Understanding attitudes and norms related to sexual and gender-based violence among youth in Jordan: an egocentric social network study protocol

IntroductionSexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a major public health concern in Jordan, especially among youth. Social acceptance of SGBV is alarmingly high, including among youth. Refugee populations may be at particular risk given limited social support and access to health services combined with increased social and economic pressure and vulnerability. Further research is needed to understand how norms are embodied and reproduced at individual, interpersonal and community levels through relationships between partners, families, peers and community leaders. This study seeks to provide data on attitudes and norms in communities and across youth social networks in order to support gender transformative approaches that seek to change harmful social norms that perpetuate acceptance of SGBV.Methods and analysisThis study will collect egocentric data from 960 youth in Jordan (480 men and 480 women) aged between 18 years and 24 years. Individuals will be asked about their perceptions of norms relating to SGBV in their community as well as their perceptions of the attitudes held by up to 15 individuals within their social network. Data will also be collected on the social, economic and demographic variables, refugee status, experience of depression and anxiety, and social support. We will use multilevel analysis to examine individual and group-level associations. We will also assess other network attributes, such as homophily, the role of social engagement, social learning and social support in the transmission of norms and attitudes.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Boards of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the University of Jordan. Rigorous ethical protections will be followed with regard to confidentiality and respondent safety. We intend to publish peer-reviewed papers of our findings in addition to a variety of tools and resources targeting diverse audiences, including policy and technical briefs.

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The potential role of network-oriented interventions for survivors of violence among refugees in Belgium

10.21203/rs.2.11464/v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Emilomo Ogbe ◽

Alaa Jbour ◽

Ladan Rahbari ◽

Maya Unnithan ◽

Olivier Degomme

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Service Providers ◽

Repeat Victimization ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Coping Process ◽

New Findings ◽

Open Coding ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender ◽

Domestic Violence Survivors

Abstract Introduction Social support and social network members have been identified as an important factor in mitigating the effects of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and improving the coping process for many survivors. Network oriented strategies have been advocated for among domestic violence survivors, as they help build on improving social support and addressing factors that alleviate repeat victimization. There are opportunities to implement such strategies among refugees, who are survivors of SGBV in asylum centres, however, this has not been fully explored. This study sought to identify key strategies and opportunities for developing peer-led and network-oriented strategies for mitigating the effects of SGBV among refugees at these centres. Methods: 27 interviews, were conducted with service providers (n=14) and refugees (n=13) at three asylum centres in Belgium. Deductive coding was performed independently by two researchers based on pre-identified research questions, when new findings emerged outside the themes, open coding was done. Data triangulation was used with findings from observations at these centres over a period of a year. Findings: Many of the refugees presented with PTSD or psychosomatic symptoms, because of SGBV or other trauma experienced during migration. Peer and family support were very influential in mitigating the effects and social costs of violence among the refugees by providing emotional and material support. Social assistants were viewed as an information resource that was essential for most of the refugees. Peer-peer support was identified as a potential tool for mitigating the effects of SGBV

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COVID-19 Feminist Framework to Address Public Health Impact of Violence, Abuse, and Trauma in Children, Women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ Community: A Preliminary Observation

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/10105395211014351 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101053952110143

Author(s):

Sonia Mukhtar ◽

Shamim Mukhtar ◽

Waleed Rana

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Human Rights ◽

Health Impact ◽

Preliminary Observation ◽

Public Health Impact ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Gender Diverse ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender

This article explores the development and implementation of inclusive COVID-19 (corona disease 2019) Feminist Framework (CFF) on the equitability of response for researchers, health care advocates, and public health policymakers at international platforms. Mechanism of CFF entails the process to address and mitigate the institutional inequities, violation of human rights, public health, and race/sex/gender-based violence amid COVID-19. This framework is about institutional building, raising consciousness, ensuring freedom, collective liberation, bodily autonomy, equality, and giving women, children, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and racial- and gender-diverse people the freedom to make choices to promote a sense of greater control over their own lives.

