More women suffer weapon injuries than men, says survey

More women than men have been attacked with a weapon, a new survey indicates.

And the perpetrators of attacks were either a friend or acquaintance, according to research jointly commissioned by the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

“A majority of the men were injured without a weapon (64 per cent) in contrast to the majority of women who were injured with a weapon (52 per cent)," states the Kenya Stepwise Survey for Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors 2015.

But asked to explain whether they were attacked with firearms, other weapons or without a weapon, the majority of the victims responded that no weapon was involved.

"It is noted that 59 per cent of all the violently injured persons were injured without a weapon. Less than one per cent of the injuries were caused by a firearm," added the report.

On the perpetrators, friends or acquaintances accounted for 23 per cent followed by strangers at 22 per cent.

Women are more (45 per cent) likely to be injured by an intimate partner compared to men (33 per cent), observed the report. Those most (47 per cent) attacked by an intimate partner are aged between 60 and 69.

And the perpetrators of attacks were either a friend or acquaintance, according to a research jointly commissioned by the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

By contrast, the wealthy were least likely to be attackers as "the richest quantile have the lowest percentage of being involved in a serious violent injury".

Findings of the Kenya Stepwise survey, the first nationally representative survey on risk factors for non-communicable diseases and injuries, were released last week.

About 6,000 individuals aged 18–69 were sampled to allow national estimates by sex (male and female) and residence (urban and rural areas).

The report indicated that women between the ages of 18 and 29 had a 41 per cent chance of getting injured with a weapon.

In both sexes, the elderly aged 60-69 had no chance of getting hurt with or without a weapon at 0.0 per cent.

Additionally, most Kenyans are exposed to secondhand smoking both at home and at work, with the chances standing at 24 and 21 per cent respectively.

Thirteen per cent of adults aged 18 to 69 consumed tobacco products knowingly or unknowingly, with five per cent consuming smokeless tobacco.

Globally, secondhand smoking is responsible for 600,000 deaths, with Kenya's Tobacco Control Act of 2007 prohibiting tobacco smoking in public.

Alcohol use was also found to be among the top five risk factors, with 13 per cent of Kenyans involved in heavy episodic drinking. Episodic drinking is described as drinking more than six standard drinks on one occasion, which is responsible for many acute consequences such as alcohol poisoning, injury and violence.

Among Kenyans who have ever drunk alcohol, only 13 per cent have abstained in the past 12 months.

"Thirty six per cent of the respondents consumed unrecorded alcohol, which includes home brewed (excluding chang'aa, busaa or muratina) or any alcohol not intended for drinking in the past 12 months, which is associated with deplorable health status," reads the report.

At the same time, most Kenyans are prone to physical inactivity, a setback in the fight against non-communicable diseases.

The rich (in urban areas) were more active (five per cent rate of inactivity) compared to those in rural areas, majority of whom were poor, with a nine per cent rate.

This, however, is much lower than the global prevalence of physical inactivity that stood at an approximate 25 per cent.

"Seven per cent of Kenyans are engaging in physical activity of less than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week, as recommended by WHO," said the report.

Kenyans were urged to eat approximately five pieces of fruit or vegetables daily, reduce sugar intake to avoid obesity and be more physically active to avoid cardiovascular diseases.