War violence exposure, reintegration experiences and intimate partner violence among a sample of war-affected females in Sierra Leone
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2018
Journal / Book Title
Global Social Welfare
Abstract
Although international attention has focused mostly on boys as child soldiers and youth affected by armed conflict, girls account for more than 40 % of this population globally. Primarily recruited and abducted into armed conflict to serve as “wives” and sexual slaves for commanders and other soldiers, girls experienced high rates of rape and sexual abuse. Using data from a longitudinal study conducted in collaboration with a major international Non-Government Organization (NGO) in Sierra Leone, this study examined the contributions of potentially stigmatizing war violence exposures and more recent post-conflict reintegration experiences to IPV. Results indicate the various aspects of wartime violence, this sample of female youth showed the highest rates of ambient wartime violence, victimization, and sexual assault. However, this sample also showed a non-trivial proportion of perpetrating wartime violence. Overall, this sample reported middling levels of community reintegration, and similar average rates of family reintegration. This study indicates a need for war-affected females to have greater access to resources that can empower them post-conflict.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-018-0125-9
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Alleyne, Binta; Kulick, Alex; Matsuzaka, Sara; and Betancourt, Theresa, "War violence exposure, reintegration experiences and intimate partner violence among a sample of war-affected females in Sierra Leone" (2018). Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 170.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/social-work-and-child-advocacy-facpubs/170
Published Citation
Alleyne-Green, B., Kulick, A., Matsuzaka, S., & Betancourt, T. (2018). War violence exposure, reintegration experiences and intimate partner violence among a sample of war-affected females in Sierra Leone. Global Social Welfare, 6(2), 97-106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-018-0125-9