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Gender and Gender-Based Violence

University of Toronto Journal of Public Health ◽

10.33137/utjph.v2i2.36836 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Megan Brown Wollenberg

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Literature Review ◽

Policy Development ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Organizational Level ◽

Gender Inequalities ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender

Action Against Hunger is an international non-governmental organization with six headquarters located around the world that focus on ending hunger in low and middle-income countries. The Canadian office uniquely provides evidenced-based technical support and evaluation for headquarters focused on implementing interventions and programming to mitigate hunger. For my practicum I worked in the International Gender Unit to support ongoing policy development and updating of the organization’s cross-network gender policy. Gender inequalities have direct causal links with malnutrition; yet, in March 2020 the Global Nutrition Report showed that global efforts to mitigate hunger by addressing gender inequalities are behind on most targets. To better capture and learn how to address underlying inequalities and drivers of malnutrition, my practicum research focused on the associations and non-associations between gender, gender-based violence, and malnutrition. This practicum placement had three objectives: 1) to provide a literature review 2) to provide a database comprised of peer-reviewed and grey literature; and, 3) to support new policy development during cross-headquarters discussions, research, and reporting. During this placement I had the opportunity to work online with individuals across five continents and twenty-one countries. This included facilitating break-out policy discussions during policy meetings, as well as semi-structured interviews that were conducted prior to providing a literature review and socio-ecological discussion on gender, gender-based violence and malnutrition. The opportunity to engage in international and cross-cultural collaborative work has been the highlight of my practicum. It has provided the opportunity to not only sharpen my reflexive praxis as a student of public health, but to sharpen my understanding of the policy process at the organizational level. It has additionally illuminated the importance of structural and social contexts in public health research and programming, especially within efforts to address gender inequalities and gender-based violence associated with malnutrition.

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Antidemocratic and Exclusionary Practices: COVID-19 and the Continuum of Violence

Politics & Gender ◽

10.1017/s1743923x2000046x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 1150-1157

Author(s):

Summer Forester ◽

Cheryl O'Brien

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Exclusionary Practices ◽

Neoliberal Capitalism ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender ◽

Systems Of Domination ◽

The U.S ◽

The Continuum

AbstractThe global coronavirus pandemic has reified divisions, inequity, and injustices rooted in systems of domination such as racism, sexism, neoliberal capitalism, and ableism. Feminist scholars have theorized these interlocking systems of domination as the “continuum of violence.” Building on this scholarship, we conceptualize the U.S. response to and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic as reflective of the continuum of violence. We argue that crises like pandemics expose the antidemocratic and exclusionary practices inherent in this continuum, which is especially racialized and gendered. To support our argument, we provide empirical evidence of the continuum of violence in relation to COVID-19 vis-à-vis the interrelated issues of militarization and what feminists call “everyday security,” such as public health and gender-based violence. The continuum of violence contributes theoretically and practically to our understanding of how violence that the pandemic illuminates is embedded in broader systems of domination and exclusion.

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Personal Tools and Psychosocial Resources of Resilient Gender-Based Violence Women

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18168306 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (16) ◽

pp. 8306

Author(s):

Rebeca García Montes ◽

Inmaculada Corral Liria ◽

Raquel Jimenez Fernandez ◽

Rocío Rodriguez Vázquez ◽

Ricardo Becerro de Bengoa Vallejo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Network ◽

Women Survivors ◽

Health Problem ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Social Resources ◽

Gender Violence ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Support Mechanisms ◽

Gender Based

Gender-based violence is considered a serious social and public health problem. Overcoming this situation implies a process that results in the favorable biopsychosocial rehabilitation of the resilience of women. The objective of this study was to analyze the tools, resources and personal and psychosocial mechanisms used by women survivors of gender-based violence. The design was an interpretative phenomenology. It was carried out with 22 women who have overcome gender-based violence. Data were collected through personal interviews and narration. The results were grouped into four themes: “Process of violence”, “Social resources for coping and overcoming GBV”, “Personal tools for coping and overcoming GBV” and “Feelings identified, from the abuse stage to the survival stage”. Several studies concluded that overcoming abuse is influenced by the women’s social network, and it can be the action of these people determining their survival to gender violence. Despite the recognized usefulness of these available resources, it would be desirable to strengthen them in order to be able to drive more women toward survival, assuming a strengthening of coping and overcoming, without forgetting the importance of other support mechanisms, such as their family and group therapies.

