a third experienced emotional abuse, and over 10% were subject to sexual violence and
abuse: these figures are worryingly high.
Respondents were asked about the gender of the perpetrators of the violence and abuse
they experienced. The vast majority stated that the perpetrator was male: 94.2% rural
women and 93.6% urban women. This does not include those women who stated that
they have experienced violence and abuse from both men and women, 3.4% and 3.3%
respectively.
Child abuse
Those respondents who reported experiences of violence abuse, and agreed to tell us
about these experiences, were asked if they had experienced any violence or abuse as a
child. They were asked if this was in the form of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse or
emotional abuse. 2,456 respondents in total answered this question.
Table 9: Abuse experienced as a child.
Rural % Urban %
Neglect 8.3 9.9
Physical abuse 15.5 16.7
Sexual abuse 21.5 20.3
Emotional abuse 28.2 29.2
No child abuse 57.5 56.8
This data shows that there was little difference in the amount of violence and abuse
experienced by rural and urban women as children.
Disclosure and HelpSeeking
Respondents were asked if they had told anyone about the violence and abuse they
experienced as a child and/or adult. 66.7% of rural women and 68.3% of urban women
reported telling someone about their experiences. Respondents were asked to provide
detail about who they had disclosed to. The following table indicates that rural and
urban women chose to disclose to the same top groups of people.
Table 10: Help-seeking of rural and urban women.
Rural % Urban %
Friend/s 75.1 Friend/s 77.9
Family 54.2 Family 50.5
Police 30.4 Police 27.6
Counselling services 26.2 Counselling services 25.1
Doctor 22.5 Doctor 17.7
It is evident that both groups choose to disclose primarily to their friends and families
about their experiences. This is interesting given the previous data about the availability
and accessibility of services in rural and urban areas.
McCarry & Williamson, 2009 20
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