PREVALENCE OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE AMONG WOMEN IN INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA.

Abstract

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has a wide range of negative effects on the women who experience it. These may range from mental health issues to death. There are frequent reports in the media of IPV, while others go unreported. However, for the relevant authorities to be able to enact policies that turn the tide, it is vital that data be presented that illustrates the magnitude of the issue. There are various forms of Intimate Partner Violence that are perpetrated globally. IPV may be psychological, physical, economic, or sexual. This paper reviews the prevalence of different forms of Intimate Partner Violence in informal settlements in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study used Concurrent Triangulation which is a mixed method research design. Participants were women above the age of eighteen years who had been exposed to IPV. They were screened for IPV using the Women Abuse Screening Tool (WAST). This was done at the onset of the study, to obtain the baseline assessment. The therapeutic intervention took place on a weekly basis for a period of 10 weeks. After this, there was a midline and end-line assessment. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. The results showed that the most prevalent form of abuse among the respondents was verbal abuse (93.9%) followed by physical abuse (92.5%) and then sexual abuse (88.6%). Overall, this study established that there is a high prevalence of different forms of IPV in informal settlements in Nairobi County, Kenya.