Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Women Engaged in Sex Work in Southern Uganda

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant global public health problem that results in high social and economic costs to individuals and communities. Compared to women in the general population, women engaged in sex work (WESW) are more likely to experience physical, emotional, and sexual IPV. This study examines the correlates of IPV among young WESW with their intimate partners in Southern Uganda. We used baseline data from the Kyaterekera project, a 5 year NIH-funded longitudinal study aimed at reducing HIV risks among 542 WESW in Southern Uganda. To examine the factors associated with IPV, we fitted three separate multi-level Poisson regression models for physical, emotional, and sexual IPV, respectively. Average age was 31.4 years, and 54% of the women reported being victims of at least one form of IPV from their intimate partners. Model one assessed correlates of sexual IPV. Being married women (β = .71, 95% CI [0.24, 1.17]), divorced/separated/widowed (β = .52, [0.02, 1.02]), depressed (β = .04, [0.02, 0.05]), and having any sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (β = .58, [0.14, 1.01]) were associated with sexual IPV. Model two assessed correlates of physical IPV. Experience of childhood sexual abuse (β = .12, [0.04, 0.19]) was associated with an increase in physical IPV, and increasing age reduced its occurrence (β = −.02, [−0.04, −0.001]). Finally, model three assessed emotional IPV. Women with higher education (β = .49, [0.14, 0.85]) and symptoms of depression (β = .02, [0.001, 0.04]) had higher risks for emotional IPV. For WESW, IPV presents an additional potential pathway for HIV and STIs acquisition and transmission through a lack of negotiating power for safe sex. Efforts to reduce violence against WESW should be prioritized as a strategy for enhancing the well-being of WESW

Working with economically vulnerable women engaged in sex work: Collaborating with community stakeholders in Southern Uganda

Economically vulnerable women engaged in sex work (WESW) comprise one of the key populations with higher prevalence of HIV globally. In Uganda, HIV prevalence among WESW is estimated at 37% and accounts for 18% of all new infections in the country. This paper describes the strategies by which we have engaged community stakeholders in a randomised clinical trial aimed at evaluating the efficacy of adding economic empowerment components to traditional HIV risk reduction to reduce the incidence of STIs and HIV among WESW in Uganda. We demonstrate that stakeholder engagement, including the engagement of WESW themselves, plays a critical role in the adaptation, implementation, uptake, and potential sustainability of evidence-based interventions. To our knowledge, this is the first study to utilise stakeholder engagement involving WESW in Uganda. Researchers working with hard-to-reach populations, such as WESW, are encouraged to invest time and resources to engage key stakeholders through a full range of collaborative activities; and ensure that research is culturally appropriate and meets the needs of all stakeholders involved

Co-investment paradigms as alternatives to payments for tree-based ecosystem services in Africa

Multiple paradigms have emerged within the broad payments for ecosystem services (ES) domain for internalizing externalities of local land-use change decisions. These range from reward of ready-made ES delivery (commoditised) to reward of processes of ES generation (co-investment). Evidence from tree-based projects in Africa suggests that currently, only carbon sequestration and emission reduction are ‘commoditised’, however in an artificial way where payments are not matched to ES delivery, but adjusted or supplemented with co-benefits. Co-investment in stewardship alongside rights is more widespread and versatile for a variety of ES. Efficiency concerns of co-investment schemes can be addressed when commoditised ES or profitable enterprises with positive ES externalities evolve from these

Pricing rainbow, green, blue and grey water : tree cover and geopolitics of climatic teleconnections

Atmospheric moisture ("rainbow water") is the source of all green, blue and grey water flows. Current water-related legislation and policies have moved beyond blue (water allocation) and grey (waste water treatment) water concerns to incorporate the green water concept of additional water use by fast-growing trees; it may require further change to incorporate rainbow water relations as evident in recent literature on short-cycle rainfall derived from evapotranspiration over land. Specific teleconnections relate rainfall dynamics at any specific site to land use and sea conditions elsewhere. Government-mandated water use charges for payments for ecosystem services (PES) exist in some African countries but their use in enhancing actual water related ecosystem services covering the full hydrological cycle is still evolving as rainbow water science is new

