Associations between conflict violence, community violence, and household violence exposures among females in Colombia

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect 2023-07, p.106341-106341, Article 106341
• Main Authors: Stark, Lindsay, Meinhart, Melissa, Seff, Ilana, Gillespie, Alli, Roa, Arturo Harker, Villaveces, Andrés
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Caregiver violence; Colombia; Emotional violence; IPV; Violence; Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS); Women and girls
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106341

Exposure to protracted public violence is increasingly referenced as a risk factor for domestic violence, but limited quantitative evidence has demonstrated this association to date. This study analyzes associations in Colombia between lifetime experiences of external violence, including the Colombia civil conflict and community interpersonal violence, and experiences of household violence, including intimate partner and caregiver violence. We use the 2018 Colombia Violence Against Children and Youth Survey, employing multi-variable logistic regressions to determine the association between exposure to external violence and household violence victimization for females aged 13–24 (n = 1406). Adjusted models controlled for age, ever married, currently in school, and past 12-mo work experience and standard errors were adjusted to account for the multi-stage sampling design. Females who had ever witnessed community violence (39.23 %) faced increased risks of experiencing both physical violence (aOR = 2.81; 95 % CIs: 1.54–5.14; p