Objective:

To evaluate the phenomenon of sexual violence and the living conditions of Afro-Colombian women victims of the armed conflict, who lives in city of Cartagena, Colombia.

Materials and methods:

Prospective cross-sectional study, population-based survey type, conducted between September 2019 and March 2020, in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. Sociodemographic variables, type of crimes suffered in the armed conflict and related factors were evaluated, as well as history or presence of psychiatric symptoms associated with traumatic events. Through descriptive analysis, it was characterized the current living conditions of the participants; and also explored associations between the condition of sexual violence and psychiatric symptomatology, through Odds Ratio (OR).

Results:

215 women participated, with a median age of 40 years and displaced mainly from the department of Bolívar (55%). 85% percent were housewives and only 60% have their own house, with more than 65% of the total number of houses located in flood risk areas. 35% had suffered gender or racial discrimination or had been victims of sexual violence. Approximately half of the sample reported suffering from insomnia, anxiety and depression. 40% mentioned having had suicidal thoughts and only 1 in 5 women received psychological support. Having been kidnapped (OR 4.71; 95% CI, 1.05-21.07), persecuted (OR 3.33; 95% CI, 1.61-6.89) and sexually abused (OR 3.09; 95% CI, 1.60-5.96), are events that were consistently and significantly associated with psychiatric symptomatology.

Conclusion:

The Afro-Colombian women victims of the Colombian armed conflict who lives in Cartagena, present unstable living conditions, have not received adequate help from support networks, have been discriminated against because of their ethnicity, gender and victim status, and have a high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms associated with the traumatic events experienced.

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