Participant and narrative characteristics associated with host community members sharing experiences of peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There is significant variation between host communities in the likelihood of sharing narratives about SEA, which could prove useful for informing more targeted SEA prevention initiatives. Narratives about sexual interactions with UN personnel were more often deemed to have fair outcomes for the affected women/girls, likely related to ongoing poverty in host communities and perceived financial/material gain. These findings highlight how extreme poverty may impact perceptions around informed consent as well as fairness and require further study. Perceptions around fair outcomes would disincentivise formal reporting, which needs to be considered when devising community-based complaint networks.