Abstract
Purpose
To determine the effect of a standardized 6-week self-defense program on the incidence
of sexual assault in adolescent high school girls in an urban slum in Nairobi, Kenya.
Methods
Population-based survey of 522 high school girls in the Korogocho-Kariobangi locations
in Nairobi, Kenya, at baseline and 10 months later. Subjects were assigned by school
attended to either a “No Means No Worldwide” self-defense course (eight schools; N =
402) or to a life-skills class (two schools; N = 120). Both the intervention and the
life-skills classes were taught in the schools by trained instructors. Participants
were administered the same survey at baseline and follow-up.
Results
A total of 522 girls (mean age, 16.7 ± 1.5 years; range, 14–21 years) completed surveys
at baseline, and 489 at 10-month follow-up. At baseline, 24.5% reported sexual assault
in the prior year, with the majority (90%) reporting assault by someone known to them
(boyfriend, 52%; relative, 17%; neighbor, 15%; teacher or pastor, 6%). In the self-defense
intervention group, the incidence of sexual assault decreased from 24.6% at baseline
to 9.2% at follow-up (p < .001), in contrast to the control group, in which the incidence remained unchanged
(24.2% at baseline and 23.1% at follow-up; p = .10). Over half the girls in the intervention group reported having used the self-defense
skills to avert sexual assault in the year after the training. Rates of disclosure
increased in the intervention group, but not in controls.
Conclusions
A standardized 6-week self-defense program is effective in reducing the incidence
of sexual assault in slum-dwelling high school girls in Nairobi, Kenya.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 03, 2013
Accepted:
April 11,
2013
Received:
January 25,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
