Gender-Based Violence in a Kenyan Slum: Creating Local, Woman-Centered Interventions

    Authors

    E. Swart

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Soc. Serv. Res.

    Keywords

    Gender-based violence; slums; interventions; Kenya; INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE; DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; WOMEN; PREVALENCE; CHINA; Social Work

    Abstract

    Gender-based violence in the developing world is beginning to receive serious scholarly attention. However, much of that research still overlooks violence against women in the burgeoning slum communities around the globe. This survey of 200 women between the ages of 18 and 30 years old describes gender-based violence in the "informal" settlement of Kibera, Kenya, the largest slum in sub-Saharan Africa. Prevalence and attitudes toward gender-based violence among survey participants are compared to those measured in the general population. Because results of the Kiberan survey show a higher rate of gender-based violence among women than the general population of Kenya, it appears that interventions are urgently needed in the slum. At the same time, slum-dwelling women reported lower attitudinal tolerance of gender-based violence than the larger population, supporting the readiness to accept interventions if available. The current study is one of the first to report data specifically about gender-based violence among women in Kibera and thus serves as a platform upon which larger future studies may be built. Implications for future research are discussed.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Social Service Research

    Volume

    38

    Issue/Number

    4

    Publication Date

    1-1-2012

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    427

    Last Page

    438

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000307064500001

    ISSN

    0148-8376

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