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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Examining gender based violence and abuse among Liberian

school students in four counties: An exploratory study
Judy L. Postmus a, , Gretchen L. Hoge a , Rebecca Davis b , Laura Johnson a ,
Elizabeth Koechlein c , Samantha Winter a
a
Center on Violence Against Women & Children, Rutgers University, School of Social Work, 390 George Street, Suite 408, New
Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
b
Center for International Social Work, Rutgers University, School of Social Work, 536 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
c
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 11 July 2014
Received in revised form 28 October 2014
Accepted 4 November 2014
Available online xxx
Keywords:
Gender-based violence
Sexual violence
School sample
Liberia
Transactional sex
Sexual coercion

a b s t r a c t
The purpose of this article is to uncover the extent of sexual gender based violence (GBV)
experienced by a convenience sample of students from select counties in Liberia and to
understand the disclosure experiences of those victims willing to come forward. Girls
(n = 758) and boys (n = 1,100) were asked about their sexual GBV experiences including their
disclosure experiences, if applicable. Results indicated that sexual violation (i.e., peeping or
inappropriate touching) was found among both girls and boys. Sexual coercion (i.e., forced
sex) was more prevalent than transactional sex (i.e., trading sex for grades or money). Both
sexual coercion and transactional sex were reported by more girls than boys, yet the rates for
the most severe form of sexual violence (i.e., sexual coercion) were high for both girls (30%)
and boys (22%). When students were asked if they told anyone, 38% reported that they did
disclose their experiences. This study contributes to a small but growing body of research
to document the prevalence and types of sexual violence against children in Liberia. Consistent with other studies, the evidence shows that sexual violence against boys and girls
is occurring at alarming rates.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gender based violence, as it is currently experienced by women and children in Liberia, takes place against a historical
backdrop of large-scale struggle for power and violent conicts. Liberias historically hierarchical social structure is reected
in the status of Americo Liberians, those who settled either as ex-slaves or free persons from the U.S. in the 1820s. This
group is also disproportionately represented in the past heads of state and held a signicant proportion of wealth and power
until the 1980s. The occurrence of military coups in 1980 by Samuel Doe, from the Krahn tribe, and Charles Taylor with
the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) in 1989 were followed by corrupt and violent regimes that eventually led to
civil war that inicted immense atrocities against civilians. Despite a brief peace after Taylors presidential election in 1997,
violent conict broke out again from 1999 to 2003.
The civil war in Liberia was brutally violent and often included the use of child soldiers, torture, and rape as a weapon.
Half of all Liberians were forced to ee their homes during the civil conict (Swiss et al., 1998) and two million people were
displaced. Kenneth Cain (1999) notes that the rst conict resulted in between 200,000 and 270,000 casualties, 750,000

