Citation

Kelly J, Colantuoni E, Robinson C, Decker MR. Glob. Public Health 2019; ePub(ePub): 1-14.

Affiliation

Center for Public Health & Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health , Baltimore , MD , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17441692.2019.1650949

PMID

31422752

Abstract

War and interpersonal violence together account for a large burden on global health. Yet very few studies look at the relationship between these types of aggression. Non-partner physical violence (NPPV) is an often-understudied form of gender-based violence (GBV). This analysis draws on two datasets from one conflict-affected country, Liberia, to evaluate the impact of conflict on NPPV post-conflict. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Dataset (ACLED) measures the intensity of the conflict in Liberia from 1999-2003, while the Demographic and Heath Survey (DHS) data measure women's experiences with violence four years post-conflict. Almost half of women surveyed (45%) indicated that they experienced any kind of NPPV, highlighting the widespread nature of this issue. A multilevel modelling approach was used to account for the nesting of individuals within districts. Women living in districts that experienced conflict events in four or five years were almost three times as likely (aOR 2.93, p < .001) to experience past-year NPPV compared to individuals living in no conflict districts.

FINDINGS from this study suggest women residing in a conflict event-affected district may be at heightened risk of increased violence even years after peace is declared.

Language: en

Keywords

Interpersonal violence; civil war; conflict; contagion of violence; human rights