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Services for refugees subject to sexual and gender-based violence in Turkey and Sweden

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz186.030 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

S Ozcurumez ◽

S Akyuz ◽

H Bradby

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Care ◽

Service Providers ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Care Providers ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Health And Social Care ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender

Abstract Background Sexual and gender-based violence affects an unknown proportion of Syrians seeking refuge from the ongoing conflict. Exile implies a vulnerability to gendered harms with consequent health effects over the short- and long-term. Services for refugees tend to presume physical gendered harms accruing to women prior to exile, with little attention paid to the effects on refugees’ settlement in the new society. Methods Interviews with health and social care providers of services to refugees in Sweden (n = 20) and Turkey (n = 20), including international organisations, non-government agencies, municipal and other statutory agents. Results Definitions of sexual and gender-based violence that inform service delivery vary greatly between health and social care service providers, with these definitions proving critical for how services are configured and provided. Service providers may consider longer-term health problems arising from refugees’ experience of sexual and gender-based violence, but refugees’ prospects of integration are rarely explicitly addressed. Refugees’ own views on their health and social care needs do not inform the design or development of service provision. Conclusions The experience of sexual and gender-based violence by refugees from Syria is widely recognised among health and social care providers in Turkey and Sweden. However, the experience of such violence is rarely addressed as a public health problem, that is, as a social determinant of ill health and, furthermore, an impediment to successful integration. The long-term, ill effects of sexual and gender-based violence, as seen over the lifecourse, are over-looked when considering refugees. Key messages Services for refugees who have been subject to sexual and gender-based violence vary in terms of how that violence is understood and which of its outcomes are addressed. Sexual and gender-based violence when experienced by refugees is rarely seen as a public health problem.

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The potential role of network-oriented interventions for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence among asylum seekers in Belgium

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-10049-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Emilomo Ogbe ◽

Alaa Jbour ◽

Ladan Rahbari ◽

Maya Unnithan ◽

Olivier Degomme

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Asylum Seekers ◽

Service Providers ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Repeat Victimization ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Coping Process ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender

Abstract Background Social support and social network members have been identified as an important factor in mitigating the effects of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and improving the coping process for many survivors. Network oriented strategies have been advocated for among domestic violence survivors, as they help build on improving social support and addressing factors that alleviate repeat victimization. There are opportunities to implement such strategies among asylum seekers who are survivors of SGBV in asylum centres, however, this has not been fully explored. This study sought to identify key strategies and opportunities for developing peer-led and network-oriented strategies for mitigating the effects of SGBV among asylum seekers at these centres. Methods Twenty-seven interviews, were conducted with service providers (n = 14) / asylum seekers (n = 13) at three asylum centres in Belgium. A theoretical model developed by the research team from a literature review and discussions with experts and stakeholders, was used as a theoretical framework to analyse the data. An abduction approach with qualitative content analysis was used by the two researchers to analyse the data. Data triangulation was done with findings from observations at these centres over a period of a year. Results Many of the asylum seekers presented with PTSD or psychosomatic symptoms, because of different forms of SGBV, including intimate partner violence, or other trauma experienced during migration. Peer and family support were very influential in mitigating the effects and social costs of violence among the asylum seekers by providing emotional and material support. Social assistants were viewed as an information resource that was essential for most of the asylum seekers. Peer-peer support was identified as a potential tool for mitigating the effects of SGBV. Conclusion Interventions involving asylum seekers and members of their network (especially peers), have the potential for improving physical and mental health outcomes of asylum seekers who are SGBV survivors.

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Sexual and gender-based violence: To tweet or not to tweet?