This project was supported by Ibis as part of the Liberian Research Consortium on Gender Based Violence. Points of view in this document are those
of the authors and do not necessarily represent the ofcial position or policies of Ibis or members of the Research Consortium.
Corresponding author.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.11.012
0145-2134/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Postmus, J. L., et al. Examining gender based violence and abuse
among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
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international refugees, 1.2 million internally displaced persons, and thousands more people who were tortured, maimed,
and otherwise victimized. Rape was also used as a weapon during the conict (Dziewanski, 2012), and while estimates for all
vary, rates of violence against both combatants and civilians was high. A review of studies using population-based surveys
estimates that 1020% of Liberian women were raped during the Liberian civil war (Cohen & Green, 2012).
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was inaugurated as the rst female president in post-civil war Liberia and on the African
continent in 2006. She has attempted to shape her presidency around gender sensitive reforms and the absence of armed
conict (Popovic, 2009, p. 9), and the Liberian government has set gender equality and the elimination of violence high on
its agenda.
Despite these positive changes, rebuilding Liberia has proven challenging due to its violent recent history. Not only
destructive to the social fabric of communities, families, and the psyche of its inhabitants, the conict temporarily plunged
Liberia into failed state status as a result of the economic and political consequences of conict that resulted in higher levels of
poverty and reduced access to services. Women in Liberia, already challenged by patriarchal social structures and institutions
not reective of their interests in access to employment, education, marriage and landownership, found themselves even
more vulnerable during the conict. Political and economic instability post-conict has exacerbated this struggle.
As Liberia strives to rebuild, efforts are underway to address gender based violence (GBV) throughout the country,
especially violence against women and children. Understanding the scope and nuances behind such victimization, especially
among children, is a rst step to developing policies and programs to address and prevent such violence; however, much of
the literature related to sexual violence and GBV in Liberia is focused on violence during conict. The purpose of this article
is to uncover the extent of sexual violence experienced by a convenience sample of students from select counties in Liberia
and to understand the disclosure behaviors of those victims willing to come forward.
Gender Based Violence in Liberia
The extent of sexual violence during and following the Liberian civil war is debated and difcult to determine. Cohen
and Green (2012) note that estimates by various human rights organizations and media during and immediately after the
conict indicated that approximately two-thirds of women were raped during the conict. However, they point out that the
studies used to obtain these numbers were often not designed to evaluate the overall prevalence of rape during the war,
but rather for the purpose of understanding the experiences of those who suffered and reported rape. More reliable data
suggest that the rate was between 10 and 20% of women experienced sexual violence during the civil conicts (Cohen &
Green, 2012).
One nationally based study was conducted by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) in which researchers randomly selected 1,000 households in all fteen counties in Liberia to determine the prevalence of and attitudes toward rape
(UNMIL, 2008). Out of the total 2,952 participants who were interviewed, 37.3% were male while 67.2% were female of 10
years of age and above. Approximately 22% of respondents knew someone who had been raped, while 2% indicated that they
had been raped. Rape survivors were generally between the ages of 10 and 19 while 41% of perpetrators were between 20
and 39 years old (UNMIL, 2008). Unfortunately, the researchers relied on a narrow denition of rape as dictated by Liberian
law and a focus on penetration only. Additionally, the researchers reported that some parents responded on behalf of their
children. Finally, the researchers identied that respondents were not willing to talk about rape or even sex but instead,
only talked about incidents experienced by others (UNMIL, 2008).
A more recent population-based study on gender based violence among 600 adult females in two Liberian counties
(Montserrado and Nimba counties) found 5659% of females experienced at least one act of gender based violence over the
past 18 months (Stark, Warner, Lehmann, Boothby, & Ager, 2013). However, another population-based study that surveyed
4,501 adults across the country found that almost 38% of women and over 15% of men had been severely beaten by a
spouse or partner during their lifetime (Vinck & Pham, 2013). Unfortunately, both studies only provide information on
adult populations with a more general view of violence that is primarily focused on physical violence between partners.
Additionally, though both studies used rigorous methods, the results of experiencing intimate partner violence varied quite
a bit from 5659% (more recent violence) to as low as 38% (lifetime violence).
In another study on intimate partner violence among adult women, Horn, Puffer, Roesch, and Lehmann (2014) conducted
14 focus groups with 110 women from Sierra Leone and Liberia regarding their experiences with intimate partner violence
post-war. The study found intimate partner violence to be an area of concern for women in both countries and factors such
as cultural beliefs surrounding gender norms and womens nancial dependence on men contribute to the prevalence of
intimate partner violence. Some women agreed that womens increased involvement in their communities and the presence
of NGOs following the war contributed to a decrease in intimate partner violence in some situations (Horn et al., 2014). After
the war, there were more economic opportunities for women, which provided greater nancial independence. Additionally,
women became more knowledgeable about their legal rights and services available for survivors of gender based violence
(Horn et al., 2014).
In Liberia, even though rape is a crime, fear, isolation, economic hardship, and mistrust of authority mean that many
instances of gender based violence go unreported and the perpetrators are not identied, caught, or convicted (Ackerman,
2009). Only 6% of all reported cases of gender-based violence in 2010, which includes sexual violence or physical violence,
made it to court with only 2% of the cases resulting in a conviction (Dziewanski, 2012). This is linked to both limited capacity
of the law enforcement and justice systems as well as underreporting (Dziewanski, 2012). Many women do not report
Please cite this article in press as: Postmus, J. L., et al. Examining gender based violence and abuse
among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.11.012

