Factors associated with violence against women in Lesotho: evidence from the 2021 Lesotho demographic survey

Violence against women (VAW) remains a major public health and human rights concern globally, with substantial consequences for women’s physical, mental, sexual and emotional well-being. Despite the continuing burden of VAW in Lesotho, nationally representative evidence on factors associated with women’s lifetime experience of violence remains limited. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with lifetime experience of VAW among women in Lesotho. This study used data from the 2021 Lesotho Demographic Survey, a nationally representative inter-censal household survey. The analysis included 14,466 women aged 12–50 years who participated in the Gender-Based Violence module. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the study population. Pearson’s chi-square tests were used to assess differences in lifetime experience of VAW across categorical independent variables, with statistical significance assessed at p < 0.05. Variables identified as statistically significant in the bivariate analysis were included in a multivariable logistic regression model. Adjusted associations were reported as Wald-adjusted odds ratios (WAORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multicollinearity was assessed using the variance inflation factor (VIF). Overall, 37.6% (95% CI: 35.7–39.4%) of women reported experiencing violence during their lifetime. In the multivariable analysis, age, educational attainment, marital status, household size and district of residence were significantly associated with the lifetime experience of violence against women(VAW). Women aged 25–29 years exhibited higher odds of reporting violence compared to those aged 12–19 years (WAOR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.28–1.99). Women who were ever been married had substantially higher odds of reporting violence than women who had never married (WAOR = 11.67, 95% CI: 9.38–14.50). In contrast, women with higher educational attainment demonstrated lower odds of reporting violence compared with women with no or primary education (WAOR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.55–0.79). Women residing in households with 6–10 members had lower odds of reporting violence than those living in households with 1–5 members (WAOR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.55–0.94). District-level variation was evident, as with women residing in Mohale’s Hoek had higher odds of reporting violence than those in Botha-Bothe (WAOR = 3.58, 95% CI: 2.68–4.71). The mean VIF was 1.59, with a maximum VIF of 2.49, indicating no substantial multicollinearity among the independent variables. Lifetime experience of VAW remains substantial among women in Lesotho. The results demonstrate that women’s vulnerability to violence is associated with age, educational attainment, marital status, household circumstances and geographical context. Enhancing access to education, addressing unequal gender and relationship power dynamics, and improving community and institutional responses to VAW may help reduce women’s vulnerability to violence in Lesotho.