Cyberpsychology Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace ◽

10.5817/cp2021-3-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Alexandra Masciantonio ◽

Sandy Schumann ◽

David Bourguignon

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Collective Action ◽

Online Survey ◽

Social Activism ◽

Social Network Sites ◽

Public Perceptions ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Self Disclosure ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender

This research explores the reasons that lead survivors of sexual and gender-based violence to share their experiences on Twitter, as well as the reasons that prevent them from doing so. Using an online survey, we investigated the perspective of 94 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Open-ended responses were analysed with the ALCESTE method, a lexical analysis. Considering that in-person self-disclosure differs from in-public self-disclosure, we based our interpretations of the findings on self-disclosure as well as collective action and social activism frameworks. Results showed that those who shared their experience on Twitter did so to render sexual and gender-based violence more visible, and to support the #MeToo movement. They also wanted to change public perceptions of sexual and gender-based violence, while addressing violence at work and denouncing rape culture (the difficulty of filing a complaint, and victim blaming). On the contrary, survivors who did not tweet their experience expressed several concerns, such as feeling ashamed, the fear of being judged by others, and a lack of trust in the Twitter platform and its members. This research concludes that in order to understand the disclosure of victimisation on social network sites, like Twitter, it is worthwhile to complement the self-disclosure framework with insights on collective action and social activism. We also make a call for taking into account differences of social network sites when studying online disclosure of sexual and gender-based violence. Content warning: This article discusses issues of sexual and gender-based violence.

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2020 Syndemic: Convergence of COVID-19, Gender-Based Violence, and Racism Pandemics

Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities ◽

10.1007/s40615-021-01146-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nazilla Khanlou ◽

Luz Maria Vazquez ◽

Soheila Pashang ◽

Jennifer A. Connolly ◽

Farah Ahmad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

News Media ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Gender Inequalities ◽

Health Issues ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Systemic Racism ◽

Rapid Reviews ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender

Abstract Objective To conduct a rapid knowledge synthesis of literature on the social determinants of mental health of racialized women exposed to gender-based violence (GBV) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We adapted the Cochrane Rapid Reviews method and were guided by an equity lens in conducting rapid reviews on public health issues. Four electronic databases (Cochrane CENTRAL, Medline, ProQuest, and EBSCO), electronic news media, Google Scholar, and policy documents were searched for literature between January 2019 and October 2020 with no limitations for location. Fifty-five articles qualified for the review. Results Health emergencies heighten gender inequalities in relation to income, employment, job security, and working conditions. Household stress and pandemic-related restrictions (social distancing, closure of services) increase women’s vulnerability to violence. Systemic racism and discrimination intensify health disparities. Conclusion Racialized women are experiencing a 2020 Syndemic: a convergence of COVID-19, GBV, and racism pandemics, placing their wellbeing at a disproportionate risk. GBV is a public health issue and gender-responsive COVID-19 programming is essential. Anti-racist and equity-promoting policies to GBV service provision and disaggregated data collection are required.

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Sexual and gender-based violence: to tweet or not to tweet?

10.31219/osf.io/c4esm ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Alexandra Masciantonio ◽

Sandy Schumann ◽

David Bourguignon

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Collective Action ◽

Exploratory Study ◽

Social Network Sites ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Self Disclosure ◽

Inductive Approach ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender ◽

Survey Responses

This exploratory study aims to identify reasons that lead victims of sexual and gender-based violence to share, or, not share their experiences on Twitter. Doing so, we draw on models that take an interpersonal or intergroup perspective. Open-ended survey responses of 94 victims of sexual and gender-based violence were analyzed using the ALCESTE method, a qualitative and inductive approach. Results showed that those who shared their experience on Twitter did so to render sexual and gender-based violence more visible and to support other victims; they declared that they also wanted to change society, contributing in this way to a wider collective movement. On the contrary, participants who did not tweet their experience reported concerns about different costs and risks, such as feeling ashamed, the fear of being judged and blamed by others and even a lack of trust in the Twitter platform and its members. This study concludes therefore with a call for a framework integrating models of self-disclosure and collective action to conceptualize the testimonials of sexual and gender-based violence on social network sites.

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