Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 29;16(10):e0258953.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258953. eCollection 2021.

Prevalence of sexual violence and its associated factors among housemaids attending evening schools in urban settings of Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia: A school based cross sectional study

Kalkidan Gezahegn  1 , Selamawit Semagn  1 , Mohammed Feyisso Shaka  1
Affiliations

Prevalence of sexual violence and its associated factors among housemaids attending evening schools in urban settings of Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia: A school based cross sectional study

Kalkidan Gezahegn et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Housemaids are the most vulnerable group to sexual violence due to their working condition, isolation and school arrangements. Despite the ubiquity of sexual violence among the domestic work sector, particularly among housemaids, this area of research continues to be neglected. This study was aimed at examining the prevalence and factors pertaining to sexual violence among housemaids attending night school program in urban setups of Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia.

Method: A school based quantitative cross sectional study was conducted among 394 housemaids attending night schools in the urban setups of Gedeo Zone from April to May 2019. After stratifying of students using class grade, SRS technique was used to choose study subjects from each stratum. Quantitative data was collected using face to face interview and qualitative was collected using focus group discussion, in-depth interview and key informant interview. The data was entered and analyzed by SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regression was fitted to determine the association of each independent variable with the dependent variable.

Result: Based on the finding, the prevalence of sexual violence was 60.2%. The odds of experiencing sexual violence through working life-time as housemaid was higher for those who had migrated from rural to urban for work [AOR = 1.97: 95% CI, (1.07,3.63)], had less than 5 years of experience as housemaid [AOR = 3.10: 95% CI, (1.60, 6.00)], were in the age group of 15-19 [AOR = 3.75:95% CI (1.88, 7.46), ever used alcohol [AOR = 6.77: 95% CI, (2.65,17.33)] and whose fathers lacked formal education [AOR = 2.75:95%CI (1.24,6.08)]. On the other hand, unmarried /housemaids having no regular sexual partner were less likely to face sexual violence [AOR. = 0.28: 95% CI, (0.13, 0.57)].

Conclusion: The level of sexual violence was found to be high among housemaids attending night schools in in this study. Housemaids from rural area, those newly starting the work, younger housemaids, and those who were married were more likely to be victims of sexual violence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Prevalence of different forms of life time sexual violence among housemaids attending night schools in urban setups of Gedeo zone, May 2019.
NB. Respondent can report more than one form of sexual violence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World health organization (WHO). Violence against women: intimate partner and sexual violence against women, 2014. n.d.
    1. Human Rights Watch, Swept under the rug: abuses against domestic workers around the world, Human Rights Watch. 2006. Vol. 18, No. 7(C). 2006. n.d.
    1. Internationa labour organization (ILO). Decent work for domestic workers. Report IV(1), fourth item on the agenda for (2)International Labour Conference, 99th session 2010 n.d.
    1. Tadele, F., Pankhurst, A., Bevan, P., & Lavers, T. Migration and rural- urban linkages in Ethiopia and the implications for policy and development practice: Case studies of five rural and two urban sites in Addis Ababa, Amhara, Oromia and SNNP Regions. (P n.d.
    1. Gebre KM. Vulnerability, Legal Protection and Work Conditions of Domestic Workers in Addis Ababa Human Right, Development and Social Justice 2012. n.d.

Publication types