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rape or sexual violence due to fear of stigmatization by the community as well as the expense required to travel to the
police stations, mainly concentrated in cities in the most populated counties (de Carvalho & Nagelhus Schia, 2011). The
United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL, 2008) has also reported that 65% of victims told someone about the rape and 16%
reported the rape to the police. The survey of attitudes revealed that 81% of respondents exhibited rape supporting attitudes,
such as feeling the victims contributed to their victimization while other respondents felt poverty, war, and unemployment
were factors that caused rape. More than half of the respondents, 56%, believed that women lie about rape (UNMIL, 2008).
Despite these challenges, Medie (2013) suggests that the rate of rape cases referred by the police to court has increased
from 1967 to 2009. Medie (2013) attributes this in part to the participatory role that Liberian women have had in activism
following the Second Liberian War. In collaboration with non-governmental organizations, international organizations and
state agencies, the Liberian womens movement has advocated for amendments to pre-existing rape laws, which has worked
to expand the legal denition of rape and impose harsher penalties for those found guilty. In addition, advocates have focused
on educating the public and law enforcement ofcials on how community members should respond to rape victims (Medie,
2013).
GBV in Liberian Schools
GBV has also been found to occur in Liberian schools as a result of the economic realities faced by students and their
families. This has meant that even when girls have the freedom to attend school instead of earning a livelihood or tending
to other family responsibilities, school fees and materials can still be prohibitively high. Some have suggested that expenses
for things like books, pencils, uniforms and shoes leave girls to use their bodies as currency (Ferris, 2007).
In a recent study, researchers conducted focus groups with girls and boys in sixth and seventh grade in Monrovia, and
found that both reported transactional sex for grades or school fees exchanged between girls and older men in schools
(Atwood et al., 2011). It should be noted that although the students were all in sixth and seventh grade, their ages varied
widely due to many over-aged students in all grades. Male participants commonly viewed money as a means to acquire
girlfriends while girls reported pressure to engage in transactional sex, or Man-Man Business, for status and money. Often
these men were either teachers or men in other positions of authority (Atwood et al., 2011).
Transactional sex between young girls and older men was prevalent enough that many of the children interviewed
reported that it was at times encouraged by parents because it meant access to education that might otherwise be impossible
(Atwood et al., 2011). Additionally, many of the girls who engaged in transactional sex reported pressure to do so from their
peers, as it enhanced their social prestige. It was reported that teachers and parents did not always see the unequal power
dynamics in a sexual relationship between young girls and older men as an issue and often ignored and normalized the
violence against young girls (Atwood et al., 2011).
Furthermore, young girls were frequently blamed for violence perpetrated against them through negative stereotyping.
A qualitative study conducted by IBIS in rural southeast Liberia found that community members believed that girls (aged
between 15 and 24) were pursuing materialistic gain through marriage, as weak or lazy, or focused only on domestic roles
(Gronborg Helms, 2009). Once a girl reached physical maturation, regardless of her age, she was often sent to look for
support for her family through transactional sex, or a boyfriend who could support her nancially. Having a boyfriend at
a young age was seen as fashionable by some and as a way of making ends meet for others. Also prevalent in the IBIS study
was the reported feeling that girls were getting too big, too soon and in a rush to crush, placing the blame for having
boyfriends on young girls (Gronborg Helms, 2009). These views relieved potentially complicit parents of responsibility, and
absolved the boyfriends of their culpability in manipulating girls in exchange for money or material goods.
To address the problem of GBV against children in schools in Liberia, a number of Liberian ministries and local international
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) formed a Research Consortium. Consortium members include representatives
from the following organizations and agencies: Ministry of Education; Ministry of Gender and Development; Association of
Liberian Universities; IBIS; The Norwegian Refugee Council; Save the Children; and Concern Worldwide. After discussions
spanning a year, the Consortium invited applications for a preliminary and short-term project to collect empirical data on
the prevalence of GBV and its impact on girls. The invitation required a research partnership between a university in Liberia
and an external university.
This article outlines the project, funded by this Research Consortium, which assessed gender based violence (GBV) against
youth in Liberian schools in four counties including Montserrado, Bong, Grande Gedeh and Grand Bassa. The research questions driving the study included: (1) What types of violence did students experience? (2) Did students disclose these
experiences? Is so, to whom did they disclose? If not, why not? (3) Did certain types of violence relate to disclosure or
not? (4) Were there any differences in experiences and disclosure based on gender?
Methods
Preliminary research and data collection were carried out in three phases in 2012. Phase I included reviewing and analyzing existing policies, laws, research reports and other documents that address GBV specic to Liberia. Phase II, which ran
concurrently with Phase I, included the identication and interviewing of key stakeholders including Consortium members,
representatives of international and local NGOs and representatives of key ministries and departments (e.g., the Ministry of
Education of Liberia and the Ministry of Gender and Development). Phase III involved eld research conducted by the Liberian
Please cite this article in press as: Postmus, J. L., et al. Examining gender based violence and abuse
among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.11.012

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4
Table 1
Sample location.
County
Bong
Montserrado
Grand Gedeh
Grand Bassa

Overall (n = 1,858)
468
596
390
404

Male (n = 1,100)
256
319
270
255

Female (n = 758)
212
277
120
149

research team at selected schools in four counties in Liberia. Data collection included a mix of qualitative and quantitative
methods. This article focuses on quantitative data gathered through an anonymous student survey during Phase III.
Data Collection Anonymous Student Survey
Four counties in Liberia were selected and included Montserrado, Bong, Grande Gedeh and Grand Bassa counties. These
counties were chosen based on input from our research and funding partners based on their connections to the school
districts in these counties. The Liberian research team used non-random convenience samples within each county to select
at least four schools in the four counties of interest with input our funding partners. Four schools were selected in Bong,
Montserrado and Grand Bassa counties, while six schools were selected in Grand Gedeh County. The number of counties
and schools selected were determined by the level of funding and the timeframe for the study. All schools selected agreed
to participate in the study.
The anonymous student survey was administered to all female and male students in the selected schools and contained
sixty-eight items comprising different categories related to GBV. Students were organized by gender and grade level for
participation in the survey with no students under the age of ten allowed to participate. Survey questions were read aloud
in English by the researchers while the students marked their answers on answer sheets, which were turned in to the
researchers at the conclusion of the survey and kept condential.
Sample
In total, 2,166 students participated in the survey, including 1,236 boys and 930 girls. Listwise deletion was used to
remove any case with incomplete data for questions related to GBV experiences from the overall analysis. The remaining
overall base analytic sample included 1,858 participants, with 1,100 boys and 758 girls. Table 1 shows a breakdown of
participants by county and gender.
Protection of Human Subjects
Prior to initiating each phase of the study, all materials were submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
at the U.S. University. Unfortunately, there was no such board at our partnering Liberian university; however, the
project and all personnel involved with the study were approved by the Vice President of Research (research authority) at the Liberian university. IRB approval ensured that research participants were informed of their rights, assured
of condentiality and anonymity, and that participants would not experience adverse effects as a result of participating in the study. All study participants were informed that their participation was voluntary and that they could
withdraw or refuse to answer any particular question at any time. Liberian research assistants obtained verbal assent
from all students prior to participating in the anonymous student survey. Additionally, consent for the anonymous student survey was provided by the County Education Ofcers (CEOs), the District Education Ofcers (DEOs) and school
principals.
Measures
Survey questions were developed based on analysis of key stakeholder interviews from Phase II of the study and existing
scales related to GBV and attitudes toward women. All questions were reviewed and revised by the Research Consortium
and members of the Liberian university research team to ensure applicability to the local context and culture.
Gender Based Violence Experiences. Initial analysis was run on 13 survey questions that focused on GBV experiences. Due to
the presence of missing data and unclear contextual nature in which these actions could occur, two questions related to
being shown (20.9% missing) or made to touch (19.8% missing) someones penis were removed from further analysis. The
question, Has someone ever touched you on your butt when you didnt want it? was also removed due to the unclear
contextual nature in which this action could occur. Another question, Has someone ever said something to scare you to
do something you didnt want to do? was also removed due to its unclear link to sexual or gender based violence. The
nal measure of GBV experiences included nine questions. Each question asked participants if they had ever experienced a
particular type of GBV. Response options for each item were 0 = no, 1 = yes.
Please cite this article in press as: Postmus, J. L., et al. Examining gender based violence and abuse
among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.11.012

