scholarly journals Gender and Gender-Based Violence

Author(s):  
Megan Brown Wollenberg

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.

Author(s):  
Nazilla Khanlou ◽  
Luz Maria Vazquez ◽  
Soheila Pashang ◽  
Jennifer A. Connolly ◽  
Farah Ahmad ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 101053952110143
Author(s):  
Sonia Mukhtar ◽  
Shamim Mukhtar ◽  
Waleed Rana

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol VI (I) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Zaheer Iqbal Cheema ◽  
Ali Nawaz ◽  
Jawwad Riaz

The European Union has kept the agenda of gender equality at the front line of legislation and policy development. The research examined the policies and the efficacy of the European Union in endorsing gender equality and determines where the Union’s system has proved to be less effective. Despite the efforts by the European Union in addressing gender-related issues, a slow improvement has been indicated in achieving gender parity. Inequality persists in many domains of gender equality, including the gender pay gap and gender-based violence. Our research suggests that adequate attention in terms of relevance, effective implementation and funding must be given to all domains of gender equality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 158-167
Author(s):  
Hooshmand Alizadeh ◽  
Josef Kohlbacher ◽  
Rozhen Kamal Mohammed-Amin ◽  
Tabin Latif Raouf

Feminist street art aims to transform patriarchal spaces into places of gendered resistance by asserting a feminist presence in the city. Considering this, as well as women’s social life, their struggle against lingering forces of patriarchy, and relating features of inequality (domestic violence), there was a feminist installation artwork by the young Kurdish artist Tara Abdulla that shook the city of Sulaimani in Iraqi Kurdistan on 26 October 2020. She had prepared a 4,800‐meter‐long washing line covered with the clothes of 99,678 Kurdish women who were survivors of sexual and gender‐based violence. They installed it along the busiest street of the city (Salim Street). She used this piece of feminine to express her reaction to the Kurdish society regarding, the abuse that goes on silently, behind closed doors. She also aimed towards normalizing women’s bodies. After the installation, she received many controversial reactions. As her artwork was a pioneering project in line with feminist issues in Kurdistan which preoccupied the city for quite a while, the aim of this article is to investigate the diverse effects of her work on the current dialogue regarding gender inequality in the Kurdish society. To do this, we used the research method of content analysis on big data (Facebook comments) to investigate the public reactions of a larger number of locals. The Feminine effectively exposed some of the deep‐rooted cultural, religious, and social barriers in addressing gender inequalities and silent sexual violence issues in the modern Kurdish patriarchal society.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Marques

Despite legislative advancements, domestic violence is still today a crime considered as "minor" by many, or often the actions that materialise it are not even recognised. The first steps in Portuguese legislation were taken by the Penal Code approved in 1982, which typified the crime of ill-treatment between spouses, and by the Law n. º 61/91 of 13th of August, which guaranteed “adequate protection to women victims of violence”. However, only in 2007, was the crime of Domestic Violence created, which shows, from 1982 until then, a long path of hesitations and slow social evolution concerning the consciousness of this crime’s seriousness. Until 2007, the crime of spousal abuse was integrated in a broader criminal arrangement, characterised by the abuse of persons. In 2009, with the typification of the crime of Domestic Violence and with the publication of the legal regime applicable to the prevention, protection, and assistance of victims, denominated as Law of Domestic Violence, a more consolidated phase was inaugurated, in both legal treatment and social intervention. Despite these evolutions, Portugal continues to witness an attitude of "social and collective consent" to some forms of Domestic Violence, oftentimes disguised in the acceptance and normalisation of gender inequalities. We have seen news stories where judgements are presented, within the scope of Domestic Violence cases, where discriminatory ideas against women and excuses for the crime of Domestic Violence are manifested. This is proof that some of the representatives of justice (the judges) do not accept what has already been legally approved in the Portuguese legal system. Similarly, recent studies on the population’s perception of domestic and gender-based violence show the abiding ideas and understandings of acceptance and normalisation of domestic and gender-based violence in Portuguese society. We intend to present the evolution of the typification of the crime of domestic violence in Portugal. Then, we intend to understand how this phenomenon has been perceived in Portuguese society. Therefore, we will be able to understand the continuities and ruptures between the legislative body and the social body in what concerns Domestic Violence and Violence against Women in Portugal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1150-1157
Author(s):  
Summer Forester ◽  
Cheryl O'Brien

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.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e047615
Author(s):  
Jewel Gausman ◽  
Eman Abu Sabbah ◽  
Areej Othman ◽  
Iqbal Lutfi Hamad ◽  
Maysoon Dabobe ◽  
...  

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Ozcurumez ◽  
S Akyuz ◽  
H Bradby

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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