Country Samoa
Year 2019 - 2020
Type of Measure Research and statistical data > Violence against women module in survey
Form of Violence Violence against women and girls

Brief Description


The Samoa Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS) is a five –yearly household survey which was first conducted in 2009 and again in 2014 by the Samoa Bureau of Statistics. In the latest 2019 survey round, the DHS was integrated with the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) for the first time. The latter was developed by UNICEF to collect a wider range of indicators on the situation of children and women. The MICS fieldwork was planned to be completed from October to December 2019. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of the measles epidemic in Samoa towards the last quarter of 2019, which led to the declaration of the State of Emergency at the time, the December fieldwork was postponed to 2020. The Samoa DHS-MICS 2019-20 fieldwork was successfully completed by February 2020.

The Samoa DHS-MICS, 2019-20 collected data on DV by including a series of questions that were developed for the domestic violence module of the DHS. The objective of the domestic violence module is to measure the prevalence of physical, sexual and emotional violence against women and girls who are, or ever were, married or even who are, or ever have been, living with a man in an intimate relationship. The module also measures the prevalence of physical or sexual violence by perpetrators who are not spouses or cohabiting partners among women, regardless if they have or have not ever been married, since they were 15 years of age.

Source of Information

Samoa Bureau of Statistics. 2021. Samoa Demographic and Health – Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019-20, Survey Findings Report. Apia, Samoa: Samoa Bureau of Statistics.