Open AccessDevelopment of an Index to Measure the Exposure Level of UN Peacekeeper-Perpetrated Sexual Exploitation/Abuse in Women/Girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Author(s) -
Samantha Gray,
Heather Stuart,
Sabine Lee,
Susan A. Bartels
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
violence against women
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.807
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1552-8448
pISSN - 1077-8012
DOI - 10.1177/10778012211045713
Subject(s) - peacekeeping , sexual abuse , democracy , narrative , index (typography) , sexual violence , thematic analysis , domestic violence , political science , psychology , poison control , criminology , development economics , suicide prevention , medicine , qualitative research , environmental health , sociology , law , social science , economics , linguistics , philosophy , politics , world wide web , computer science
Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) of women and girls by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers is an international concern. However, the typical binary measurement of SEA (indicating that it occurred, or it did not) disregards varying exposure levels and the complex circumstances surrounding the interaction. To address this gap, we constructed an index to quantify the degree to which local women and girls were exposed to UN-peacekeeper perpetrated SEA. Using survey data ( n = 2867) from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), eight indicators were identified using a combination of qualitative (thematic analysis of narrative data) and quantitative variables. With further development, this index may offer a more comprehensive and nuanced perspective of peacekeeper-perpetrated SEA that can better inform SEA prevention and intervention efforts.