Psychometric evaluation of the Severity of Violence Against Women Scale among Zambian and South African women

The Severity of Violence Against Women Scale (SVAWS) questionnaire was originally developed and validated among US women. Little is known about SVAWS’ properties in other populations and cultures. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted among women reporting intimate partner violence (IPV) in the past year in Zambia (n=246) and South Africa (n=368). EFA indicated a three-factor solution: Simple Assault, Aggravated Assault, and Sexual Violence in South Africa and Non-Contact Violence, Physical Assault, and Sexual Violence in Zambia. While SVAWS is appropriate for assessing IPV across populations, underlying constructs may differ across cultures requiring revisions in subscale definitions to reduce bias.