200 Exposure to intimate partner violence against women and its association with violence in childhood in refugee camps in Ethiopia

PTH 8: Miscellaneous 1, B304 (FCSH), September 5, 2025, 11:30 - 12:30 Background A substantial body of evidence examines the association between intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) and its association with childhood violence. However, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding these correlations in the context of Ethiopia, with no studies available that specifically address this issue within Ethiopia’s humanitarian settings. Method This study utilized an inaugural Humanitarian Violence Against Children and Youth survey in Ethiopia to examine the association between witnessing IPVAW and childhood violence, focusing on experiences of physical, emotional, and sexual violence, as well as the perpetration of physical and sexual violence among male and female refugees aged 13 to 24 years. The analyses employed descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation with chi-square (χ²) tests, and both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results Our study showed that witnessing IPVAW was prevalent in refugee settings in Ethiopia among both females (28.6%) and males (27.9%). Witnessing IPVAW was significantly associated with a higher probability of experiencing childhood physical violence by a caregiver (females: adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=3.85, males: AOR=4.33); experiencing childhood emotional violence by a caregiver (females: AOR=2.66, males: AOR=4.54); and perpetrating physical violence (females: AOR=3.15, males: AOR=5.65). Among females, witnessing IPVAW was significantly associated with reporting experiences of childhood sexual violence by any perpetrator (AOR=2.53), and for males, it was significantly associated with the perpetration of sexual violence (AOR=13.20). Conclusion Witnessing of IPVAW in childhood was associated with higher odds of both victimization and perpetration of various forms of violence among children in refugee contexts in Ethiopia. Addressing this issue will necessitate coordinated, multisectoral preventive strategies that engage families, schools, and the broader community, with interventions focusing on challenging and changing norms that condone violence, aiming to disrupt the cycle of violence often entrenched in their homes and environments. Such prevention initiatives must be complemented by ongoing response efforts.