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The nine questions included in the nal measure of GBV experiences were then divided into three conceptual GBV
categories for the purposes of analysis: Sexual Violation, Sexual Coercion, and Transactional Sex. Sexual Violation included
three questions (Watched you go to the bathroom or get dressed? [Peeped you?], Touched you on the breast when you
didnt want it? [Girls only] and Touched you on the penis? [Boys only]). The item Watched you go to the bathroom or
get dressed? (Peeped you?), was added to the survey by our Liberian colleagues. This particular question is problematic
in that it does not distinguish intention or motivation behind the viewing; nor does it indicate whether these behaviors
were a normal part of family life or unwanted. However, we wanted to capture the full range of possible sexual violence
experiences from the more covert and harmless to the more overt and obvious forms of violence. The data collectors
were trained to instruct students of the purpose of this study, its intent to identify gender based violence, and the inclusion
of peeped you as a form of unwanted sexual behavior.
Sexual Coercion included three questions (Threatened you with a knife, gun or other weapon to force you to have
sex? Threatened to hurt you because you refused to have sex? and Forced you to have sex when you didnt want to?).
Transactional Sex included three questions (Asked you for sex to get a better grade? Asked you for sex to give you money
or help? Asked you for sex to give you uniforms or food or something similar?). Participants who responded 1 = yes
to at least one individual item in a conceptual category of GBV received a score of 1 = yes for that particular category. If
the participant did not respond 1 = yes to at least one individual item in a conceptual category, the participant received a
0 = no score for that particular category.
Disclosure Behaviors Related to Gender Based Violence. Disclosure behaviors related to GBV were explored through various
measures. The rst measure was a single question asking those participants who had experienced GBV whether or not they
had told anyone. Response options for this question were 0 = no, 1 = yes.
The second measure related to disclosure of GBV experiences asked participants who disclosed to someone about
their GBV experiences to identify to whom they disclosed. This measure included nine questions offering distinct
options for disclosure (e.g., friend, parent, family member). Participants were asked to respond 0 = no, 1 = yes to each
question.
The third measure related to disclosure of GBV experiences asked participants who had experienced GBV but who did
not disclose this information to anyone to identify the reasons why they did not disclose. This measure included seven
questions, each providing a distinct reason for non-disclosure (e.g., I was afraid of what would happen to me). Participants
were asked to respond 0 = no, 1 = yes to each question.
Demographics. For this study, gender was self-reported by students through the anonymous survey. Response options were
1 = Male, 2 = Female. We purposefully did not ask the ages of the respondents in order to keep their answers completely
anonymous. Since there is a wide range of ages in each class, it is conceivable that the data collectors would be able to match
answers to a particular respondent who might be the only person in that class that was that age.
Analysis Strategy
Descriptive statistical analyses were run including frequencies on all individual survey items and sum and mean
scores for measures of GBV experiences and disclosure behaviors. Disclosure behaviors were also examined by
GBV experience categories via descriptive statistics. Chi square analysis examining differences based on gender for
individual items and categories of GBV experiences are based on this overall sample of 1,858 (1,100 boys, 758
girls).
In an effort to report ndings on as many participants as possible, pairwise deletion was used for chi square analyses
examining differences based on gender for examining to whom participants disclosed and why participants did not disclose.
The use of pairwise deletion in these analyses resulted in varied sample sizes for each item that are indicated in each results
table. The base analytic sample for analysis of to whom participants disclosed included 708 participants (421 boys, 287
girls) who had experienced GBV and disclosed this information to someone. The base analytic sample for analysis of reasons
why participants did not disclose included 1,150 participants (679 boys, 471 girls) who had experienced GBV but had not
disclosed this information to anyone.
Listwise deletion was used for examining categories of GBV experienced and to whom participants disclosed. Since GBV
categories were not mutually exclusive, sample sizes for each type of GBV experienced are as follows: Sexual Violation
(n = 436), Transactional Sex (n = 221), Sexual Coercion (n = 287).
Listwise deletion was also used for examining categories of GBV experienced and why participants did not disclose.
Again, as categories of GBV experiences were not mutually exclusive, sample sizes for each type of GBV in this analysis are
as follows: Sexual Violation (n = 683), Transactional Sex (n = 223), Sexual Coercion (n = 303).
Logistic regression analysis was also conducted to determine if having experienced a particular type of GBV was related
to disclosure behavior and whether gender moderated this relationship. Listwise deletion, resulting in an analytic sample of
1,690, was used for the logistic regression analysis examining the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between
categorized type of GBV experienced and dichotomous disclosure of GBV experiences.
Please cite this article in press as: Postmus, J. L., et al. Examining gender based violence and abuse
among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
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6
Table 2
GBV experiences (% yes).
Has someone ever. . .

