Actionable Gaps: Help- Seeking Behavior among Young Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence and Non- partner Sexual Violence in Nairobi, Kenya
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Date
2025-08-26
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Verixiv
Abstract
Background
Intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner sexual violence (NPSV)
remain prevalent and underreported forms of gender-based violence
(GBV) globally, with adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in sub-
Saharan Africa facing unique help-seeking barriers. While GBV-related
service provision has expanded in Kenya, few studies have
simultaneously examined IPV and NPSV and corresponding helpseeking
among AGYW.
Methods
We employed a mixed-methods design using quantitative survey data
from 831 young women aged 15–29 years in Nairobi, Kenya, and indepth
interviews (IDIs) with a purposive subsample of 15 young
women. Quantitative measures captured the prevalence of past-year
IPV and NPSV, help-seeking behaviors, service utilization, and barriers
to care. IDIs explored lived experiences, community norms,
perceptions of formal and informal services, and structural barriers to
support.
Results
Among partnered women, 28.0% reported past-year IPV, while 5.2% of
all women reported NPSV. Nearly all women who experienced NPSV
also experienced IPV. Help-seeking was low: 31% of IPV and NPSV
survivors sought any form of support. Survivors reported seeking help
primarily from informal networks, such as friends or relatives; formal
service utilization remained limited, with counseling and medical
services more commonly accessed than police or legal services.
Qualitative data revealed three major themes shaping help-seeking:
(1) normalization of violence, (2) perceived quality and accessibility of
GBV services, and (3) structural and socio-cultural barriers, including
economic dependence, fear of retaliation, shame, and corruption.
Conclusion
Help-seeking among AGYW experiencing IPV and NPSV in Nairobi is
hindered by deeply entrenched social norms, limited youth-friendly
services, and pervasive institutional mistrust. Interventions need to
address the normalization of violence, enhance trauma-informed and
context-responsive services, and leverage trusted community
intermediaries to improve access and support. Integrated, survivorcentered
approaches are essential to address the complex interplay of
IPV and NPSV and reduce barriers to care for young women.
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Citation
Ngina, J., Thomas, H. L., Wood, S. N., Williams, A., Thiongo, M., Mwatha, R., ... & Gichangi, P. (2025). Actionable gaps: Help-seeking behavior among young women experiencing intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence in Nairobi, Kenya. VeriXiv, 2, 213.