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. 2022 Mar;7(3):e007704.
doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007704.

Risk factors for violence against women in high-prevalence settings: a mixed-methods systematic review and meta-synthesis

Jenevieve Mannell  1 , Hattie Lowe  2 , Laura Brown  2 , Reshmi Mukerji  2 , Delan Devakumar  2 , Lu Gram  2 , Henrica A F M Jansen  3 , Nicole Minckas  2 , David Osrin  2 , Audrey Prost  2 , Geordan Shannon  2 , Seema Vyas  4
Affiliations

Risk factors for violence against women in high-prevalence settings: a mixed-methods systematic review and meta-synthesis

Jenevieve Mannell et al. BMJ Glob Health. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Violence against women (VAW) affects one in three women globally. In some countries, women are at much higher risk. We examined risk factors for VAW in countries with the highest 12-month prevalence estimates of intimate partner violence (IPV) to develop understanding of this increased risk.

Methods: For this systematic review, we searched PUBMED, CINAHL, PROQUEST (Middle East and North Africa; Latin America and Iberia; East and South Asia), Web of Science, EMBASE and PsycINFO (Ovid) for records published between 1 January 2000 and 1 January 2021 in English, French and Spanish. Included records used quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods, reported original data, had VAW as the main outcome, and focused on at least one of 23 countries in the highest quintile of prevalence figures for women's self-reported experiences of physical and/or sexual violence in the past 12 months. We used critical interpretive synthesis to develop a conceptual model for associations between identified risk factors and VAW.

Results: Our search identified 12 044 records, of which 241 were included for analysis (2 80 360 women, 40 276 men, 274 key informants). Most studies were from Bangladesh (74), Uganda (72) and Tanzania (43). Several quantitative studies explored community-level/region-level socioeconomic status and education as risk factors, but associations with VAW were mixed. Although fewer in number and representing just one country, studies reported more consistent effects for community-level childhood exposure to violence and urban residence. Theoretical explanations for a country's high prevalence point to the importance of exposure to other forms of violence (armed conflict, witnessing parental violence, child abuse) and patriarchal social norms.

Conclusion: Available evidence suggests that heightened prevalence of VAW is not attributable to a single risk factor. Multilayered and area-level risk analyses are needed to ensure funding is appropriately targeted for countries where VAW is most pervasive.

Prospero registration number: The review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020190147).

Keywords: epidemiology; public health; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study selection. Adapted from Moher et al. HS, Demographic and Health Surveys; MICS, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys; VAW, violence against women.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of risk factors for VAW measured at area level. VAW, violence against women.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overlapping risk factors for VAW in high-prevalence settings. VAW, violence against women.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Conceptualising pathways of how structural country characteristics contribute to high VAW prevalence. VAW, violence against women.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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