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Violence Against Women During the Liberian Civil Conflict
Shana Swiss, MD;
Peggy J. Jennings, PhD;
Gladys V. Aryee, RNM;
Grace H. Brown, CM;
Ruth M. Jappah-Samukai, BSc;
Mary S. Kamara, RN, CM;
Rosana D. H. Schaack, RN;
Rojatu S. Turay-Kanneh, RN
JAMA. 1998;279:625-629.
Context.— Civilians were often the casualties of fighting during the recent Liberian civil conflict. Liberian health care workers played a crucial role in documenting violence against women by soliders and fighters during the war.
Objective.— To document women's experiences of violence, including rape and sexual coercion, from a soldier or fighter during 5 years of the Liberian civil war from 1989 through 1994.
Design.— Interview and survey.
Setting.— High schools, markets, displaced persons camps, and urban communities in Monrovia, Liberia, in 1994.
Participants.— A random sample of 205 women and girls between the ages of 15 and 70 years (88% participation rate).
Results.— One hundred (49%) of 205 participants reported experiencing at least 1 act of physical or sexual violence by a soldier or fighter. Survey participants reported being beaten, tied up, or detained in a room under armed guard (17%); strip-searched 1 or more times (32%); and raped, subjected to attempted rape, or sexually coerced (15%). Women who were accused of belonging to a particular ethnic group or fighting faction or who were forced to cook for a soldier or fighter were at increased risk for physical and sexual violence. Of the 106 women and girls accused of belonging to an ethnic group or faction, 65 (61%) reported that they were beaten, locked up, strip-searched, or subjected to attempted rape, compared with 27 (27%) of the 99 women who were not accused (P .02, .07, .001, and .06, respectively). Women and girls who were forced to cook for a soldier or fighter were more likely to report experiencing rape, attempted rape, or sexual coercion than those who were not forced to cook (55% vs 10%; P.001, .06, and .001, respectively). Young women (those younger than 25 years) were more likely than women 25 years or older to report experiencing attempted rape and sexual coercion (18% vs 4%, P=.02 and .04, respectively).
Conclusions.— This collaborative research allowed Liberian women to document wartime violence against women in their own communities and to develop a unique program to address violence against women in Liberia.
From Women's Rights International, Laramie, Wyo, and the School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Mass (Dr Swiss); the Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie (Dr Jennings); and the Women's Health and Development Program, Mother Patern College of Health Sciences, Don Bosco Polytechnic, Monrovia, Liberia (Ms Aryee, Brown, Jappah-Samukai, Kamara, Schaack, and Turay-Kanneh).
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