Sexual Violation
Watched you go to the bathroom or get dressed? (Peeped you?)*
Touched you on your breast when you didnt want it? (Girls only)
Touched you on your penis when you didnt want it? (Boys only)
Transactional Sex*
Asked you for sex to get a better grade?*
Asked you for sex to give you money or help?*
Asked you for sex to give you uniforms or food or something similar?
Sexual Coercion*
Threatened you with a knife, gun or other weapon to force you to have sex?
Threatened to hurt you because you refused to have sex?*
Forced you to have sex when you didnt want to?*
At least one GBV experience
Overall mean score for GBV experiences*

Overall (n = 1,858)
86.6
54.1
N/A
N/A
32.1
15.1
22.9
15.2
42.9
18.8
20.5
25.3
91.7
2.51 (1.81)

Male (n = 1,100)
85.2
59.7
N/A
76.4
26.5
13.2
17.3
14.2
40.1
20.2
17.4
22.3
91.0
2.41 (1.73)

Female (n = 758)
88.7
45.9
83.4
N/A
40.2
17.8
31
16.8
47
16.9
25.1
29.8
92.6
2.67 (1.92)

Note: Summary scores for Sexual Violation, Transactional Sex, and Sexual Coercion represent the percent of respondents who experienced at least one kind
of GBV listed under that category.
*
Signicant between boys and girls at p < .01 level.

Results
Gender Based Violence Experiences
All items related to GBV experiences were answered by the total sample of 1,100 boys and 758 girls. Almost 92% of study
participants experienced at least one form of GBV. This included 91% of boys and 92.6% of girls. The average score out of
eight possible GBV experiences for girls was 2.67 (SD = 1.92) whereas boys had an average of 2.41 (SD = 1.73) experiences.
There were signicant differences between responses from boys and girls on the following items for questions regarding
experience with GBV. Almost 46% of girls and 60% of boys said that someone had ever watched her or him go to the bathroom
or get dressed (i.e., peeped them), although it was not specied whether this was in a sexualized way or not. Almost 18% of
girls and over 13% of boys said they had been asked by someone for sex to get a better grade. Thirty-one percent of girls and
17% of boys said they had been asked by someone for sex in return for money. Over 25% of girls and 17% of boys said that
someone had ever threatened to hurt her or him because she or he refused to have sex. Almost 30% of girls and over 22% of
boys said they had been forced by someone to have sex when she or he didnt want to (Table 2).
Acts of GBV were also separated into three categories according to characteristics and the nature of the act. These categories included Sexual Coercion, Sexual Violation, and Transactional Sex. Almost 87% of the overall sample reported having
experienced at least one act of sexual violation. There were no statistically signicant differences between the percent of
boys and girls who had experienced sexual violation. However, statistically signicant differences did exist between the
responses of boys and girls for sexual coercion and transactional sex. Forty-seven percent of girls and 40% of boys said they
had experienced at least one act of sexual coercion. Over 40% of girls as compared to 27% of boys experienced at least one
act of transactional sex.
Disclosure Behaviors Related to Gender Based Violence
To Whom Participants Disclosed by Gender. Approximately 38% of girls and boys told someone about their GBV experiences.
Of those participants that told someone, the majority told a friend about their GBV experiences (61%). Over 53% of the
overall sample told a parent about their GBV experience(s). There were several signicant differences between girls and
boys regarding who they told, including telling a family member (57% of girls; 41% of boys); doctor, nurse or other medical
professional (44% of girls; 32% of boys); teacher (43% of girls; 31% of boys); and police ofcer or other legal professional (29%
of girls; 28% of boys). In sum, girls told an average of 3.7 (SD 2.82) people about their experience(s) with GBV, whereas boys
told an average of 3.06 (SD 2.54) people about their experience(s) with GBV (Table 3).
To Whom Participants Disclosed by Type of GBV. Almost 66% of the participants who had experienced sexual violation told a
friend about their experience(s) with GBV. Over 55% of participants who had experienced an act(s) of sexual violation told
a parent about their experiences. Forty-seven percent of participants told a family member about their experience(s). Over
37% of the participants told a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional about their experience(s) with sexual violation.
Over 36% of participants told a teacher about what had happened; almost 32% told an unspecied member of the school staff.
Almost 34% of participants told a town chief, community head or zone leader about the event(s); over 31% of the participants
told a minister or other religious leader. Finally, over 34% of participants told a police ofcer or legal professional about the
sexual violation incident(s) (Table 4).
Over 72% of participants who had experienced an act(s) of transactional sex told a friend about their experience(s),
whereas 61% told a parent, and 56% told a family member about their experience(s). Almost 48% of participants told a
Please cite this article in press as: Postmus, J. L., et al. Examining gender based violence and abuse
among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
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Table 3
To whom students disclosed their GBV (% yes).
Overall (n = 708)
Friend
Parent
Family member*
Doctor, nurse or other medical person*
Teacher*
Town chiefs, community heads, zones leaders
Police ofcer or other legal person*
School staff
Minister or religious leader
Overall mean score*

Male (n = 421)

61
53.4
46.5
36.3
35.4
32.7
32.1
30.3
29.9
3.29 (2.66)

Female (n = 287)

