Peer-reviewed article
Conflict, caregiver violence and gendered parenting: A cross-sectional study among adolescent girls and young women participating in a girls' empowerment programme in Myanmar.
Pearson I, Chase E, Van Kim C, Ma San N, Ja H et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined violence against adolescent girls in Myanmar during conflict, surveying 731 girls aged 10-17 in a girls' empowerment programme between September 2023 and January 2024. Most girls (80.6%) experienced psychological violence and about half (49.8%) experienced physical violence from parents or caregivers in the past year. Exposure to conflict-related stressors and gendered parenting practices were both significantly associated with higher rates of violence against girls.
Key points
- 80.6% of adolescent girls reported psychological violence and 49.8% reported physical violence from caregivers in the past year
- Girls exposed to 3 or more conflict-related stressors were 2.19 times more likely to report physical violence
- Girls exposed to 1-2 conflict-related stressors were 2.04 times more likely to report psychological violence
- Higher gendered parenting scores were associated with both physical violence (aOR=1.06) and psychological violence (aOR=1.07)
- Armed conflict and political instability in Myanmar have exacerbated vulnerabilities for girls and young women
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional, so causality cannot be determined and only associations are measured. The sample consisted of girls already enrolled in an empowerment programme, which may not be representative of all adolescent girls in Myanmar or include the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations.
Abstract
Across Myanmar, armed conflict and political instability have exacerbated poverty, food insecurity, and disrupted essential social protection services, severely affected people's health and wellbeing. This is especially pertinent for girls and young women, for whom gender inequalities are exacerbated during conflict, increasing their risk of various forms of violence. We aimed to measure the prevalence of parent/caregiver-perpetrated violence against adolescent girls across Myanmar and examine its association with exposure to conflict and gendered parenting practices following the 2021 military coup. We included 731 adolescent girls aged 10-17 years enrolled in a girls' empowerment programme, recruited from Mandalay, Yangon and Tanintharyi Regions, Shan State and Kachin State. We co-developed a cross-sectional survey tool with a team of peer-researchers, conducting it between September 2023 and January 2024. Measures included physical and psychological violence, exposure to conflict-related stressors and gendered parenting practices. Logistic regression analyses tested associations between key variables. 80.6% of participants reported psychological violence and 49.8% reported physical violence in the past year. Participants reporting 3 + conflict-related stressors were more likely to report physical violence (aOR=2.19, 95%CI = 1.24-3.89, p = 0.007), participants reporting 1-2 stressors were more likely to report psychological violence (aOR=2.04, 95%CI = 1.09-3.77, p = 0.025). Higher gendered parenting scores were associated with physical (aOR=1.06, 95% CI = 1.03-1.09, p < 0.001) and psychological violence (aOR=1.07, 95%CI = 1.03-1.10, p < 0.001). Conflict may exacerbate gendered parenting and is associated with more parent/caregiver-perpetrated violence. These findings highlight the need for interventions addressing adolescent girls' unique health and wellbeing needs in conflict-settings.