Sexual Violence, Disclosure Pattern, and Abortion and Post-Abortion Care Services in Displaced People’s Camps in Africa: A Scoping Review

Article Article scientifique Article Sexual Violence, Disclosure Pattern, and Abortion and Post-Abortion Care Services in Displaced People’s Camps in Africa: A Scoping Review eng 2024-07-30 2024-07-30 author Adekola Paul 0000-0002-2104-6548 416366 author Adedini Sunday A. 0000-0003-0378-1941 1001 10.3390/ijerph21081001 1660-4601 https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/8/1001 <p>Violent social and political conflicts have caused several challenges to internally displaced persons (IDPs), especially girls and young women, among which is sexual violence (SV). Despite extensive records on SV in humanitarian contexts, studies to assess the level, examine the disclosure pattern (DP) and evaluate the availability of abortion care in these settings have received inadequate attention. This scoping review sought to synthesise the current African-based research on SV, DP, and abortion and post-abortion care (APAC) in humanitarian contexts. We conducted a systematic search of five databases: MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Google Scholar, where the articles retrieved met the criteria for inclusion. The review adhered to PRISMA guidelines and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP), containing ten questions to help confirm the validity of the research design and the originality of the results in comparison with similar studies. A series of inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied after the search, and 35 eligible articles from ten African countries with evidence of sexual violence, disclosure patterns, and APAC in camp settings were included in the study. Results described situations of SV in humanitarian settings in Africa as “terrible”, “bad”, “an epidemic”, and “severe” as girls were used as sex objects, for profile enhancement and as a weapon of war. We also found that the illegality of APAC in Africa is causing a high occurrence of clandestine abortions in conflict contexts. Disclosing SV among IDPs in Africa did not follow a clear-cut pattern but was generally determined by socio-demographic characteristics. Sexual health is a fundamental right of all, as enshrined in SDG 3, which makes this topic a major public health issue. We therefore conclude that although disclosure may aggravate stigmatisation in some instances due to adverse reactions, it is still crucial to the healing processes.</p> Dewey 320 121 Département de science politique et relations internationales T3 false International journal of environmental research and public health 21 8 a8e72620-8e6c-4d7b-95d6-99936f766ae9 Article (Published version) Public Article_scientifique_from_crossref.pdf 674249 application/pdf CC BY-4.0 0f67c6ac319b797227468080dd7077065e778c044897fbacac2a47bcf12a3bdc openAccess Faculté des sciences de la société / Département de science politique et relations internationales

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Sexual Violence, Disclosure Pattern, and Abortion and Post-Abortion Care Services in Displaced People’s Camps in Africa: A Scoping Review	International journal of environmental research and public health			2024	74	243

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Adekola, Paul