Histories of forced sex and health outcomes among Southern African lesbian and bisexual women: a cross-sectional study

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dc.contributor.authorSandfort, Theoen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorFrazer, Men_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMatebeni, Zethuen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorReddy, Vasuen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSouthey-Swartz, Ianen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSouthern African Lesbian and Bisexual Women Research Teamen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-07T08:50:09Z
dc.date.available2015-12-07T08:50:09Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Experiences of forced sex have been shown to be prevalent in Southern Africa. Negative outcomes of forced sex have been documented in general populations of women and men and include alcohol abuse, drug use, mental health problems, mental distress, sexual health problems and poor overall health. This study is the first to examine experiences of forced sex and associated health problems among lesbian and bisexual women in Southern Africa. METHODS: This study is based on data collected as part of a collaborative endeavor involving various Southern African community-based organizations. Lesbian and bisexual women in four Southern African countries participated in a cross-sectional survey, for a total study sample of 591. RESULTS: Nearly one-third of participants had been forced to have sex at some time in their lives. Thirty-one percent of all women reported to have experienced forced sex at least once in their life: 14.9% reported forced sex by men only; 6.6% reported forced sex by women only; 9.6% had had forced sexual experiences with both men and women. Participants experienced forced sex by men as more serious than forced sex by women; forced sex by women was more likely to involve intimate partners compared to forced sex by men. Participants who experienced forced sex by men were more likely to report drug problems, mental distress and lower sense of belonging. Forced sex by women was associated with drinking problems and mental distress. Having experienced forced sex by both men and women was associated with lower sense of belonging to the LGBT community, drug use problem and mental distress. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that forced sex among Southern African women is a serious issue that needs further exploration. Clinicians should be made aware of the prevalence and possible consequences of forced sex among lesbian and bisexual women. Policies and community interventions should be designed to address this problem.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSandfort, T., Frazer, M., Matebeni, Z., Reddy, V., Southey-Swartz, I., & (2015). Histories of forced sex and health outcomes among Southern African lesbian and bisexual women: a cross-sectional study. <i>BMC Women's Health</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15639en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSandfort, Theo, M Frazer, Zethu Matebeni, Vasu Reddy, Ian Southey-Swartz, and "Histories of forced sex and health outcomes among Southern African lesbian and bisexual women: a cross-sectional study." <i>BMC Women's Health</i> (2015) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15639en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSandfort, T., Frazer, M. S., Matebeni, Z., Reddy, V., & Southey-Swartz, I. (2015). Histories of forced sex and health outcomes among Southern African lesbian and bisexual women: a cross-sectional study. BMC women's health, 15(1), 22.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Sandfort, Theo AU - Frazer, M AU - Matebeni, Zethu AU - Reddy, Vasu AU - Southey-Swartz, Ian AU - Southern African Lesbian and Bisexual Women Research Team AB - BACKGROUND: Experiences of forced sex have been shown to be prevalent in Southern Africa. Negative outcomes of forced sex have been documented in general populations of women and men and include alcohol abuse, drug use, mental health problems, mental distress, sexual health problems and poor overall health. This study is the first to examine experiences of forced sex and associated health problems among lesbian and bisexual women in Southern Africa. METHODS: This study is based on data collected as part of a collaborative endeavor involving various Southern African community-based organizations. Lesbian and bisexual women in four Southern African countries participated in a cross-sectional survey, for a total study sample of 591. RESULTS: Nearly one-third of participants had been forced to have sex at some time in their lives. Thirty-one percent of all women reported to have experienced forced sex at least once in their life: 14.9% reported forced sex by men only; 6.6% reported forced sex by women only; 9.6% had had forced sexual experiences with both men and women. Participants experienced forced sex by men as more serious than forced sex by women; forced sex by women was more likely to involve intimate partners compared to forced sex by men. Participants who experienced forced sex by men were more likely to report drug problems, mental distress and lower sense of belonging. Forced sex by women was associated with drinking problems and mental distress. Having experienced forced sex by both men and women was associated with lower sense of belonging to the LGBT community, drug use problem and mental distress. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that forced sex among Southern African women is a serious issue that needs further exploration. Clinicians should be made aware of the prevalence and possible consequences of forced sex among lesbian and bisexual women. Policies and community interventions should be designed to address this problem. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1186/s12905-015-0181-6 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - BMC Women's Health LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Histories of forced sex and health outcomes among Southern African lesbian and bisexual women: a cross-sectional study TI - Histories of forced sex and health outcomes among Southern African lesbian and bisexual women: a cross-sectional study UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15639 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/15639
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12905-015-0181-6
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSandfort T, Frazer M, Matebeni Z, Reddy V, Southey-Swartz I, . Histories of forced sex and health outcomes among Southern African lesbian and bisexual women: a cross-sectional study. BMC Women's Health. 2015; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15639.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltden_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentInstitute for Humanities in Africaen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licenseen_ZA
dc.rights.holder2015 Sandfort et al.; licensee BioMed Central.en_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourceBMC Women's Healthen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcwomenshealth/en_ZA
dc.subject.otherLesbian and bisexual womenen_ZA
dc.subject.otherForced sexen_ZA
dc.subject.otherMental healthen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSouthern Africaen_ZA
dc.titleHistories of forced sex and health outcomes among Southern African lesbian and bisexual women: a cross-sectional studyen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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