The role of education and income as protective factors against intimate partner violence and HIV exposure among Kenyan women

Abstract

Introduction

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health problem that impacts approximately one in three women worldwide in their lifetime. The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of women teachers and violence in Kenya. It also explores the intersection between intimate partner violence, HIV risk, and gender inequality.

Method

Data were collected through two focus groups of a total of 15 women teachers. We recruited women ages 21–44 from two geographically diverse urban and rural schools. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis method to identify text themes and meaning patterns.

Results

Three contextual experiences emerged: socio-cultural influences of gender norms, masculinity and patriarchy; uneven power dynamics; and institutionalized gender inequality.

Discussion

Findings suggest that education alone is not sufficient to end GBV. Comprehensive and gender transformative governmental policy approaches are needed to mitigate GBV in Kenya.

Keywords:

• Intimate partner violence
• gender-based violence
• cultural norms
• HIV/AIDS
• intimate partner violence

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support of Ruth Ann Pope and Candace Overlie in facilitating focus groups.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eusebius Small

Eusebius Small, PhD is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, School of Social Work. His research focuses on the syndemics of HIV disease and social determinants of poor health. He utilizes approaches of integration, application, and socialization to address the social conditions impacting vulnerable population.

Silviya Pavlova Nikolova

Silviya Nikolova, PhD is an Associate Professor at the Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria. Dr. Nikolova's research is on reducing health disparities among vulnerable populations living in poverty. She aims to utilize comparative approaches to better understand the socio-spatial factors that impact social inequalities and associated health disparities.

Saltanat Childress

Saltanat Childress, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the UT-Arlington School of Social Work. Her research is focused on family well-being, economic empowerment, and improving long-term psychosocial outcomes of families. She is dedicated to improving the capacities of public health systems to prevent ACEs through developing and evaluating evidence-based interventions.

Carmen Logie

Dr. Carmen Logie, Canada Research Chair in Health Equity and Social Justice with Marginalized Populations, is an Associate Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. Her research program advances understanding of, and develops interventions to address, stigma and other social ecological factors associated with health disparities.