Violence against housemaids in an Ethiopian town during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Table 7 Experiences and impacts of sexual violence against housemaids in Kombolcha Town, Ethiopia, January to March, 2021 (N = 215)

Variable	Category	Frequency (n)	Percentage (%)
Have you experienced sexual violence?^a	Yes	46	21.40
Have you experienced sexual violence?^a	No	169	78.60
Have you experienced sexual violence since COVID-19 lockdown? (n = 215)	Yes	40	18.60
	No	175	81.40
Were you raped? (n = 215)	Yes	52	24.19
Were you raped? (n = 215)	No	163	75.81
Did someone try to rape you? (n = 215)	Yes	55	25.58
Did someone try to rape you? (n = 215)	No	160	74.42
Have you experienced unwanted touching? (n = 215)	Yes	69	32.09
Have you experienced unwanted touching? (n = 215)	No	146	67.91
Rape deal with (n = 52)	To nobody	28	53.84
	To a friend	21	40.38
	To a sister/brother	3	5.78
Attempted rape deal with (n = 55)	Nobody	25	45.45
	To a friend	24	43.64
	To a sister sister/brother	6	10.91
Did you report being raped? (n = 52)	Did not report	45	86.54
	To the kebele	3	5.77
	To elders	4	7.69
Did you report attempted rape? (n = 55)	Did not report	53	96.36
Did you report attempted rape? (n = 55)	To older people	2	3.64
Did you report unwanted touching? (n = 69)	Did not report	65	94.20
Did you report unwanted touching? (n = 69)	To older people	4	5.80

^aThe frequency of sexual violence is smaller than those of rape, attempted rape and unwanted touching because we considered sexual violence to be a composite of rape, making sexually explicit remarks about sex and unwanted touching of the breasts or genital area
The prevalence of reported sexual violence among housemaids was 21.4% with 95% CI (15.87, 26.92). The great majority (18.6%) of them reported that they had experienced sexual violence during the one year since the lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. About one-third 69 (32.09%) of housemaids experienced unwanted touching and of the 52 housemaids who reported being raped, 21 (40.38%) reported the rape to a friend and 28 (53.84%) to nobody (Table 7)

ISSN: 1472-6874