The Violence Against Children Survey Help-Seeking and Services after Sexual Incident measure includes 22 items from the Zimbabwe National Baseline Survey on Life Experiences of Adolescents (NBLSEA, 2011). This measure asks young people who have experienced an adverse sexual incident, if they ever shared their experience with someone or sought help after the incident. Violence Against Children Surveys are nationally representative household surveys of children and young adults aged 13 to 24 years. They are designed to measure the prevalence and circumstances surrounding emotional, physical, and sexual violence against males and females in childhood (before age 18). Navigational aspects (i.e., skip-out patterns and next question sequences) have not been included, but can be viewed in the original questionnaire available here
Geographies Tested: Zimbabwe
Populations Included: Female, Male
Age Range: Adolescents, Adults, Children
I would like you to think back to all the sexual incidents without consent we talked about-which could include unwanted sexual touching, attempted sex, physically forced sex or pressured sex.
1. Were any of the people that did this to you drunk or on any illegal drugs when the sexual incident happened?
2. Were you ever drinking or on any illegal drug when a sexual incident happened?
3. Did you ever tell anybody about any of these incidents-unwanted sexual touching, attempted sex, physically forced sex, or pressured sex?
4. Was a relative among the people you spoke to?
Response Options:
Yes - 1
No - 2
Don’t know - 88
Declined to answer - 98
5. What was their reaction?
Response Options:
Supportive of me - A
Listened to me - B
Did not believe me - C
Blamed me - D
Beatpunished me - E
Other reaction (specify) - X
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
6. Who were the relatives you spoke to? (Circle all mentioned)
Response Options:
Male:
Father - A
Stepfather - B
Brother - C
Stepbrother - D
Uncle - E
Other male relative (specify) - X
Female:
Mother - F
Stepmother - G
Sister - H
Stepsister - I
Aunt - J
Other female relative (specify) - W
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
7. Was a girlfriend, romantic partner, or wife [boyfriend, romantic partner or husband] among the people you spoke to?
Response Options:
Yes - 1
No - 2
Don’t know - 88
Declined to answer - 98
8. What was their reaction?
Response Options:
Supportive of me - A
Listened to me - B
Did not believe me - C
Blamed me - D
Beatpunished me - E
Other reaction (specify) - X
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
9. Did you speak to a girlfriend, romantic partner, or wife [boyfriend, romantic partner or husband]? (Circle all mentioned)
Response Options:
Girlfriend[boyfriend]romantic partner - A
Wife - B
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
10. Was an authority figure, such as a teacher or police, among the people you spoke to?
Response Options:
Yes - 1
No - 2
Don’t know - 88
Declined to answer - 98
11. What was their reaction?
Response Options:
Supportive of me - A
Listened to me - B
Did not believe me - C
Blamed me - D
Beatpunished me - E
Other reaction (specify) - X
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
12. Who were the authority figures you spoke to? (Circle all mentioned)
Response Options:
Male:
Teacher - A
Police - B
Military - C
Employer - D
Community leader - E
Religious leader - F
Other male authority figure (specify) - V
Female:
Teacher - G
Police - H
Military - I
Employer - J
Community leader - K
Religious leader - L
Other female authority figure - T
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
13. Was a friend among the people you spoke to?
Response Options:
Yes - 1
No - 2
Don’t know - 88
Declined to answer - 98
14. What was their reaction?
Response Options:
Supportive of me - A
Listened to me - B
Did not believe me - C
Blamed me - D
Beatpunished me - E
Other reaction (specify) - X
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
15. Was there anyone else you spoke to?
Response Options:
Yes - 1
No - 2
Don’t know - 88
Declined to answer - 98
16. What was their reaction?
Response Options:
Supportive of me - A
Listened to me - B
Did not believe me - C
Blamed me - D
Beatpunished me - E
Other reaction (specify) - X
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
17. Who were the others you spoke to?
Response Options:
Neighbour - A
Counselor - B
Hotline - C
Doctornurse - D
Others (specify) - X
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
18. Were there any sexual incidents that you did not tell anyone about?
Response Options:
Yes - 1
No - 2
Don’t know - 88
Declined to answer - 98
19. Why didn’t you tell anyone about these incidents? (Circle all mentioned)
Response Options:
Afraid of getting into trouble - A
Embarrassed for selffamily - B
Dependent on perpetrator - C
Perpetrator threatened me - D
Didn’t think it was a problem - E
Felt it was my fault - F
Didn’t want abuser to get in trouble - G
Afraid of being abandoned - H
Other reason (specify) - X
Don’t know - Z
Declined to answer - Y
20. Did you know of a place to go and seek professional help for any of these sexual incidents?
21. Did you try to seek professional help for any of these incidents?
22. Were you successful in receiving any professional help for any of these incidents, like from a clinic or NGO?
Response Options:
Yes - 1
No - 2
Don’t know - 88
Declined to answer - 98
Not Applicable
Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Collaborating Center for Operational Research and Evaluation (CCORE). (2013). National Baseline Survey on Life Experiences of Adolescents, 2011. http://www.togetherforgirls.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/UNICEF_NBSLEA-Report-Zimbabwe-23-10-13.pdf
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