Browsing by Author "Getachew, Yared"

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    Cross Sectonal Assessment of Violence Against Female Domestic Workers in Gulele Sub-City for Local Level Intervention
    (Addis Ababa University, 2006-06) Getachew, Yared; Rollin, James(PhD)
    There has been growing public and professional concerns in Ethiopia on the issue of violence against women. Though domestic workers had been among the most vulnerable groups to violence in the country, it has hardly got the research attention of the ongoing nation wide activities of anti-violence campaign. The present study has tried to contribute to filling in the research gab in the area in the country by aiming at undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the context, magnitude and consequences of violence being committed against female domestic workers in Gulele Sub-city of Addis Ababa. A total of 82 female domestic workers were purposively selected for the study from different sites in the sub-city. The assessment was made using adapted Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2), Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSC-25), structured interview schedules and unstructured interviews. The following were among the major findings of the study: The reasons given by most of the domestic workers for becoming domestic workers were escape from violence or lack of subsistence in their family and marriage life or both. The results of the study on the involvement of intermediaries and the use of the un-kept promises (i.e. deception) in the process of turning the target subjects into domestic workers was found to involve - trafficking, which was not only gender based violence but also major crime in the penal code. It was observed that most of the target domestic workers have experienced sexual violence as well as economic violence by the brokers. The results of the study on the work conditions of the domestic workers, the absence of legally binding work agreement by the employers and the very meager amount of salary being paid while they were working all day long without little or no break seem to demonstrate the prevalence of major violation of the rights of the domestic workers. It was observed that the work relationship between the domestic workers and their employers found to be characterized by negative behaviors that strongly suggest the high level of mental cruelty of the latter. The results seem to confirm the violation of the rights of domestic workers i.e. citizenship, political, social and cultural rights. The very high prevalence rate results observed in all the violence assessment subscales strongly suggest that the target domestic workers had had experienced pervasive violent behaviors examined in the study namely; psychological aggression, physical assault, sexual harassment/abuse and mental cruelty by their employers in the last 12 months. As to the chronicity of violence, it observed that the extent of violent behaviors experienced by the domestic workers over the past year was ‘most chronic’. The statistically significant gender difference observed in both the prevalence and chronicity of violence committed against the domestic workers suggest the higher rate of involvement in the perpetration of the violence behaviors by female employers than male employers The results of the self-ratings of the domestic workers on HSCL-25 showed that most of them have been experiencing the symptoms of major depression and anxiety disorders. Likewise the results on PTSD assessment indicated that the majority of the domestic workers (i.e. above 70 percent) experienced the symptoms of the post-traumatic stress disorders. The study also identified the major risks and vulnerabilities, social networks, coping mechanisms and strengths of female domestic workers and came up with recommendations
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    Women's Performance in Distance Education in the Ethiopian Management Development Project
    (Addis Ababa University, 2000-05) Getachew, Yared; Zewdie, Marew (PhD)
    The purpose of this study was to find f)U~ the. major. ..v..a. riables that affect the academic performance of ~ women distant students in the distance training program of the Ethiopian Management Development Project, with specific reference to the study centers in Regions 4 & 14. To this end, three data collection methods and instruments (documentary analysis, questionnaire and interview) were employed. Furthermore, sixty four women and sixty four men ~istant students of the certi~cate-Ievel training program, their tutors (twelve in number) and the coordinators of the three target study centers were used as subjects of the study. Percentages, chi-square, weighted mean, t-test, multiple regression analysis and one-way ANOVA were employed to analyze the data. Findings made clear that in both regions the sampled women distant students perform significantly lower than their men counterparts on their Tutor-Marked Assignments. Whereas the post secondary education level of Region 4 women distant students (which is largely below a diploma leVel) found to have significant impact on their performance ill the T utor- Marked Assignments, that of Region 14 women distant students (which is mostly a diploma level) failed to have significant impact upon their performance in the Tutor Marked Assignments. Besides, lack of adequate English language proficiency was found to be the most common variable among women distant students of both regions that appear to affect their performance. The sampled women distant students' lack of willingness to initiate calls to tutors is still found to be a common barrier that could affect their performance in their distance training. On the other hand, the tutors' apparent lack of awareness in gender-sensitive tutorial practice & the process of women's desired way of learning (interpersonal exploration) appear to have limited their role in facilitating the learning of their women distant students. Moreover, the greater family responsibilities of most women distant students (involvement in household chores and child care) seem to have hindered their academic performance more seriously than their men counterparts. In connection with this, most women distant students were found to be engaged in various social commitments (more than their male counterparts) which appears to have been another impediment to their academic performance in their distance training. Finally, the following recommendations were forwarded to improve the performance of women distant students in the distance training: conducting a preliminary needs assessment as to the educational background, needs and problems of the target women distant students prior to offering distance training; changing the medium of instruction of the training from English to the reg ional languages (i.e. Amharic & Oromifa); introducing special student support initiatives for women distant students (i.e. increasing tutorial hours; preparatory weekend) that counteract their various gender-related barriers to their distance training; introducing a tutor-recruitment system that encourage more qualified female tutors; arranging workshops, seminars etc. for the tutors on gender-sensitive teaching-learning process and women's desired way of learning.