Abstract
The phenomena of homelessness and gender-based violence are serious global and public health issues, particularly in develo** countries. Both situations predispose young adults to severe psychosocial and health challenges. Together, adolescents and youth form a group called “young people” which accounts for 30% of the world’s population. This stage forms part of their transition to adulthood, and it is characterized by various challenges, including risk-taking behavior, peer influence, homelessness, alcohol and substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, etc. The situation is worse in low-income settings where young adults, both young men and women, face harsh life conditions that drive them to resort to the street and who are at risk of harm, neglect, and abuse. Around 736 million women globally have faced violence, including intimate partner and non-partner sexual violence, at least once in their lives, especially among those aged 15 and above (World Health Organization, Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018: global, regional, and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women, 2021). Furthermore, nations classified as least developed by the Sustainable Development Goals have a significant frequency of gender-based violence (World Health Organization, Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018: global, regional, and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women, 2021). Homelessness is a serious contemporary concern that affects both high- and low-income settings; however, those in low-income communities bear the brunt of it. Approximately 1.6 billion people worldwide are homeless (Habitat for Humanity, 2015). Youth living in unfavorable settings are unable to make age-appropriate decisions relating to their sexual and reproductive health. The chapter discusses events leading to young adults being homeless and subjected to various forms of abuse or violence as well as the impact of these events on their reproductive health choices.
References
Abuosi AA, Anaba EA (2019) Barriers on access to and use of adolescent health services in Ghana. J Health Res 33(3):197–207. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHR-10-2018-0119
Adedze M, Osei-Yeboah R, Morhe ESK, Ngambouk VP (2022) Exploring sexual and reproductive health needs and associated barriers of homeless young adults in urban Ghana: a qualitative study. Sex Res Soc Policy 19(3):1006–1019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-022-00724-9
Allan J, Kemp M (2014) The prevalence and characteristics of homelessness in the NSW substance treatment population: implications for practice. Soc Work Health Care 53(2):183–198
Amoah WW, Amoah A, Atiogbe A, Sarfo JO (2014) Survival outside home: sexual behaviour of homeless and runaway young adults in Ghana. J Advocacy Res Educ 1(1):9–14
Arousell J, Carlbom A (2016) Culture and religious beliefs in relation to reproductive health. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 32:77–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2015.08.011
Artz L, Meer T, Müller A (2018) Women’s exposure to sexual violence across the life cycle: an African perspective. In: Global perspectives on women’s sexual and reproductive health across the lifecourse. Springer, Cham, pp 273–293
Aubry T, Bloch G, Brcic V, Saad A, Magwood O, Abdalla T et al (2020) Effectiveness of permanent supportive housing and income assistance interventions for homeless individuals in high-income countries: a systematic review. Lancet Public Health 5(6):e342–e360
Bani-Fatemi A, Malta M, Noble A, Wang W, Rajakulendran T, Kahan D, Stergiopoulos V (2020) Supporting female survivors of gender-based violence experiencing homelessness: outcomes of a health promotion psychoeducation group intervention. Front Psych 11:1430
Biehal N, Wade J (2000) Going missing from residential and foster care: linking biographies and contexts. Br J Soc Work 30(2):211–225
Bingenheimer JB, Asante E, Ahiadeke C (2015) Peer influences on sexual activity among adolescents in Ghana. Stud Fam Plan 46(1):1–19
Busch-Geertsema V, Culhane D, Fitzpatrick S (2016) Develo** a global framework for conceptualizing and measuring homelessness. Habitat Int 55:124–132
Catholic Action for Street Children (CAS) (2017) How CAS defines street children. Retrieved from https://casghana.org/about.html. On 14 Apr 2022
Coltart CE, Lindsey B, Ghinai I, Johnson AM, Heymann DL (2017) The Ebola outbreak, 2013–2016: old lessons for new epidemics. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci 372(1721):20160297
Crawford DM, Whitebeck LB, Hoyt DR (2011) Propensity for violence among homeless and runaway adolescents: an event history analysis. Sage J Crime Delinq 57:950. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128709335100. https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/cadc/57/6
Dankyi E, Huang KY (2022) Street children in Ghana’s golden triangle cities: mental health needs and associated risks. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 53(4):840–851
Govender D, Naidoo S, Taylor M (2019) Knowledge, attitudes, and peer influences related to pregnancy, sexual and reproductive health among adolescents using maternal health services in Ugu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. BMC Public Health 19(1):1–16
Habitat for Humanity (2015) Effects of poverty on health, children and society. Retrieved from https://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/what-we-do/building-and-renovating-homes/effects-of-poverty/. On 2 Oct 2018
Hatloy A, Huser A (2005) Identification of street children. Characteristics of street children in Bamako and Accra, Research program on trafficking and child labour, Report, 474
Institute of Global Homelessness (2023). https://ighomelessness.org/. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from https://ighomelessness.org/
John N, Casey SE, Carino G, McGovern T (2020) Lessons never learned: crisis and gender-based violence. Dev World Bioeth 20(2):65–68
Kaur R, Garg S (2008) Addressing domestic violence against women: an unfinished agenda. Indian J Commun Med 33(2):73
Khetrapal S, Bhatia R (2020) Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health system & sustainable development goal 3. Indian J Med Res 151(5):395