57.7
53.3
40.8
32.3
31.3
29.4
28.2
27
27.2
3.06 (2.54)

67
53.5
57.4
43.8
42.9
38.6
39.2
36.3
34.8
3.7 (2.81)

The n value represents those participants who experienced at least one act of GBV and who said they told someone.
*
p < .01.
Table 4
Type of GBV experienced and to whom participant disclosed (% yes).
Sexual Violation (n = 436)
Friend
Parent
Family member
Doctor/nurse/medical person
Teacher
School staff
Town chief/community head/zone leader
Minister/religious leader
Police ofcer/legal person

Transactional Sex (n = 221)

65.8
55.3
47.0
37.2
36.2
31.9
33.5
31.4
34.2

Sexual Coercion (n = 287)

72.4
61.1
56.1
47.5
45.2
40.7
42.1
38.9
40.3

70.4
59.2
54.4
44.6
40.8
36.2
40.4
35.9
40.1

The n value represents those participants who experienced that particular type of GBV and had no missing data on any of these variables.

doctor, nurse, or other medical professional about the event(s) of transactional sex. Over 45% of participants told a teacher
about the transactional act(s) of GBV that had been committed against them; almost 41% told an unspecied member of the
school staff about what had happened. Over 42% of participants told a town chief, community head, or zone leader; over
40% told a police ofcer or other legal professional about what had happened. Finally, almost 39% told a minister or other
religious leader about the transactional act(s) of GBV.
For those who experienced sexual coercion and told someone about their experience(s), over 70% told a friend, over 59%
told a parent, and over 54% disclosed what had happened to a family member. Almost 45% of participants told a doctor, nurse,
or other medical professional about their experience(s) with sexual coercion. Almost 41% of participants told a teacher about
their experience(s) with sexual coercion; over 36% told an unspecied member of the school staff about what had happened.
Over 40% of participants told a town chief, community head or zone leader about the event(s). Over 40% of participants told
a police ofcer or other legal person. Finally, almost 36% told a minister or religious leader about what had happened.
Reasons for Non-Disclosure by Gender. Those students who did not disclose their GBV experiences were also asked why they
did not tell anyone. Over 43% of boys and girls who experienced GBV but did not report it did not think anyone would believe
them. Over 41% were afraid of what would happen to them if they did report or were afraid of getting into trouble. Almost
38% were afraid of what would happen to their family. Almost 35% were afraid of getting kicked out of school. There were
statistically signicant differences in the responses of boys and girls on the following items including being afraid of the
person who committed the GBV act (43% boys; 33% girls), and being ashamed of what had happened (46% boys; 37% girls)
(Table 5).

Table 5
Reasons for not disclosing GBV experiences (% yes).
Overall (n = 1,150)
I was afraid of what would happen to me.
I was afraid of what would happen to my family.
I was afraid of getting into trouble.
I was afraid I would get the person who did it to me in trouble.*
I didnt think anyone would believe me.
I was afraid I would get kicked out of school.
I was ashamed of what had happened and didnt want anyone to know.*

41.2
37.8
41.4
38.7
43.3
34.5
42.3

Male (n = 679)
41.3
38.5
45.3
43.2
45.4
35.1
46.2

Female (n = 471)
41.2
36.9
36.3
32.8
40.4
33.8
37.2

The n value represents those participants who experienced at least one act of GBV and who said they did not tell anyone.
*
Signicant between boys and girls at p < .01 level.

Please cite this article in press as: Postmus, J. L., et al. Examining gender based violence and abuse
among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
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Table 6
Type of GBV experienced and reasons for not disclosing (% yes).
Sexual Violation (n = 683)
I didnt think anyone would believe me
Afraid of what would happen to me
Afraid of what would happen to my family
Afraid of getting into trouble
Afraid I would get the person who did it to me in
trouble
Afraid I would get kicked out of school
Ashamed of what had happened and didnt want
anyone to know

Transactional Sex (n = 223)

Sexual Coercion (n = 303)

43.3
41.6
39.2
43.2
39.5

44.8
44.4
42.2
43.0
37.7

52.5
51.2
45.2
47.5
43.6

34.6
43.5

42.6
45.3

43.9
50.2

The n value represents those participants who experienced that particular type of GBV and had no missing data on any of these items.
Table 7
Binary logistic regression of disclosure on gender on type of GBV (n = 1,690).
Odds ratios

Condence interval (95%)

Lower bound

Gender
Sexual Coercion
Sexual Violation
Transactional Sex

0.852
1.710***
1.381
1.641***

0.690
1.377
0.988
1.307

Upper bound
1.051
2.124
1.932
2.059

R2 = 0.057. The n value represents those participants who experienced any type of GBV and had no missing data on the items used for analysis.
Signicance based on two-tailed T-test: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.

