Violence Against Women in Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya: A Critical Issue

Background and Purpose: Violence against women (VAW) is a serious social, health and human rights issue. While VAW is ubiquitous, the prevalence rates and associated determinants vary across geographic and social contexts. VAW rates in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), for example, are some of the highest in the world (36.6%). While reported rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner sexual violence in East Africa (EA) are lower (38.8% and 11.5%, respectively) than other regions in SSA (29.7-65.6% and 9.2-21.1%, respectively), a small, but growing body of literature suggests that prevalence rates of VAW in informal settlements in EA are higher than in the general population. Yet, there are few studies focused on violence in these settlements. The purpose of this study was to start to fill this gap by documenting prevalence rates of different types of IPV and non-partner violence (NPV) in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.

Methods: Data were taken from a study carried out in Mathare Valley Informal Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya in August 2018. Household-level surveys, focused on women’s physical and mental health outcomes, including recent IPV and NPV, were administered to 552 women. Participants were selected using a stratified, random sample. Basic prevalence data for recent (in the last 12 months) sexual and physical NPV and for sexual, physical, and psychological IPV are presented. In addition, bi-variate, chi-square tests of independence were run for each type of NPV and IPV with a number of socio-demographic characteristics.

Results: Out of the full sample of women in the study (n=552), 16% reported having experienced some form of recent physical (11%) and/or sexual (6%) NPV. Out of the sample of women who were married or partnered (n=361), 76% reported they had experienced some form of recent physical (69%), sexual (42%), and/or psychological (53%) IPV. Results from the bi-variate tests between each NPV outcome and socio-demographic characteristics suggest that number of children is significantly associated with recent sexual and physical NPV. Results from the bi-variate tests between each IPV outcome and socio-demographic characteristics suggest that marital status is significantly associated with recent and psychological IPV; number of children is significantly associated with recent physical and psychological IPV; household income is significantly associated with recent physical and sexual IPV; and, education is significantly associated with recent psychological IPV.

Conclusions and Implications: Residents of informal settlements are some of the most diverse, yet poorest and most disadvantaged, citizens in Kenya. Informal settlements are home to refugees and immigrants and people representing every tribe in the nation. Unlike most citizens living in rural areas and/or more affluent urban neighborhoods, however, residents of informal settlements often face human rights violations daily. Findings from this study suggest that women in informal settlements in Kenya, in particular, experience much higher rates of NPV and IPV. As informal settlements continue to rapidly expand, findings from this study suggest there is a critical need for more research focused on exploring determinants of VAW and interventions to help prevent, eliminate, and provide services related to VAW in these settlements.