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Sexual violence against university students in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Global Health. Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania.ORCID iD: 0009-0009-9890-4916
University of Lleida, Spain.
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Global Health.ORCID iD: 0009-0004-2568-8136
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Global Health.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8114-4705
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2025 (English)In: Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, ISSN 1524-8380, E-ISSN 1552-8324Article, review/survey (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

Sexual violence (SV) is pervasive on university campuses worldwide, with alarmingly high reported rates in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite the high reported rates of SV victimization on campuses, existing evidence has not been critically synthesized to give a comprehensive picture of the problem’s extent, common forms, risk factors, and (knowledge about) victims and perpetrators in SSA countries. We aimed to map the existing literature on SV prevalence, types, risk factors, victims, perpetrators, and consequences among university students on campuses in SSA. We included articles focusing on university students from SSA countries published in English or French language from 2014 to 2023. We identified 543 records from nine databases; Academic Search Premier; CINAHL; EMBASE; MEDLINE; PsychINFO; PubMed; Scopus; SocINDEX; and Web of Science, 82 of which met our inclusion criteria. Retrieved articles covered only one-third of the sub-Saharan region, mostly focusing on female students and victims. Prevalence of different forms of SV varied among countries; authors attributed these variations to differences in time frame, forms of SV, how they were defined, and the tools used. Young female students were identified as common victims, while male teachers and students were common perpetrators. We used the socio-ecological model to summarize risk and protective factors associated with SV victimization and listed the health, social, and economic consequences of SV victimization. Despite these consequences, victims rarely seek help, whether from informal sources or authorities. We call for comprehensive studies in SSA that include both genders and focusing on victims and perpetrators, and address service access barriers.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2025.
Keywords [en]
college/university, prevalence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual violence, sub-Saharan Africa, university students
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-237704DOI: 10.1177/15248380251320980ISI: 001433976300001PubMedID: 40017450Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-86000768501OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-237704DiVA, id: diva2:1952536
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Familjen Erling-Perssons StiftelseAvailable from: 2025-04-15 Created: 2025-04-15 Last updated: 2025-04-15

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Mzilangwe, Ester StevenLindkvist, MarieGoicolea, IsabelKyungu Nkulu Kalengay, Faustine

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