The House of the Brazilian Woman: impacts of a cross-sectoral public health policy for abused women

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Almeida ◽  
R Rocha ◽  
M Signorelli ◽  
V Silva ◽  
S Prado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Abused Women ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Brazilian Woman ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Negative Impacts

Abstract Issue Violence against women is a serious public health concern in Brazil; the country ranks 5th globally for femicide and has high rates of intimate partner violence. In response, a national policy created the House of the Brazilian Woman (HBW). HBWs aimed at caring for abused women, are staffed 24/7 with multi-disciplinary teams; cross-sectoral services include: psychosocial support; healthcare; specialized police; courts; public attorney's offices; temporary shelter; and access to financial support. Description of the Problem The purpose of this study was to characterize the preliminary impacts of the HBW of Curitiba. Based on mixed-methods participatory action-research, data were collected between 2018-2020. We present quantitative measures describing the individuals served and a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with HBW staff. Results Since its opening, in 2016, the HBW of Curitiba has served around 50,000 users, including women and perpetrators. The most prevalent type of violence reported was psychological (67%, n = 14,343), followed by physical (25.8%, n = 5,531), economic (5.2%, n = 1,104) and sexual (2%, n = 428). Positive qualitative impacts perceived by staff were: 1) improved women's empowerment; 2) the importance of centralized resources; 3) acting as a support to ensure existing legal protections. The main challenges were: 1) high demand; 2) discontinuous care; 3) negative impacts on staff's health. Lessons The HBW of Curitiba is a key cross-sectoral service for abused women, part of a greater national policy to prevent violence and support women. Despite serving a large number of women in a short period of time challenges remain including integration with other parts of the network and considerations of staff burnout. Key messages Effective cross-sectoral policies for abused women are paramount for comprehensive women’s health. Having cross-sectoral services in just one place operating 24/7 has high impact for abused women.

A Systemic Conceptualization of Intimate Partner Violence: Attachment and Differentiation

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-312
Author(s):  
Heather Katafiasz
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Conceptual Integration ◽  
Bowen Family Systems ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
Systemic Understanding

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a national public health concern that is often conceptualized individually. This article provides a systemic understanding of IPV through the separate and combined lens of Bowen family systems and Attachment Theories. A brief individual overview and application to IPV is provided for each theory, followed by a conceptual integration and then an application of the two theories combined to a case example.

Women's Sexual Health: The Need for Feminist Analyses in Public Health in the Decade of Behavior

2001 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hortensia Amaro ◽  
Anita Raj ◽  
Elizabeth Reed
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Male Partner ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Exchange Sex ◽  
Women’S Sexual Health ◽  
Marginalized Women ◽  
Partner Violence Against Women

Women's sexual health is directly affected by women's low status in society. This low status, and subsequent lack of sexual autonomy not only increases risk for sexual health problems, it also decreases ability to obtain treatment and support when a sexual health concern arises. This has clearly been demonstrated in the HIV epidemic within the U.S. Earlier in the epidemic, women were simply ignored by public health research and practice. Once they could no longer be ignored, they were blamed and viewed as vectors. Current seroprevalence rates among men reveal that women are not significant vectors. In contrast, rates among women indicate that infection from men is the primary mechanism by which women are contracting HIV, and male-controlled sexual decision-making, male partner violence against women, and histories of sexual assault all contribute to increased HIV risk for women. Once infected, women are not given the support and resources they need as mothers and caretakers of HIV-positive partners and/or children. These findings are especially true for marginalized women such as women of color, poor women, women addicted to alcohol or drugs, and women who exchange sex for drugs or money. Findings from this review demonstrate the need for feminist approaches in understanding and addressing this issue in the Decade of Behavior. Such approaches must include an understanding of the needs of diverse women. An empowerment approach is needed to better contend with the sexual health needs of women; this must include the goal of ensuring women's control of their own bodies.

Regulations under International Human Rights Law and under EU Law - Two Different Regimes that Could be Better Harmonized?

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 728-732
Author(s):  
Wenche Barth Eide ◽  
Asbjørn Eide
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Obesity Epidemic ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Food Law ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Summer Academy ◽  
Global Food

The global obesity epidemic was in focus at the 7th Summer Academy on Global Food Law and Policy in Gexco/Bilbao in July 2015. It approached this accelerating public health concern from the angle of risk regulations as linked to processing, trade, marketing and choice/consumption of foodstuffs, addressing also risks of negative impacts on public health at the consumer end. A wealth of expertise enlightened participants about current developments regarding EU and US legislation on risk assessments and risk management.

Reframing Fatness: Critiquing ‘Obesity’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethan Evans ◽  
Charlotte Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Policy Language ◽  
Religious Imagery ◽  
Fat Bodies

Over the last twenty years or so, fatness, pathologised as overweight and obesity, has been a core public health concern around which has grown a lucrative international weight loss industry. Referred to as a ‘time bomb’ and ‘the terror within’, analogies of ‘war’ circulate around obesity, framing fatness as enemy.2 Religious imagery and cultural and moral ideologies inform medical, popular and policy language with the ‘sins’ of ‘gluttony’ and ‘sloth’, evoked to frame fat people as immoral at worst and unknowledgeable victims at best, and understandings of fatness intersect with gender, class, age, sexuality, disability and race to make some fat bodies more problematically fat than others. As Evans and Colls argue, drawing on Michel Foucault, a combination of medical and moral knowledges produces the powerful ‘obesity truths’ through which fatness is framed as universally abject and pathological. Dominant and medicalised discourses of fatness (as obesity) leave little room for alternative understandings.

LGBTQ Intimate Partner Violence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam M. Messinger
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Sexual Relationships ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
The Past ◽  
Victim Services ◽  
Public Health Threat

Many nations today recognize intimate partner violence (IPV) in romantic-sexual relationships as a major public health threat, yet not all victims are treated equally. Contrary to myths, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, and queer (LGBTQ) people are more likely to experience IPV than heterosexual-cisgender people. Unfortunately, LGBTQ victims face major barriers to reaching safety in a world that too often stigmatizes their identities and overlooks their relationships when forming victim services and policies. Offering a roadmap forward, LGBTQ Intimate Partner Violence: Lessons for Policy, Practice, and Research is the first book to synthesize nearly all existing research from the past forty years on this pressing issue. At once highly organized and engaging, it provides evidence-based tips for academic and nonacademic audiences alike.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document