Understanding and addressing family violence in a resource-limited setting in Northwestern Cameroon

Background: In Sub-Saharan Africa most people are affiliated with a faith institution. This research assesses the impact of The Faithful House, a faith-based couple-strengthening curriculum, to prevent family violence. Methodology: Intervention couples (80 individuals) in northwestern Cameroon completed pre- and post-workshop surveys and control couples (80 individuals) completed pre-tests. Data was stratified along five reported violent acts (threaten violence to partner, pushing, slapping, hitting, and forced sex). Results: Of responders, 35% live in a household where there has been physical abuse or the threat of physical abuse; 83% of those who hit their partner report weekly church attendance. While participants have attended family life trainings (81%) or premarital counseling (61%), 47% recall discussions of alcohol and 14% of gender-based violence. Violent households are significantly younger 41 vs 46 (p< .01) and have fewer years of marriage 15 vs 19 (p<.04). Women (64/130) rated couple communication lower than men 7.3 vs 8.1 (p<.07) but communication improved post-workshop (9.0-9.4). Lower levels of respect were reported by participants with abuse 6.8 vs 8.2 (p< .003); but post-workshop, ratings increased to 9.0. Alcohol disputes were reported by 57% of participants with abuse vs, 32% for others (p= .01). Conclusion: Strong correlation exists between poor couple communication, lack of respect, alcohol-related disputes and households with abuse. Participants, especially women who participated in TFH training, reported improvements in these correlates of violence. Equipping faith institutions with effective tools which discuss alcohol and GBV prevention, such as TFH, may prove an important adjunct in reducing family violence.