Gender-based violence (GBV) is major issue of public health, affecting millions of people. Such phenomenon sources derive from the inequality and inequity between men and women, the abuse of power and the norms that apply to men and women within a community [1] - [3] . These violences affect people without distinction of sex or age.

Aggression can come from both women and men, but generally, women and girls are the most exposed [4] . Such violence, very frequent and of a variety of severity, appears in various forms and types. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one out of three women in the world have been or will be victims of sexual and/or physical violence during their lifetime. The United Nations estimates that, worldwide, between 20% and 50% of women have at some point been victims of physical violence from their partner. South Sahara countries are the most affected, with a frequency of GBV of 65.64% [5] . The consequences of GBV are multiple and include murder, suicide, HIV infection, alcohol/drug dependence, miscarriage, unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, victim blaming/survivor, anxiety, fear, self-hatred and self-denial… [6] . Benin, like other countries in the world/sub-region, is unfortunately not immune to this alarming phenomenon. According to the results of the survey carried out to evaluate the implementation of the multi-sectoral action plan on violence against women and girls, 34.6% of women declared having suffered beatings and injuries within the breast and in their household and 16.8% of girls and women revealed having been victims of attempted rape between 2011 and 2015 [7] .

From statistics, Benin Government has worked to pursue a national policy to combat the scourge as evidenced by Decree No. 2011-26 of January 9, 2012, on the prevention and repression of violence against women. This decree ratified the creation of Integrated Support Centers for Victims and Survivors of Gender-Based Violence (CIPeC-VBG), including that of Parakou. The CIPeC-VBG of Parakou is a medico-legal and medico-social Unit intended to welcome and support victims and survivors of GBV throughout the northern region of Benin. In this highly cultural region of the country, specific information on the extent of GBV remains limited. However, it is essential to know them for greater effectiveness in the fight. This is why this preliminary study was initiated to take stock of gender-based violence in the northern region of Benin.

Study setting: the study took place in the Integrated Support Center for Victims and Survivors of Gender-Based Violence located in the Departmental University Hospital Center of Borgou and Alibori.

Type and period of data collection: this was a retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study. Data collection took place over the period from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2022.

Study population: it consists of all victims and survivors of GBV in the 4 departments of Northern Benin, namely Atacora, Borgou, Alibori and Donga, received in the center. All victims of all genders and ages were included in the study. Victims who did not have a medical file or had an unusable file were not included in the study.

Sampling: an exhaustive census of all victims received in the center during the study period was carried out.

Data collection technique and tool: data collection was carried out by analyzing victims’ files. A counting sheet was developed for this purpose.

Variables: The dependent variable was GBV. It can be sexual, psychological, physical, economic or financial. Sexual violence is any act that has the effect of degrading or causing damage to the body and/or sexuality of the victim and which, consequently, violates their freedom, dignity and physical integrity. Physical violence is any act resulting in non-accidental harm through the use of physical force or any type of weapon that may cause or not internal or external injury, or to some extent both. Psychological or moral violence is any act or negligence detrimental to psychological stability, abandonment, repeated carelessness, excessive jealousy, insults and humiliation, devaluation, lack of affection, marginalization, indifference, unfaithfulness, destructive comparisons, rejection, restriction of self-determination and threats; so many situations that can lead the victim to sink into depression, isolate themselves, lose self-esteem, or even commit suicide. Economic violence is the act of using one’s means to slow down or prevent the economic or financial development of any person or the fact of preventing any person from enjoying their socio-economic rights. Property violence is any act or negligence affecting the survival of the victim and consisting of transforming, subtracting, destroying, retaining or misappropriating objects, personal documents, goods and values, property rights or economic resources intended to cover their needs, and which may be extended to damage caused to the victim’s common or personal property. The independent variables relate to sociodemographic and clinical data, the victims’ histories and the course of the attack.

Data processing and analysis: The data collected were recorded and processed via the medium of EPI INFO software (Version 3.5.1). Microsoft Word 2013 software was used for entering the thesis and Excel 2010 for organizing data in the form of tables and graphs ( Tables 1-3 ). Data were processed and analyzed using Epi-Info7.1.14 software. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Ethical considerations: Before carrying out this work, a joint agreement was obtained from the Director of CHUD-BA and the head of the CIPeC/VBG department of the hospital. Medical confidentiality was respected throughout the study. Finally, the protocol was submitted to the local ethics committee for biomedical research of the University of Parakou, which gave favorable consent with reference to CLERB-UP043/202.

This study addressed a taboo subject in Africa that constitutes GBV. This is one of the rare studies to have addressed this theme in Benin, particularly in its northern region. From this study, we note that GBV mainly concerns female subjects with an average age of (21.76 ± 10.02) years; the perpetrators were mostly male and all adults; sexual violence was the most represented (50.25%), followed by psychological (29.30%), physical (24.37%), economic (13.77%) and property (2%). The factors associated with GBV were married and monthly income (physical violence), minors, female gender and single (sexual violence), polygamous households and monthly income (economic violence), absence of children burden, married people and monthly income (psychological violence), married people (property violence). Several authors had already reported results similar to those of the present study. Female predominance was reported by Chime et al. [5] in Nigeria (89.9%) and Kebede et al. [8] in Ethiopia (53.8%). The youth of GBV victims was reported by Uro-Chukwu et al. [9] in Nigeria (18.33 years), Worke et al. [10] in Ethiopia (22.07 years) and Dahie et al. [11] in Somalia. (23.9 years). Concerning the type of GBV, sexual violence was reported by Workye et al., [12] Chime et al. [4] and Tantu et al. [13] with a frequency of 47.0%, 56.8% and 63.2%, respectively; the psychological one reported by Pisoh et al. (30.3%) [14] ; the physical one reported by Workie et al. (29.1%) [15] . The factors associated with GBV were female gender in the study by Bali et al. in India, young age in the study by Debel et al. [16] in Ethiopia, and low level of education according to Pisoh et al. [14] . in Cameroon. Tesfaye et al. [17] in Ethiopia reported that low education and married women were associated with physical violence.

Inquiry Sheet

Epidemiology of Gender-Based Violence in the Northern Region from 2016 to 2022

Date of collection: /_____/_____/_____/ Inclusion number: /_____/