Adobea Yaa Owusu

Factors Influencing Domestic and Marital Violence against Women in Ghana

Using the most recent version of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey and employing complementary log-log models, this study examined the causes of both physical and sexual violence among married women in Ghana. Results indicate that wealth and employment status that capture feminist explanations of domestic violence were not significantly related to both physical and sexual violence. Education was however, related to physical violence among Ghanaian women. Women who thought wife beating was justified and those who reported higher levels of control by their husbands had higher odds of experiencing physical and sexual violence. Also, compared to those who had not, women who witnessed family violence in their lives were significantly more likely to have experienced physical and sexual violence.

BURDEN OF BURULI ULCER: HOW AFFECTED HOUSEHOLDS IN A GHANAIAN DISTRICT COPE

Buruli Ulcer (BU) is economically burdensome and socially stigmatising. We examined the burden of BU and the strategies commonly adopted by households in a Ghanaian district to cope with it. Respondents for the study were conveniently sampled using data from a BU unit within the District Health Centre. Adult BU patients and caretakers of minor patients (aged less than 15) who had reported for care within the past year were interviewed. A semi- structured questionnaire was used for the interviews. The staff in-charge of an international NGO with services to BU patients in the district was also interviewed. The disease was associ- ated with poor rural households with mean annual incomes of the equivalent of USD 490.70 or less. Other costs and stigma associated with the disease posed a great burden on the already poor households we studied. Households adopt coping strategies, including sale of assets, reduction in farm sizes, and avoiding people, all of which are potentially risky for future sustainability.

Examining HIV-related stigma and discrimination in Ghana: What are the major contributors?

BACKGROUND Although AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are considered detrimental to HIV prevention activities, not many studies have attempted to understand stigma and discrimination in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Ghana. METHODS Using the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey and applying the ordinary least-squares technique, this study examined what influences AIDS-related stigma and discrimination among men and women in Ghana. RESULTS The results indicate that Ghanaian men and women with relatively high knowledge about HIV/AIDS had low stigmatising and discriminatory attitudes (b=-0.097, P<0.01; b=-0.083, P<0.01), respectively. On the other hand, respondents who endorsed more myths about HIV transmission had high stigma and discriminatory attitudes. Women who had ever tested for their HIV serostatus reported significantly lower levels of stigma and discrimination (b=-0.085, P<0.01) compared with those who had not tested for HIV. Individuals who are highly educated, employed and in wealthy households all reported significantly lower levels of stigma and discrimination compared with those who are uneducated, unemployed and in poorer households. CONCLUSION AIDS-related stigma and discrimination can be reduced by encouraging HIV testing, and ensuring that Ghanaians understand and have factual knowledge regarding the transmission of the disease.

Kinship and Intimate Partner Violence Against Married Women in Ghana A Qualitative Exploration

In African societies, kinship ties determine how women are socialized, their access to power and wealth, as well as custody of children, often considered important factors in married women’s experience of intimate partner violence (IPV). Yet studies that examine how kinship norms influence IPV are scant. Using in-depth interviews collected from women identifying with both matrilineal and patrilineal descent systems, we explored differences in Ghanaian women’s experiences of IPV in both kin groups. Results show that while IPV occurs across matrilineal and patrilineal societies, all women in patrilineal societies narrated continuous pattern of emotional, physical, and sexual assault, and their retaliation to any type of violence almost always culminated in more experience of violent attacks and abandonment. In matrilineal societies, however, more than half of the women recounted frequent experiences of emotional violence, and physical violence occurred as isolated events resulting from common couple disagreements. Sexual violence against matrilineal women occurred as consented but unwanted sexual acts, but patrilineal women narrated experiencing violent emotional and physical attack with aggressive unconsented sexual intercourse. Contextualizing these findings within existing literature on IPV against women suggests that policies aimed at addressing widespread IPV in Ghanaian communities should appreciate the dynamics of kinship norms.

