Rural Women in Colombia, Facing the Postconflict: A Qualitative Synthesis

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802199598
Author(s):  
Daniel Felipe Martín Suárez-Baquero ◽  
Martha Patricia Bejarano-Beltrán ◽  
Jane Dimmitt Champion

Women have been the major victims of the Colombian armed conflict for more than 50 years. Nowadays, when the country faces an aftermath focused on reconciliation, understanding women’s experiences during the conflict is key to providing them tools for social justice and effective fulfilling of their needs. This qualitative synthesis of literature includes publications in Spanish and English of electronic databases over the past 20 years regarding rural women and the Colombian armed conflict. Studies were included for review if they were published between 2000 and 2019, were qualitative peer-reviewed articles, and addressed directly or indirectly the pregnancy process as well as the women’s sexual and reproductive health in rural Colombia. Seven of 169 articles initially identified were included for an inductive analysis of categories and themes. After the analysis process, three main themes emerged from the literature: (a) crumbling families, (b) being a woman: the challenges between being a peacemaker and a victim, and (c) protecting and caring of life. These three themes comprise 10 categories and 20 subcategories that provide support to the inductive qualitative synthesis. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the Colombian armed conflict focused on the victimization of women. It concludes with reflections about the Colombian women’s role in transitioning toward peace.

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushanta K. Banerjee ◽  
Kathryn L. Andersen ◽  
Janardan Warvadekar ◽  
Paramita Aich ◽  
Amit Rawat ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-56
Author(s):  
Therese Jennissen ◽  
Colleen Lundy

INTRODUCTION: Many challenges that confront social workers today are similar to problems they have faced over the past century – inequality, poverty, unemployment, militarisation and armed conflict, and the challenges of refugee resettlement, to name a few. It is instructive for contemporary social workers to revisit this history and to determine if there are lessons to inform our current struggles.METHOD: This paper explores the issues faced and strategies employed by radical, politically active social workers, most of them women. These social workers had visions of social justice and were not afraid to challenge the status quo, often at very high personal costs. The radical social workers were expressly interested in social change that centred on social justice, women’s rights, anti-racism, international peace, and they worked in close alliance and solidarity with other progressive groups.CONCLUSIONS: This article highlights the work of five radical female social workers. Radical social workers were in the minority but they were extraordinarily active and made important contributions in the face of formidable challenges.


BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e018530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vartika Sharma ◽  
Avina Sarna ◽  
Waimar Tun ◽  
Lopamudra Ray Saraswati ◽  
Ibou Thior ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo explore contextual factors that increase vulnerabilities to negative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes and possible differences in SRH-related behaviours and the needs of women who use drugs (WUD) through non-injecting and injecting routes.DesignQualitative study design using semi-structured in-depth interviews.ParticipantsTwenty women who injected drugs in the past 3 months and 28 women who reported using drugs through non-injecting routes in the past 1 month.SettingInterviews were conducted at community-based, drop-in centres in Delhi, India.ResultsStudy findings illustrate that WUD were sexually active and had multiple sex partners including clients of sex work. Transient relationships were reported and many participants engaged in unsafe sex. Factors which affected safe sex behaviours included: gender power imbalance, limited agency for decision-making, lack of accurate information for correct self-risk assessment, and being under the influence of drugs. Despite high awareness, low and inconsistent contraceptive use was reported. Some participants were coerced to conceive while a few others reported their inability to conceive. Violence was a key determinant for SRH outcomes. Perception of certain adverse health outcomes (such as infertility) to be ‘common and expected among WUD’ influenced access to healthcare. Further, healthcare providers’ stigmatising attitudes and lack of women-centric services deterred women from uptake of healthcare services.ConclusionFindings highlight that SRH-related behaviours and needs of this group are a complex interplay of multiple determinants which need to be addressed at all levels: individual, family, community and institutional. It is imperative to roll out a ‘one-stop-shop’ for a comprehensive package of health services. Expansion of existing drop-in-centres could be considered for setting-up community-based women-centric services with appropriate linkage to drug dependence treatment and reproductive health services.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1046-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arik V. Marcell ◽  
Susannah E. Gibbs ◽  
Shalynn R. Howard ◽  
Nanlesta A. Pilgrim ◽  
Jacky M. Jennings ◽  
...  

Young men (ages 15–24) may benefit from community-based connections to care since many have sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs and low care use. This study describes nonclinical community-based youth-serving professionals’ (YSPs) SRH knowledge, confidence, past behaviors, and future intentions to talk with young men about SRH and refer them to care, and examines factors associated with care referral intentions. YSPs ( n = 158) from 22 settings in one mid-Atlantic city answered questions about the study’s goal, their demographics and work environment from August 2014 to December 2015. Poisson regression assessed factors associated with YSPs’ care referral intentions. On average, YSPs answered 58% of knowledge questions correctly, knew 5 of 8 SRH care dimensions of where to refer young men, and perceived being somewhat/very confident talking with young men about SRH (63%) and referring them to care (77%). During the past month, the majority (63%) talked with young men about SRH but only one-third made care referrals; the majority (66%) were somewhat/very likely to refer them to care in the next 3 months. Adjusted models indicated YSPs were more likely to refer young men if they had a very supportive work environment to talk about SRH (adjusted RR = 1.51, 95% CI [1.15, 1.98]), greater confidence in SRH care referral (1.28 [1.00, 1.62]), and greater SRH care referrals in the past month (1.16 [1.02, 1.33]). Nonclinical community-based YSPs have poor-to-moderate knowledge about young men’s SRH care, and less than one-third reported referrals in the past month. Findings have implications for educating YSPs about young men’s SRH care.


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