Kidd SA, Gaetz S, O’Grady B, Schwan K, Zhao H, Lopes K, Wang W (2021) The second national Canadian homeless youth survey: mental health and addiction findings: La Deuxième Enquête Nationale Auprès des Jeunes sans Abri: Résultats en Matière De Santé Mentale et de Toxicomanie. Can J Psychiatr 66:0706743721990310
Kruk ME et al (2018) High-quality health systems in the sustainable development goals era: time for a revolution. Lancet Glob Health 6(11):e1196–e1252. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30386-3
Kvinnofridslinjen (2022) August 17. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://kvinnofridslinjen.se/en/home/
Kyilleh JM, Tabong PTN, Konlaan BB (2018) Adolescents’ reproductive health knowledge, choices and factors affecting reproductive health choices: a qualitative study in the West Gonja District in Northern region, Ghana. BMC Int Health Hum Rights 18(1):1–12
Lloyd M (2018) Domestic violence and education: examining the impact of domestic violence on young children, children, and young people and the potential role of schools. Front Psychol 9:2094
Morton MH, Dworsky A, Matjasko JL, Curry SR, Schlueter D, Chávez R, Farrell AF (2018) Prevalence and correlates of youth homelessness in the United States. J Adolesc Health 62(1):14–21
Nawaz I, Manan MR (2022) Challenges in implementing adolescent sexual and reproductive health programs: are healthcare workers part of the problem? J Prim Care Community Health 13:21501319221134864. https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319221134864
Oduro GY (2012) ‘Children of the street’: sexual citizenship and the unprotected lives of Ghanaian street youth. Comp Educ 48(1):41–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2011.637762
Olson RM, García-Moreno C, Colombini M (2020) The implementation and effectiveness of the one stop center model for intimate partner and sexual violence in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review of barriers and enablers. BMJ Glob Health 5(3):e001883
Onyango MA, Resnick K, Davis A, Shah RR (2019) Gender-based violence among adolescent girls and young women: a neglected consequence of the West African Ebola outbreak. In: Pregnant in the time of Ebola. Springer, Cham, pp 121–132
Oppong Asante K, Meyer-Weitz A (2017) Prevalence and predictors of suicidal ideations and attempts among homeless children and adolescents in Ghana. J Child Adolesc Ment Health 29(1):27–37
Osei BK (2011) Role of non-governmental organizations in mitigating gender-based violence in Ghana: a case study of Ark Foundation in Accra metropolis. Doctoral dissertation, University of Cape Coast
Piat M, Polvere L, Kirst M, Voronka J, Zabkiewicz D, Plante MC et al (2015) Pathways into homelessness: understanding how both individual and structural factors contribute to and sustain homelessness in Canada. Urban Stud 52(13):2366–2382
Pyscher T, Lozenski BD (2014) Throwaway youth: the sociocultural location of resistance to schooling. Equity Excell Educ 47(4):531–545
Radcliff E, Crouch E, Strompolis M, Srivastav A (2019) Homelessness in childhood and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Matern Child Health J 23(6):811–820
Silverman JG, Raj A (2014) Intimate partner violence and reproductive coercion: global barriers to women’s reproductive control. PLoS Med 11(9):e1001723. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001723. On 2 Apr 2023
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2022) Trauma and violence. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/trauma-violence. On 2 Apr 2023
Swedish Agency for Development, SIDA (2015) Preventing and responding to gender-based violence, expressions, and strategies. Retrieved from https://cdn.sida.se/publications/files/sida61848en-preventing-and-responding-to-gender-based-violence-expressions-and-strategies.pdf. On 8 Apr 2022
The Borgen Project (2020) 5 facts about homelessness in Ghana. Retrieved from https://borgenproject.org/homelessness-in-ghana/. On 6 Apr 2022
The World Bank (2019) Gender-based violence (Violence against women and girls). Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialsustainability/brief/violence-against-women-and-girls. On 2 Apr 2023
The World Bank (2023) Violence against women & girls- resource guide. Retrieved from terminology (worldbank.org) on 14 Dec 2023
Timmer DA, Eitzen DS, Talley KD (2019) Paths to homelessness: extreme poverty and the urban housing crisis. Routledge, New York
Tol WA, Stavrou V, Greene MC, Mergenthaler C, Van Ommeren M, García Moreno C (2013) Sexual and gender-based violence in areas of armed conflict: a systematic review of mental health and psychosocial support interventions. Confl Heal 7:1–9
Torres García AV, Vega-Hernández MC, Antón Rubio C, Pérez-Fernández M (2021) Mental health in women victims of gender violence: descriptive and multivariate analysis of neuropsychological functions and depressive symptomatology. Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(1):346. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010346
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (2021) Sexual and reproductive health. Retrieved from https://www.unfpa.org/sexual-reproductive-health. On 6 Apr 2022
United Nations Women (2023) Frequently asked questions: types of violence against women and girls. Retrieved from https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/faqs/types-of-violence. On 2 Apr 2023
Woodford-Berger P (2007) 10|gender mainstreaming: what is it (about). Feminisms in development: contradictions, contestations, and challenges, 122
World Health Organization (2021) Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018: global, regional, and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women. Retrieved on April 2, 2023
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Chotera, S.U., Adedze, M. (2024). Reproductive Health Choices of Homeless Young Adults in Low Income Settings and the Cyclical Implications of Gender-Based Violence in Ghana. In: Sinha, R., Basu, P. (eds) Families and Gendered Violence and Conflict. Social Work. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42602-5_8-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42602-5_8-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-42602-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-42602-5
eBook Packages: Social SciencesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences