Abstract #240  -  the prevalence of intimate partner violence in the sexual relationships of young women with multiple sexual partners in a peri-urban setting in the Western Cape
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Ms Yanga Zembe - Medical Research Council
Additional Authors:  Prof Mickey Chopra,
Aim: To describe the nature and frequency of IPV in the sexual relationships of young women who have multiple sexual partners in a peri-urban setting in the Western Cape.
Method / Issue: Women from a semi-rural community outside of Cape Town were recruited into an HIV behavioural and biological surveillance study employing Respondent Driven Sampling. Eligible women were between 16 and 24 years who had more than one male sexual partner in the 3 months prior to the survey. The survey began with 5 non-randomly selected seeds (initial recruits) who, by means of recruitment coupons, recruited up to three peers into the survey. Recruits and recruiters received incentives to participate and for enrolling eligible recruits.
Results / Comments: Two hundred and fifty-nine women were recruited into the study. Their mean age was 18 years (range 16-24). Seventy-four percent were in school. Women reported between 3 and 38 sexual partners in the 3 months prior to the survey (mean: 8), with 86.3% reporting having these sexual relationships concurrently. 56.8% (CI: 53.9-59.4%) reported having sex with a man five or more years older than them in the 3 months prior to the survey. The majority of participants 86.8% (CI: 85.4-89%) reported to have experienced some type of IPV with any type of sexual partner, and 30.5% (CI: 27.6-32.8%) reported to have experienced the occurrence of some type of IPV more than once in the last 12 months. Physical IPV (being slapped, being hit with a fist, being threatened with a gun) with any type of sexual partner was reported by 83% (CI: 81.2-85%) of the participants, whilst 66% (CI: 63.4-68.3%) reported to have experienced sexual IPV with any type of sexual partner in the last 12 months. Those participants who experienced both sexual and physical IPV with any type of sexual partner accounted for 80.4% (CI: 78.3-83.5%) of the sample. Physical IPV with any type of sexual partner was reported to have occurred more than once by 25.2% (CI: 23.3-28.7%) of the participants in the last 12 months, and sexual IPV by 24.8% (CI: 21.7-28.1%) of the participants. The experience of the combination of both physical and sexual IPV with any type of sexual partner was reported to have occurred more than once by 22.6% (CI: 17.4-26.1%).
Discussion: The findings reveal a very high prevalence of IPV amongst young women with multiple concurrent sexual partners. The development of interventions that target young women engaging in sexual risk behaviours needs to pay particular attention to the reduction of IPV in their sexual relationships.
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