access subsites.
A practical guide for researchers and activists
In addition to informing policies and health interventions, the WHO Multi-country
Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women presents a model
for research that is methodologically rigorous and yields information that can
be directly applied to violence-prevention activities. To help others undertake
similar research, PATH and WHO have produced an additional resource,
Researching Violence Against Women: A Practical Guide for Researchers and
Activists.
The guide draws on the experience of researchers from more than 40 countries
and presents methods for performing surveys and qualitative research on
gender-based violence in low-resource settings. It covers all aspects of the
research process, from study design to training field workers. It also describes
ways to use findings to influence decision-makers. Most important, it presents
clear guidelines for protecting the safety of women participating in the
research.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
http://www.path.org/projects/researching_violence.php
Researching violence against women
Exposing violence against women
New research sheds light on global trends
Women may internalize social norms that justify abuse.
Violence against women reaches beyond the immediate threat of bruises and
broken bones. The violence women in many parts of the world routinely endure is
linked to severe health problems—chronic pain, disability, disease, and mental
problems—that affect not only the health of individuals, but the social health
of communities and the economic health of nations.
In the United States and other countries, the slow (and still unfinished)
journey away from gender-based violence has started with information—the
information leaders and activists need to justify laws and shelters that protect
women and the information women and men need to reconsider long-standing ideas
about what is acceptable. In the developing world, though, reliable information
about violence against women is rare, and traditional cultural values are an
even greater barrier to change.
That’s why the World Health Organization, PATH, and the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine embarked on a landmark study that crossed
countries and cultures to shed light on gender-based violence. The findings have
been released to coincide with the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence”
(Nov. 25 to Dec. 10), an international campaign designed to highlight issues of
gender violence and human rights.
Understanding gender-based violence
How many women endure violence? Who are they? Where do they live?
How
does violence affect them?
What factors may protect against violence—and
which put women at risk?
Are there any strategies or services that women use
to deal with violence?
These are the questions researchers set out to answer with the most ambitious
study ever conducted on gender-based violence. The WHO Multi-country
Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women involved more
than 24,000 women in ten countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan,
Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Tanzania, and Thailand. Specially
trained interviewers surveyed random samples (by household) of women aged 15 to
49 years.
As a member of the core research team, PATH is proud to have helped design
the study, the questionnaire, and training manuals; train interviewers; and
supervise field work. We also analyzed data and helped prepare national reports,
as well as the international findings just released.
What 24,000 women told us
The research findings confirmed that violence seriously affects women’s
health. Women who reported violence were more likely to report poor general
health and reported more physical symptoms of ill health, emotional distress,
miscarriages, and abortions. They were also more likely to have considered or
attempted suicide.
But there were also new insights—such as more violence overall, especially in
the home. In 13 of the 15 study sites, one-third to three-quarters of women had
been physically or sexually assaulted by an intimate partner. At some sites, as
many as 28 percent of women who had been pregnant had been assaulted during
pregnancy.
Much of this violence had been hidden and previously unreported—more than
one-fifth of women reporting violence during the study had never told anyone
about it before. Said one study participant from Brazil, “it made me feel good,
because it was something that I had never told anyone before. Now I’ve told
someone.”
Levels of violence varied greatly, both within and between countries. This
finding raises questions for future research: which factors at individual,
community, and national levels increase women’s risk of violence? Which provide
a measure of protection?
One factor may be women’s internalization of social norms that justify abuse.
In at least half the study sites, women reported believing that it is acceptable
for a man to beat his wife under certain circumstances, including if she
disobeys him, refuses sex, does not complete the housework on time, or is
unfaithful. It goes to show how complex an issue gender-based violence is:
although legal and institutional reforms are needed, they alone will not be
enough to eliminate violence against women.
The power of women’s voices
Simply by creating a safe space in which women could ask for help, this
project has affected women’s lives and efforts to stop violence. As a
participant from Japan explained, “I did not know where I could go for help. Now
I know where I can go. I was looking for such places.”
Furthermore, the local organizations in the study countries that assisted
with the research learned new skills and connected with each other and with
researchers. PATH is now building on these established networks by disseminating
information and supporting regional initiatives—they’ve already been started in
Latin America and South Africa—to address violence.
We’ve also coauthored a guide that will help others conduct further research on
violence.
As part of our broader efforts to reduce gender-based violence and advocate
for scientifically sound, locally relevant solutions, PATH continues to serve as
an advisor to the World Bank, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of
Women, and UNIFEM. Together with partners across the world, we are helping
expose the violence women endure.
Notes: Copies
of the WHO Multi-country study are available online. An article in
Science also describes this work. Read the
announcement.
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Categories: Releases