Globally, between 15-71 percent of women will experience physical and/or sexual abuse from an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime. Too often this preventable form of violence is repetitive in nature, occurring at multiple points across the lifespan. The prevalence of intimate partner violence is on the higher end of this spectrum in East Africa, with in-country demographic and health surveys indicating that approximately half of all women between the ages of 15-49 in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania having experienced physical or sexual abuse within a partnership.

It is now widely accepted that preventing intimate partner violence is possible and can be achieved through a greater understanding of the problem; its risk and protective factors; and effective evidence-informed primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. To that end, on August 11-12, 2014, the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Global Violence Prevention, in a collaborative partnership with the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, convened a workshop focused on informing and creating synergies within a diverse community of researchers, health workers, and decision makers committed to promoting intimate partner violence-prevention efforts that are innovative, evidence-based, and crosscutting. This workshop brought together a variety of stakeholders and community workers from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania to engage in a meaningful, multidirectional dialogue regarding intimate partner violence in the region. Preventing Intimate Partner Violence in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR THE WORKSHOP ON PREVENTING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN UGANDA, KENYA, AND TANZANIA
• FORUM ON GLOBAL VIOLENCE PREVENTION
• Reviewers
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Introduction
  • DEFINITIONS AND CONTEXT
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Intimate Partner Violence in East Africa
  • MAGNITUDE OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN THE REGION
  • INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE AND ITS IMPACT ON CHILDREN
  • LACK OF DATA REGARDING IPV IN ADOLESCENT AND AGING POPULATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 3. The Intersection of IPV and HIV
  • DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS FOR DEVELOPING A COORDINATED IPV AND HIV PREVENTION APPROACH
  • SUCCESSFUL INTERVENTIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Its Consequences
  • SCREENING FOR IPV IN EAST AFRICA
  • BARRIERS TO ACCESSING SERVICES
  • HEALTH SECTOR RESPONSE
  • CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTOR RESPONSE
  • SOCIAL WORK SECTOR RESPONSE
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Community Intervention Efforts to Reduce IPV in the Region
  • MENKEN
  • SHARE
  • LVCT HEALTH
  • SASA!
  • REFERENCES
• 6. Connecting Research, Practice, and Policy
  • THE LVCT MODEL
  • BUILDING THE CASE
  • THE VALUE OF A COORDINATED APPROACH
• 7. The Way Forward
  • RESEARCH
  • COMMUNICATION EFFORTS
  • TRANSNATIONAL COLLABORATION
  • INVESTING IN COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION AND POPULATION-BASED PREVENTION
  • ADVOCACY
• Appendixes
  • Appendix A Workshop Statement of Task
  • Appendix B List of Speakers and Their Presentation Titles by Chapter
  • Appendix C Workshop Agenda
  • Appendix D Workshop Speaker Biographies

Rapporteur: Louise Flavahan.

This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and a generous anonymous donor. The views presented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the activity.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine) and NRC (National Research Council). 2015. Preventing intimate partner violence in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania: Summary of a joint workshop by the Institute of Medicine, the National Research Council, and the Uganda National Academy of Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The workshop that is the subject of this workshop summary was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.