Background Despite considerable evidence on the different empowerment programs that have been implemented in Uganda, there is limited evidence on the intricate relationship between disruption of work or income‐generating activities and experience of violence. Objective To investigate whether disruption of work or income‐generating activities is due to experience of intimate partner violence. Data and Methods We used cross‐sectional data from the 2020 Uganda National Survey on Women’s Health and Life Experiences aged (15–59 years) that was collected in 15 subregions of the country— Kampala, Buganda South, Buganda North, Busoga, Bukedi, Elgon, Teso, Karamoja, Lango, Acholi, West Nile, Bunyoro, Tooro, Ankole, and Kigezi. Disruption of work or income‐generating activities was measured from four questions: “In what way, if any, has violence disrupted your work or other income‐generating activities?” (A) Partner interrupted work? (B) Unable to concentrate? (C) Unable to work/sick leave? (D) Lost confidence in own ability? Respondents who reported “yes” to any of these questions were categorized as having experienced disruption of work or income‐generating activities due to violence. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the magnitude and direction of association between experiencing violence and disruption of work or income‐generating activities. Results A total of 1918 ever‐partnered women were analyzed. Experience of violence against women remains relatively high: 55.2% (CI = 46.0–64.1) experienced emotional violence, 43.9% (CI = 34.0–54.3) experienced physical violence, 38.6% (CI = 29.2–49.0) experienced sexual violence and 67.9% (CI = 59.8–75.0) experienced any form of violence. Experience of emotional violence was associated with disruption of work or income‐generating activities (OR = 2.001; CI = 1.155–3.467). Conclusion Experience of emotional violence was associated with disruption of work or income‐generating activities. The findings of this paper highlight the need to incorporate gender‐based violence response and prevention policy at the workplace that focuses on psychosocial support, counseling, relational empathy and positive couple communication.
Kisaakye et al. (Thu,) studied this question.