The Experience of Girl Intra-familial Sexual Abuse Survivors in Addis Ababa: A Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

Any sexual behavior directed towards girls under the age of 18 by a family member or those close to the family is known as intrafamilial sexual abuse. Research conducted in Ethiopia to examine sexual violence against girls discuss the issue without highlighting intrafamilial sexual abuse. In addition, efforts to explore factors and contexts that precipitate these experiences are minimally addressed. This study used a phenomenological qualitative method to investigate the incidence of intrafamilial sexual abuse against girls. Accordingly, an interview guide was employed involving ten survivors of intrafamial sexual abuse, focusing on what happened, how it happened, when it happened, where it happened, and the factors that exposed them to the abuse within the ecological framework. The findings indicate that multiple factiors contributed to the intrafamilial sexual abuse. These factors include individual chatacteristics such as age and lack of information, microsystem factors such as family relationships, family structure and living condition, mesosystem factors including the girls’ isolation, lack of networking, and the family relationships with relatives and the expectations attached, and exosystem factors like parents’, especially mothers’ work and working situation. In addition, microsystem factors including values given to female children and gender relationships and norms play a part in exposing girls to intrafamilial sexual abuse. Any intervention to address the problem of intrafamilial sexual abuse against girls should consider the various factors operating at these different levels.