Childhood sexual abuse among university students in Tanzania

McCrann, Denis; Lalor, Kevin; Katabaro, Joviter

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.05.009

Cited by 57 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…There is a clear connection between sex and economic survival for young women, ultimately rooted in conditions of poverty, disadvantage and lack of opportunity. Our findings are in line with previous research done in other parts of Tanzania that associated poverty with young people’s vulnerability to perpetrators who offer them financial support [19-23,45]. Poor economic status also contributes to the survivors opting for economic compensation from the perpetrator rather than pursuing justice through the legal system.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Community perceptions of rape and child sexual abuse: a qualitative study in rural Tanzania

Abeid

Muganyizi

Olsson

et al. 2014

BMC Int Health Hum Rights

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BackgroundRape of women and children is recognized as a health and human rights issue in Tanzania and internationally. Exploration of the prevailing perceptions in rural areas is needed in order to expand the understanding of sexual violence in the diversity of Tanzania’s contexts. The aim of this study therefore was to explore and understand perceptions of rape of women and children at the community level in a rural district in Tanzania with the added objective of exploring those perceptions that may contribute to perpetuating and/or hindering the disclosure of rape incidences.MethodsA qualitative design was employed using focus group discussions with male and female community members including religious leaders, professionals, and other community members. The discussions centered on causes of rape, survivors of rape, help-seeking and reporting, and gathered suggestions on measures for improvement. Six focus group discussions (four of single gender and two of mixed gender) were conducted. The focus group discussions were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using manifest qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe participants perceived rape of women and children to be a frequent and hidden phenomenon. A number of factors were singled out as contributing to rape, such as erosion of social norms, globalization, poverty, vulnerability of children, alcohol/drug abuse and poor parental care. Participants perceived the need for educating the community to raise their knowledge of sexual violence and its consequences, and their roles as preventive agents.ConclusionsIn this rural context, social norms reinforce sexual violence against women and children, and hinder them from seeking help from support services. Addressing the identified challenges may promote help-seeking behavior and improve care of survivors of sexual violence, while changes in social and cultural norms are needed for the prevention of sexual violence.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Community perceptions of rape and child sexual abuse: a qualitative study in rural Tanzania

Abeid

Muganyizi

Olsson

et al. 2014

BMC Int Health Hum Rights

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Exacerbations by poverty, lack of adequate parental care, and risky behaviors of children could perpetuate CSA events based on the fact that children who solicit financial and material support from outsiders may become victims of sexual abuse. Our findings concurred with the findings of a retrospective study (McCrann et al, 2006) conducted among university students in Tanzania that associated poverty with increased young people's vulnerability to perpetrators that offer them financial support. The 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices similarly indicated rape and other forms of violence against women and children to be a serious problem, mostly affecting the age groups below 16 years in Tanzania (U.S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2006).…”

Section: A Change In Social Dynamicssupporting

confidence: 95%

“…Besides these myths, the "virgin-cleansing myth," whereby HIV-infected men rape children to cure their disease, has been reported from different parts of sub-Saharan Africa (Lalor, 2004). Myths were also described as causes of CSA among university students in Malawi (Lema, 1997) and Tanzania, (McCrann et al, 2006). However, the role of myths and other superstitions remain elusive until they are fully explored by further research and appropriate actions are taken by society to control them.…”

Section: A Change In Social Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse—A Qualitative Interview Study with Representatives of the Socio-Legal System in Urban Tanzania

Kisanga¹,

Mbwambo²,

Hogan³

et al. 2010

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse

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Through in-depth interviews, this study explored perceptions and experiences of key players handling child sexual offense cases in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The informants included public police investigators, magistrates, legal workers, and social workers working with nongovernmental organizations. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Five themes emerged summarizing factors associated with sexual offenses, including community passivity, legal system weaknesses, legal framework inadequacy, and key players' vulnerabilities. Addressing the identified weaknesses may promote justice, while changes in attitudes and norms are needed for the prevention of sexual offenses to children.

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“…Male-female comparisons of sexual abuse prevalence rates were similar to those found in previous studies [59-61], with more females than males stating that they had been sexually abused. The gender disparity in reporting sexual victimization may arise from underreporting of such incidents by males [60].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Self-reported drunkenness among adolescents in four sub-Saharan African countries: associations with adverse childhood experiences

Kabiru

Béguy

Crichton

et al. 2010

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

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BackgroundConsumption of alcohol is associated with acute and chronic adverse health outcomes. There is a paucity of studies that explore the determinants of alcohol use among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa and, in particular, that examine the effects of adverse childhood experiences on alcohol use.MethodsThe paper draws on nationally-representative data from 9,819 adolescents aged 12-19 years from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda. Logistic regression models were employed to identify correlates of self-reported past-year drunkenness. Exposure to four adverse childhood experiences comprised the primary independent variables: living in a food-insecure household, living with a problem drinker, having been physically abused, and having been coerced into having sex. We controlled for age, religiosity, current schooling status, the household head's sex, living arrangements, place of residence, marital status, and country of survey. All analyses were conducted separately for males and females.ResultsAt the bivariate level, all independent variables (except for coerced sex among males) were associated with the outcome variable. Overall, 9% of adolescents reported that they had been drunk in the 12 months preceding the survey. In general, respondents who had experienced an adverse event during childhood were more likely to report drunkenness. In the multivariate analysis, only two adverse childhood events emerged as significant predictors of self-reported past-year drunkenness among males: living in a household with a problem drinker before age 10, and being physically abused before age 10. For females, exposure to family-alcoholism, experience of physical abuse, and coerced sex increased the likelihood of reporting drunkenness in the last 12 months. The association between adverse events and reported drunkenness was more pronounced for females. For both males and females there was a graded relationship between the number of adverse events experienced and the proportion reporting drunkenness.ConclusionsWe find an association between experience of adverse childhood events and drunkenness among adolescents in four sub-Saharan African countries. The complex impacts of adverse childhood experiences on young people's development and behavior may have an important bearing on the effectiveness of interventions geared at reducing alcohol dependence among the youth.

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Childhood sexual abuse among university students in Tanzania

Cited by 57 publications

References 32 publications

Community perceptions of rape and child sexual abuse: a qualitative study in rural Tanzania

Community perceptions of rape and child sexual abuse: a qualitative study in rural Tanzania

Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse—A Qualitative Interview Study with Representatives of the Socio-Legal System in Urban Tanzania

Self-reported drunkenness among adolescents in four sub-Saharan African countries: associations with adverse childhood experiences

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