Prevalence & Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence among Family Planning Clients in Conakry, Guinea

BACKGROUND:

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health problem that affects women's physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Very little data on IPV experience and FP use is available in resource-poor settings, such as in West Africa. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence, patterns and correlates of IPV among clients of an adult Family Planning clinic in Conakry, Guinea.

METHODS:

The study data was collected for four months (March to June 2014) from women's family planning charts and from an IPV screening form at the Adult Family Planning and Reproductive Health Clinic of "Association Guinéenne pour le Bien-Etre Familial", a non-profit organization in Conakry, Guinea. 232 women out of 245 women who attended the clinic for services during the study period were screened for IPV and were included in this study.

RESULTS:

Of the 232 women screened, 213 (92 %) experienced IPV in one form or another at some point in their lifetime. 169 women reported psychological violence (79.3 %), 145 reported sexual violence (68.1 %) and 103 reported physical violence (48.4 %). Nearly a quarter of women reported joint occurrence of the three forms of violence(24 %).Half of the IPV positive women were current users of family planning (51.2 %) and of these, 77.9 % preferred injectable contraceptives. The odds of experiencing IPV was higher in women with secondary or vocational level of education than those with higher level of education (AOR: 8.4; 95 % CI 1.2-58.5). Women residing in other communes of Conakry (AOR: 5.6; 95 % CI 1.4-22.9) and those preferring injectable FP methods (AOR: 4.5; 95 % CI 1.2-16.8) were more likely to experience lifetime IPV.

CONCLUSIONS:

IPV is prevalent among family planning clients in Conakry, Guinea where nine out of ten women screened in the AGBEF adult clinic reported having experienced one or another type of IPV. A holistic approach that includes promotion of women's rights and gender equality, existence of laws and policies is needed to prevent and respond to IPV, effective implementation of policies and laws, and access to quality IPV services in Guinea and countries with higher rates of IPV.

Below:  Venn diagram illustrating overlaps between lifetime experiences of psychological, physical and sexual violence reported by FP clients in Conakry, Guinea, March to June 2014

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/Mq1M02

By:  Alexandre Delamou, Ghazaleh Samandari, Bienvenu Salim Camara, Pernamou Traore, Fatoumata Guilinty Diallo, Sita Millimono, Defa Wane, Maimouna Toliver, Kira Laffe, and Fabio Verani

Centre National de formation et de recherche en santé rurale de Maferinyah, Forécariah, Guinea

Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Conakry, Conakry, Guinea

EngenderHealth, New York, USA

Association Guinéenne pour le Bien-Etre Familial, Conakry, Guinea

Ministry of Health, Conakry, Guinea

EngenderHealth, Conakry, Guinea

Alexandre Delamou, Email: moc.liamg@uomaleda.

BMC Res Notes. 2015; 8: 814.

Published online 2015 Dec 23. doi:  10.1186/s13104-015-1811-7

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A Qualitative Exploration of Perceived Gender Differences in Methamphetamine Use among Women Who Use Methamphetamine on the Mexico-U.S. Border

The purpose of this study is to extend the research on contextual factors that influence the initiation and continued use of methamphetamine (meth) by women on the U.S.-Mexico border. 

At present, a minimal body of literature exists that explores meth use on the Mexico-U.S. border. A purposeful sample of 20 women who were active meth users aged ≥18 years was recruited by trained outreach workers from a variety of meth-user networks in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, the city bordering El Paso, Texas. 

Respondents participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews including questions on users' perceived familial, social, and environmental influences of meth use. Gender-based themes emerged from the analysis: 

1. patterns of meth use; 
2. places where drugs were used; 
3. effects of relationship networks on meth use; 
4. differential access to drugs; 
5. trading sex for drugs; 
6. perceived class differences; and 
7. long-term drug use and its consequences. 

Respondents reported a preference for using meth as powder or pills as opposed to smoking or injecting the drug. They reported being introduced to meth by men they trust and relying on men for drug acquisition in spaces less accessible and more dangerous to women. 

They described how the drug changed their lifestyle and their behavior towards family members and friends, including instances of physical and psychological violence. Interventions for women on the Mexico-U.S. border should be developed based on users' social networks to target social processes to prevent initiation and to bring active meth users into treatment.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/0ZvM9Y

By:   Loza O¹, Ramos R², Ferreira-Pinto J¹, Hernandez MT³, Villalobos SA⁴.

¹a College of Health Sciences , University of Texas at El Paso (http://chs.utep.edu/) , El Paso , TX.

²b Alliance of Border Collaboratives (ABC) , El Paso , TX.

³c School of Public Health , University of California , Berkeley , CA.

⁴d Department of Emergency Medicine , Texas Tech Health Sciences of El Paso, Paul Foster School of Medicine , El Paso , TX.

J Ethn Subst Abuse. 2015 Dec 21:1-20. [Epub ahead of print]

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