Geographies of crime and collective efficacy in urban Ghana

ABSTRACT Geographies of Crime and Collective Efficacy in Urban Ghana. Territory, Politics, Governance. The quest to understand how urban neighbourhood characteristics impact on crime has become an important theoretical and policy-relevant component of contemporary criminology thinking and a potential gauge for the relative value of informal and formal mechanisms of social control. This renewed interest and vigour stems, in great part, from recent works which use social disorganization theory as a spring board to examine the mediating effects of collective efficacy on crime-growth rates. The recent preeminence notwithstanding, the situation in less-developed countries remains under-researched and poorly understood, a situation partly attributable to the dearth of official disaggregated data at the community level. This paper addresses this gap in knowledge by drawing on our empirical study in Accra, Ghana. Our analytical results reveal that crime opportunities are neither uniformly nor randomly organized in space and time, and provide consistent support for lower levels of violent crime in neighbourhoods with higher levels of collective efficacy. While raising concerns about a rigid dichotomy between ‘safer’ and ‘incubator’ crime communities, we also caution that such practices can mislead policy-makers and preclude attempts at devising practical preventive interventions.

Women’s Experiences of Intimate Partner Economic Abuse in the Eastern Region of Ghana:

Despite its prevalence, intimate partner economic abuse has received less scholarly attention in sub-Saharan Africa. Using qualitative enquiry, this study describes the experiences of economic abuse among 18 women in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Economic abuse occurred in a variety of forms, including extortion, denial of income-earning activity, and attempts to deny women’s economic independence and financial self-sufficiency. Findings point to the pervasiveness of economic abuse among both high- and low-income women. While economic dependency among nonworking women was associated with sexual violence, working and independent women experienced physical and emotional violence on questioning intimate partner’s economic abuse.

Does Type and Severity of Violence Affect the Help-Seeking Behaviors of Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in Nigeria?

Using data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (N = 6,013) and applying multinomial logit models, we examined whether type and severity of intimate partner violence (IPV) influence victims’ help-seeking behaviors. Results showed that about 65% of women did not seek help after experiencing IPV. However, most women who sought help did so from informal sources only (31.3%), compared with formal sources (1.9%). Type and severity of violence were significant predictors of the help-seeking behaviors of Nigerian women. Women who experienced severe forms of physical and emotional violence were more likely to seek help from formal and informal support services, than not seeking help. Sexual violence was not a significant predictor of women’s help-seeking behaviors. It is important to educate women on the relevance of seeking help, especially from formal support services after experiencing IPV.

...he always slaps me on my ears: the health consequences of intimate partner violence among a group of patrilineal women in Ghana.

Abstract Intimate partner violence has implications for women’s health globally. Patrilineal women have been shown to have increased risk of experiencing intimate partner violence, yet, the health consequences of intimate partner violence in patrilineal women have not been thoroughly explored or documented. This study used qualitative in-depth interviews to explore the health effects of intimate partner violence among 15 ever-partnered Ghanaian patrilineal women. Participants attributed violence to several factors including gendered domestic relations, cultural and marital rites and alcohol use, among other factors. Abused women reported health problems such as feelings of worthlessness, sleeplessness, suicidal ideation, eye injuries, bodily weakness, hypertension, genital sores and the premature termination of pregnancy. Policy makers should pay particular attention to intimate partner violence-related health consequences in designing health interventions for abused women.

Housing and Health Outcomes of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in the Lower Manya Krobo District, Ghana

Objective. Although emerging in Western industrialized societies, limited research exists on the links between housing and health outcomes for persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods. Using survey data collected from 605 PLWHAs in the Lower Manya Krobo district of Ghana, this paper examined the effects of housing structure, arrangements, accessibility and conditions on the physical and psychological/emotional health of respondents. Results. Results indicate that housing variables have independent effects on health outcomes, controlling for socio-economic and demographic variables. Respondents living in poor housing structures and deplorable housing conditions had poorer physical and psychological health scores. Conclusion. The findings suggest that it is relevant to think about houses occupied by PLWHAs as important sources of health inequality.

Housing, psychosocial and adherence counseling among HIV+ persons in Ghana.

As part of providing comprehensive HIV/AIDS services, the Ghana National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) and Ministry of Health recommend that Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) receive psychosocial support and follow-up visits that ensure medical and drug adherence assistance. The successful implementation of these support services requires patients to have stable and quality housing, yet studies that examine associations between housing, psychosocial support, and adherence counseling among PLWHAs in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa are limited. Data were collected from 605 PLWHAs attending check-up and receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) from both Atua Government Hospital and St. Martins de Porres Hospital, located in the Manya Krobo district. Results show significant relationships between housing and access to psychosocial counseling and support. Specifically, respondents with stable homes and quality housing were significantly more likely to receive psychosocial counseling and support, compared to those without stable and quality housing. It is important for policy makers to consider housing as an important element of psychosocial counseling and care.