Reasons for Non-Disclosure by Type of GBV. For those participants who experienced an act(s) of sexual violation, over 43%
did not tell anyone about their GBV experiences because they did not think anyone would believe them, were ashamed of
what had happened and didnt want anyone to know, or were afraid of getting into trouble. Almost 42% did not tell anyone
because they were afraid of what would happen to me (the victim). Over 39% did not tell anyone because they were afraid
of what would happen to their family; 43% did not tell for fear that the perpetrator would get in trouble. Almost 35% of
participants were afraid of getting kicked out of school (Table 6).
For those participants who experienced an act(s) of transactional sex, over 45% of participants were ashamed of what
had happened and didnt want anyone to know. Almost 45% didnt think anyone would believe them. Around 44% did not
tell anyone about their GBV experiences because they were afraid of what would happen to them (the victim). About 43%
were afraid of getting kicked out of school or of getting into trouble. Over 42% were afraid of what would happen to their
family and almost 38% were afraid that they would get the perpetrator in trouble.
For those participants who experienced an act(s) of sexual coercion, almost 53% of participants did not think anyone
would believe them. Over 51% did not tell anyone because they were afraid of what would happen to them (the victim).
Almost 48% of participants were afraid of getting into trouble, over 45% were afraid of what would happen to their family,
almost 44% were afraid of getting kicked out of school or were afraid that they would get the perpetrator in trouble. Over
50% of participants were ashamed of what had happened and did not want anyone to know.
Type of GBV Experiences and Relationship to Dichotomous Disclosure Behavior
Results from the logistic regression suggested that gender did not have a signicant main effect on whether or not participants disclosed to someone about their GBV experiences. However, results suggested participants who experienced sexual
coercion have 71% greater odds of disclosing GBV experiences compared to those who did not experience sexual coercion but
who had experienced sexual violation and/or transactional sex, controlling for gender and other types of GBV experiences. In
addition, participants who experienced transactional sex have 64% greater odds of disclosing GBV experiences compared to
those who did not experience transactional sex but who had experienced sexual coercion and/or sexual violation, controlling
for gender and other types of GBV experiences. Analysis was also run to determine the moderating effect of gender on the
relationship between type of GBV experienced and disclosure of GBV experiences. However, no signicant moderating effect
was found (Table 7).
Discussion
The results from this study provide an initial glimpse into the problem of sexual violence experienced by girls and boys
in schools in four counties in Liberia. Results indicated that sexual violation (e.g., peeping or inappropriate touching) was
very prevalent among both girls and boys. Sexual coercion (e.g., forced sex) was more prevalent than transactional sex (e.g.,
trading sex for grades or money). Both sexual coercion and transactional sex were reported by more girls than boys, yet the
rates for the most severe form of sexual violence (i.e., sexual coercion) were high for both girls (30%) and boys (22%).
Please cite this article in press as: Postmus, J. L., et al. Examining gender based violence and abuse
among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
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These ndings are similar to other studies of child sexual abuse, which have found high prevalence rates for male study
participants in Africa (Madu & Peltzer, 2000, 2001; Stoltenborgh, van Ijzendoorn, Euser, & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2011).
One possible explanation offered was that the absence of an adult male in the household may have left male children
vulnerable to abuse by adult females (Madu & Peltzer, 2000, 2001). A study by McCrann, Lalor, and Katabaro (2006) noted
that 11% of males in their study reported they were bribed to engage in an unwanted sexual experience, which may indicate
that males are experiencing transactional sex as well. As such, it is possible that many single-parent families and orphaned
children emerged as a result of the Liberian civil war. Economic hardship and the absence of adult caretakers may have left
Liberian children vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by older adults.
When students were asked if they told anyone, 38% reported that they did disclose their experiences. Most tell their friends
(61%) followed by telling their parents (53%) which is similar to other studies that outline such groups in which victims conde
(Malloy, Brubacher, & Lamb, 2013; Smith et al., 2000). In this study, girls were more likely to tell a family member, medical
staff, teacher, or police than were boys. Such differences could be related to different reactions to victimization based on
gender; further research is needed to determine if such gender differences to disclosure exist. Similar disclosure patterns
also held up when examining the different types of GBV experienced.
The higher rate of disclosure to formal sources may be the result of considerable investments in Liberia in the last
56 years to improve the system for reporting to health clinics and police. The Women and Childrens Protection Section
has been created with female police ofcers trained in gender-based violence and good practices in interviewing women
and children (de Carvalho & Nagelhus Schia, 2011). The raised awareness and improvement in the process of reporting
potentially increased the condence in those who care for children including parents and teachers in how these situations
will be handled with children and, thus, encourage children to report. These results indicated some positive trends in the
sense that many students are telling others; the challenge lies with how those others respond to disclosure of GBV. Such
a challenge can be found in other countries in which victims seek out more informal sources of help rather than formal
sources; however, most efforts to train responders seem to focus on the formal sources (e.g., teachers, law enforcement,
medical staff).
The study also provided results on the reasons for students not telling anyone about their sexual violence experiences.
Most answers hovered between 35 and 43% of the students with minimal differences between girls and boys. Boys reported
being more afraid of getting the person (i.e., perpetrator) into trouble and were more ashamed of what happened. Consistently, those that experienced the more severe sexual coercive behaviors reported more reasons why they did not disclose
those behaviors followed by those who experienced transactional sex.
Finally, the results indicated that gender did not play a role in whether one would disclose victimization to someone else. However, experiencing a certain type of victimization (i.e., sexual coercion or transactional sex) did increase
the odds that the victim would disclose to someone else. Fortunately, for children who are asked for sex for something
(transactional sex) or who are forced to have sex (sexual coercion), they are more likely to tell someone about their
experiences and potentially receive help. Further research is needed to determine what occurs as a result of disclosing such experiences. Additionally, it is possible that experiencing sexual violation (i.e., being peeped or being touched
on ones breast or penis) is not even considered a crime and hence has become normalized by these children. Further
research is needed to fully understand what happens to children and the perpetrators when sexual GBV is brought to
light.

