become proponents of anti-intimate partner violence and further offer women the necessary support for them to attain their full fundamental rights in all spheres of life.
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