Prevalence of Mental Distress and Its Predictors Among Adult Women Attending Court After Experiencing Gender-Based Violence: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Despite being a universal problem, violence against women is the least acknowledged category of human rights violations worldwide. Long-term mental health conditions such as anxiety, sadness, and posttraumatic stress disorders are associated with violence against women and girls. Despite its magnitude, severity, and negative consequences, studies on the prevalence of mental distress and associated factors among women who experienced gender-based violence (GBV) are limited in Ethiopia. Objective: To assess the prevalence of mental distress and associated factors among women who experienced GBV and attended courts in the Hadiya Zone, Central Ethiopia, from July to September 2023. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 426 adult women who experienced GBV and attended the courts. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the study subjects. The collected data were entered into EpiData Version 4.6 and then exported to SPSS Version 26 for analysis. A logistic regression model was used to identify independent factors of mental distress. The strength of the associations is presented as odds ratios with 95% CIs, and the results are reported as significant at p values < 0.05. Results: A total of 420 participants were enrolled for a 99.5% response rate. The prevalence of mental distress was 52.6% (95% CI: 49.65-58.85). Mental distress was associated with rural residence (AOR: 2.753; 95%CI=1.749, 4.332), being concerned about food insecurity (AOR=2.808; 95%CI=1.344, 5.864), having a family history of mental illness (AOR=2.647; 95%CI=1.488, 4.708), having a husband ever khat use (AOR=1.918; 95%CI=1.192, 3.085), and having a husband who married another wife (AOR=2.209; 95%CI=1.199, 4.072). Conclusion: The prevalence of mental distress among women who experienced GBV and attended the courts of the Hadiya Zone was high. Place of residence, concern about food insecurity, family history of mental illness, ever khat use, and having a husband who marries another wife were found to have statistically significant associations with mental distress among women who experienced GBV and attended the courts of the Hadiya Zone. Women need to be assessed regularly for GBV during health care visits. Regular counseling, facilitating, and adhering to different GBV coping mechanisms during the waiting time is imperative to overcome this problem.