Decomposition and phosphorus release of agroforestry shrub residues and the effect on maize yield in acidic soils of Rubona, southern Rwanda

Phosphorus release from decomposing leaf biomass of Calliandra calothyrsus Meissner, Tithonia diversifolia Hensley A.Gray and Tephrosia vogelii Hook.f. agroforestry species applied alone or combined with triple super phosphate (TSP) was studied at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) laboratory for 56 days using an incubation method. The effects of above treatments on maize yield were evaluated in the field at Rubona, southern province of Rwanda between the years 2001 and 2004. The net cumulative phosphorus (P) mineralised ranged from 16.2 to 212.2 mg P kg-1. The net P mineralisation rates from green manure, TSP applied alone or combined with green manure decreased in the order green manure > green manure + TSP > TSP > lime > control. The best plant residues quality for predicting P mineralisation is total P, C, and C:P & C:N ratios. Relative to the control, leaf biomass combined with TSP resulted in six times higher maize grain yield at the end of the experiment i.e., from 0.9 to 7.1 t ha-1. In the fourth season, application of Tithonia diversifolia Hensley A.Gray green manure combined with TSP at 50 kg P ha-1 resulted in higher maize yield (25% increase) than TSP and Tithonia diversifolia Hensley A.Gray (9% increase) applied alone at the similar rate. Therefore, application of plant residues and TSP alone might not be sufficient to meet maize plant P requirements and to achieve the yield potential of maize in the Rubona soils unless supplemented with mineral fertilisers

Implementing REDD+ : learning from forest conservation policy and social safeguards frameworks in Cameroon

In the past a wide spectrum of conservation strategies has been used to manage forests and recently a country-driven policy instrument known as REDD+ has been proposed as a new tool for forest protection. This paper reviews a set of Cameroon policy instruments alongside 86 relevant publications in the conservation area to feed the existing REDD+ debate. Two specific shortcomings are identified: (1) incoherence between existing forestry policy instruments with regard to community forest concept and REDD+ rules and (2) locally over-constraining approaches used in forest management which would provide guidelines and caution about the REDD+ implementation. These shortcomings, if not considered, may lead to ineffectiveness of emission reduction programs as well as to social disconnection at the local level. This means that effective implementation of REDD+ will require further policy actions mainly dealing with actors' consents within developed equitable instruments while setting up efficient conflict management systems

Social actors and unsustainability of agriculture

Social actors can strongly affect the sustainability of agricultural operations by influencing farmers’ decisions and choices. Such actors include: (1) loss-making investors who abandon farms due to low returns, (2) angry neighbours negatively affected by farming operations and engaging in silent or active conflict, (3) dissatisfied customers at the end of the value chain who reject the products and shift to alternative providers, and (4) overacting regulators who over-regulate farm activities. A higher order sustainability concept considers the ability of farms to adapt and learn from early signs of threats. A number of response paths based on policies, incentives and information supply have been developed to support learning and adjustments. Emphasis on the nested-scales relations of incremental sustainability and sustainagility, in addition to the more commonly articulated ecological threshold perspective, helps identify key indicators that characterize unsustainability processes across countries and contexts. A dynamic systems understanding also assists selection of process indicators focused on response paths that complement result-oriented approaches in current sustainability assessment frameworks

Social actors and unsustainability of agriculture

Social actors can strongly affect the sustainability of agricultural operations by influencing farmers’ decisions and choices. Such actors include: (1) loss-making investors who abandon farms due to low returns, (2) angry neighbours negatively affected by farming operations and engaging in silent or active conflict, (3) dissatisfied customers at the end of the value chain who reject the products and shift to alternative providers, and (4) overacting regulators who over-regulate farm activities. A higher order sustainability concept considers the ability of farms to adapt and learn from early signs of threats. A number of response paths based on policies, incentives and information supply have been developed to support learning and adjustments. Emphasis on the nested-scales relations of incremental sustainability and sustainagility, in addition to the more commonly articulated ecological threshold perspective, helps identify key indicators that characterize unsustainability processes across countries and contexts. A dynamic systems understanding also assists selection of process indicators focused on response paths that complement result-oriented approaches in current sustainability assessment frameworks