Tip of the iceberg: Reporting and gender based violence in developing countries

Background: Gender-based violence, including sexual violence and intimate partner violence, has been called a “hidden epidemic” and is thought to be largely underreported due stigma, shame and widespread impunity. In many developing countries we know very little about the care seeking and reporting behaviors of women who experience GBV.

Objective: We estimate rates of reporting and factors associated with reporting.

Methods: We use nationally-representative Demographic and Health Survey data from over 20 developing countries to estimate what percentage of women experiencing GBV formally reported the violence to health, legal and social services or informally reported to family, friends, and others. We perform multivariate analysis to investigate how women who report differ from women experiencing violence who do not report.

Results: Combined reporting (formal or informal) ranged from 33% of women experiencing GBV in Latin America and the Caribbean to 48% in North Africa/Central Asia/Europe. Formal reporting (police, medical, or social services) ranged from 2.5% in Asia to 13.7% in Latin America and the Caribbean. In multivariate analysis, we found differences in reporting by marital status (formerly married women were more likely to report), and age (older women were more likely to report). In some countries, increased education was associated with increased reporting, but the effects of increased wealth were mixed. There were few differences by urban/rural residence.

Conclusion: Improved understanding of how women who report violence or subsequently seek care differ from those who do not will help more efficiently target programs and interventions designed to help survivors of violence.