Limitations
The results from this study provide interesting details of the sexual violence experiences of girls and boys in schools in
Liberia. However, the results should be taken with a note of caution. The counties, schools, and students were not randomly
selected but were a convenience sample based on access to schools and on an existing presence within the counties of the
respective NGOs. Therefore, students understanding and experiences in schools assisted by international organizations are
not representative of students across the county or country. For these reasons, the results must be interpreted with caution
and cannot be generalized to other students, schools or counties in Liberia.
Additionally, the survey used in this study was created based upon the expertise of the researchers with input from
the research consortium. The researchers thought that the existing measures, which have been tested, some in other
African countries and some in high income countries in other parts of the world, may not be applicable with this
study population. Prior to the study, several potential survey items were removed in consultation with the Consortium and the Liberian university research team since it was determined that they might not be fully understood by
the study sample. We also did not have the opportunity to pilot the instrument prior to collecting the data for this
project. More research is needed to develop and test culturally relevant and age-sensitive tools to be used in future
studies.
Finally, since we purposefully did not ask the ages of the respondents in order to keep their answers completely anonymous, further research is needed to untangle the differences experienced from younger students (age 1012) from older
students. However, the intent was to explore the phenomena of sexual violence against girls and boys attending Liberian
schools. The results provide a rst step in testing research tools and providing evidence of such violence as well as provide
recommendations for addressing GBV in Liberian schools.
Please cite this article in press as: Postmus, J. L., et al. Examining gender based violence and abuse
among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.11.012

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Implications and Conclusion

This study contributes to a small but growing body of research to document the prevalence and types of sexual violence
experienced by children in Liberia. Consistent with other studies, the evidence shows that sexual violence against boys and
girls is occurring at alarming rates. Even though Liberia has established sound policies on gender equality and the elimination
of violence, efforts to address protection and justice for victims of violence are limited. One of the main issues is that there
are restricted means for recourse for victims in terms of protection and justice, and there are few to no consequences for
perpetrators. In the current Liberian context, reporting and not-reporting come at a price. Often, the victims report only to
people they know, rather than directly to authorities, in an effort to protect themselves from further victimization due to
stigma and the risk of being blamed. Protection of ones own family, and in some cases, a perpetrator with status and power,
may be reasons for not reporting. Access to protection and justice for victims and their families is clearly needed in order
to address sexual violence against children. Providing justice to victims and retribution to perpetrators may go a long way
in encouraging other victims to report incidents of violence while also sending perpetrators the message that their actions
have consequences.
Protection and justice requires not just human and nancial resources, but also a better understanding of the reasons
sexual violence is occurring, including the role of cultural beliefs and attitudes. But the causes of such blatant violation of the
rights of children at family and community levels are complex. In addition, the evidence suggests that economic insecurity
and gender insensitivity within institutional contexts contribute to the risk of sexual violence, especially as it relates to
transactional sex. To better understand the inuence of complex social norms and institutional factors within the Liberian
context, further study is needed. Given that sexual violence is a shared problem and a high agenda item in many other
Sub Saharan African countries, borrowing tested qualitative and quantitative methods can strengthen research efforts and
contribute to the development of effective prevention strategies.
Although in the minority, some victims are reporting incidences of GBV and nding that the perpetrators are being
held accountable. A positive deviance approach to research that identies those individuals and families that do report
incidences of GBV could contribute to a better understanding of the specic variables that inuenced those who did report
to someone within the formal system (e.g., health professional, teacher or police). Positive deviance research refers to the
study of those individuals in risk situations that deviate from the normative behavior and result in more positive outcomes
for these individuals (Marsh, Schroeder, Dearden, Sternin, & Sternin, 2004). In addition, a positive deviance approach applied
to organizational and system reform, such as poorly performing health care systems, identies and studies those deviant
practices that result in exceptionally, high performance in an area of interest (Bradley et al., 2009). Studying those cases in
which GBV is reported and the systems in which justice is achieved could assist in dening those factors that contribute to
improved accountability within the respective context.
Another positive change is that sexual violence against children is on the public policy agenda and there is considerable
discourse on the violation of human rights relative to GBV within Liberia. Research can help target specic attitudinal and
behavioral changes needed and guide the development of public education and awareness initiatives. Community-level
approaches that engage boys and men, as well as girls and women, are vital for examining and understanding gender roles
and responsibilities. Liberian women activists have played a key role in strengthening current policies in Liberia surrounding
gender based violence. Global NGOs should aim to partner with Liberian women and integrate a human rights framework in
ways that are informed by Liberias history and gender relations (Abramowitz & Moran, 2012). Incorporating good practice
models that facilitate gender-sensitive services inclusive of psychosocial, health, and educational services delivered within
communities are needed. Researching and testing existing good practice models that engage local traditional, religious,
and NGO leaders, Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), and local child protection committees and authorities can contribute
to prevention and protection. Contextualized gender-sensitive approaches can support the development of schools and
communities as the safe havens they are meant to be for children.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank their collaborators at Cuttington University who played a principal role in helping us
craft our methods and in collecting the vast amount of data. We are in their debt.

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among Liberian school students in four counties: An exploratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect (2014),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.11.012