Simona Simona, Likando Nakena
Department of Social Work and Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
PLoS One. 2025 Mar 31;20(3):e0318640. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318640. eCollection 2025.
Sexual violence against women is a major social and public health problem with wide-ranging consequences on the victims. In Zambia, 15% of women have experienced sexual violence from intimate partners. While there exist some studies on sexual violence in Zambia, there is a dearth of research specifically addressing underlying determinants of intimate partner sexual violence against women who are either married or living with partners. Our study sought out to examine factors associated with sexual violence among this demographic and how these factors vary across communities and over time.
We used data from the 2007, 2013/14 and 2018 waves of the Zambia Demographic and Health Surveys (ZDHS) consisting of a total of 21,020 women of reproductive age group of 15-49 years old. Trends in intimate partner sexual violence by selected factors across the three ZDHS cycles were analyzed using bivariate statistics and multilevel logistic regression models. Multilevel models were also fitted on the pooled data, including all the survey years, to examine individual and contextual level factors associated with intimate partner sexual violence.
The results show that the prevalence of sexual violence remain high in Zambia, with a slight decrease over time, from 16.3% in 2007 through to 14.7% in 2018. Trends analysis show that the prevalence rate among women who have attained higher education, are in the highest wealth quintile, reside in urban areas, have decision-making authority have decreased significantly between 2007 and 2018. Contrarily, among women who tolerate violence and those who live with alcohol consuming partners, sexual violence prevalence rates have increased over time. In the consolidated multilevel model, the study finds several factors to be associated with intimate partner sexual violence, including having primary education (AOR = 1.18; 95% CI 1.02-1.36), having an alcohol consuming partner (AOR = 1.76; 95% CI 1.61-1.93), having no decision-making authority (AOR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.09-1.31), witnessing parental violence (AOR = 1.47; 95% CI 1.34-1.60), having a controlling partner (AOR = 3.41; CI 2.96-3.92) and being in a polygynous relationship (AOR = 1.31; 95% CI 1.16-1.49). While women who occupy the highest wealth quintile (AOR = 0.72; 95% CI 0.57-0.90) and those who live in rural areas (AOR = 0.83; 95% CI 0.72-0.96) have lower odds of experiencing intimate partner sexual violence.
This study underscores the persistent prevalence of sexual violence against women in Zambia, particularly within the context of intimate relationships. While there has been a slight decrease in prevalence over time, there are significant disparities across demographic and socio-economic factors. Findings indicate that educational attainment, partner's controlling behavior, decision making authority, exposure to parental violence, partner's alcohol consumption, and relationship type significantly influence the likelihood of experiencing intimate partner sexual violence in Zambia. These findings imply that there is need for targeted policy interventions and strategies to address underlying determinants of intimate partner sexual violence and promoting gender equality and empowerment among women in Zambia.
针对妇女的性暴力是一个重大的社会和公共卫生问题，对受害者会产生广泛影响。在赞比亚，15%的女性曾遭受亲密伴侣的性暴力。虽然赞比亚已有一些关于性暴力的研究，但专门针对已婚或与伴侣同居的妇女遭受亲密伴侣性暴力的潜在决定因素的研究却很匮乏。我们的研究旨在调查这一人群中性暴力的相关因素，以及这些因素在不同社区和不同时间内是如何变化的。
我们使用了赞比亚人口与健康调查（ZDHS）2007年、2013/14年和2018年三轮调查的数据，这些数据涵盖了总共21020名15至49岁的育龄妇女。通过双变量统计和多水平逻辑回归模型，分析了三个ZDHS周期中按选定因素划分的亲密伴侣性暴力趋势。还对汇总数据（包括所有调查年份）拟合了多水平模型，以研究与亲密伴侣性暴力相关的个人和背景层面因素。
结果显示，赞比亚的性暴力发生率仍然很高，且随着时间略有下降，从2007年的16.3%降至2018年的14.7%。趋势分析表明，2007年至2018年间，受过高等教育、处于最高财富五分位数、居住在城市地区且拥有决策权的女性中的性暴力发生率显著下降。相反，在容忍暴力的女性和与饮酒伴侣同居的女性中，性暴力发生率随时间有所上升。在综合多水平模型中，研究发现几个因素与亲密伴侣性暴力有关，包括接受过小学教育（比值比[AOR]=1.18；95%置信区间[CI]1.02 - 1.36）、有饮酒伴侣（AOR = 1.76；95% CI 1.61 - 1.93）、没有决策权（AOR = 1.19；95% CI 1.09 - 1.31）、目睹过父母暴力（AOR = 1.
