Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10321/5749
Title: Association between sexual violence and depression is mediated by perceived social support among female university students in the kingdom of Eswatini
Authors: Fielding-Miller, Rebecca 
McDougal, Lotus 
Frost, Elizabeth 
Masuku, Sakhile 
Shabalala, Fortunate 
Keywords: Eswatini;Gender-based violence;Mental health;Sexual assault;Sexual street harassment;1117 Public Health and Health Services;Public Health;4202 Epidemiology;4203 Health services and systems;4206 Public health
Issue Date: Sep-2024
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Source: Fielding-Miller, R. et al. 2024. Association between sexual violence and depression is mediated by perceived social support among female university students in the kingdom of Eswatini. BMC Public Health. 24(1): 1-10. doi:10.1186/s12889-024-20040-8
Journal: BMC Public Health; Vol. 24, Issue 1 
Abstract: 
Gender-based violence is a tool that primarily functions to maintain gendered power hierarchies. Manifestations of gender-based violence, sexual assault and street harassment have been shown to have significant effects on mental wellbeing in the global North, however there is little research centering the experiences and consequences of gendered harassment in the Africa region.

Methods

We analyzed a cross-sectional random sample of 372 women attending a major university in Eswatini in 2017 to measure the prevalence of street harassment among female university students and assess the relationship between experiences of sexual assault, sexualized street harassment, and mental health outcomes in this population.

Results

We found that in the previous 12 months, women reported experiencing high levels of sexual assault (20%), street harassment (90%), and depression (38%). Lifetime sexual assault, past 12 months sexual assault, and street harassment were all significantly associated with symptoms of depression. We created a structural model to test hypothesized causal pathways between street harassment, previous experiences of sexual assault, and symptoms of depression, with social support as a potential mediator. We found that a history of sexual violence significantly mediated the association between street harassment and depression, and that social support mediated a large proportion of the association between both forms of gender-based violence and depression.

Conclusion

Sexualized street harassment is associated with increased depressive symptomology for nearly all women, however the effects are especially pronounced for women who have previous experiences of sexual violence. Sexualized street harassment functions as a tool to maintain gendered power hierarchies by reminding women of ongoing threat of sexual violence even in public spaces. Social support and solidarity among women is a potentially important source of resiliency against the physical and mental harms of all forms of gender based violence.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10321/5749
ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-20040-8
Appears in Collections:Research Publications (Health Sciences)

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