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Afro-Latinos, African descendants with Latino ethnicity, have been documented since the 1700s. No geographic studies, however, address the spatial relationships between socioeconomic conditions and environmental risk of Afro-Latinos in Los Angeles, where assumptions of underserved conditions drawn from other minority groups are applied. Palenques, settlements of runaway enslaved Africans in Colombia, became outcast and marginalized through history. In this research we introduce the historical concept of Palenques and propose it as a new sense of place for Afro-Latinos. The methods include descriptive analysis, regression models, spatial autocorrelation models, and factor analysis. They produced a cumulative impact model to estimate life quality. The results show that Los Angeles Palenques have a lower financial status, a higher isolation rate, and higher levels of environmental pollution than the average neighborhoods. The regression models suggest that Latinos of any race have the strongest positive correlation to disadvantaged life quality, whereas the Black population has an extremely weak correlation to vulnerability. Furthermore, the spatial autocorrelation models reveal a strong spatial clustering of highly disadvantaged communities near downtown Los Angeles, where most Latinos of any race live. The main finding of this project challenges previous assumptions about social inequality and environmental injustice toward the multiracial Afro-Latino population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When committed against pregnant women, sexual violence may have adverse health consequences for both the mother and the unborn child. To date, no studies have systematically summarized the global prevalence of sexual violence against pregnant women. We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase and Web of Science from inception dates to January 2021 for studies reporting the prevalence of sexual violence against pregnant women. Prevalence was estimated using a random-effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the I2 statistic. Differences by study level characteristics were estimated through subgroup analysis and meta-regression. A total of 10 cross-sectional studies (a total of 8,439 participants) were included. The pooled proportion of sexual violence was 0.31 (95% CI: 0.22–0.40). Subgroup analyses showed higher prevalence of sexual violence against pregnant women in the 2010–2019 period (0.35, 95% CI0.15–7.53) and developing countries (0.32, 95% CI0.19–0.45). Almost one in three (31%) pregnant women around the world has been a victim of sexual violence in their lifetime. Sexual violence against pregnant women continues to be a major public health challenge. The global prevalence of sexual violence against pregnant women warrants the collective attention of the entire society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]