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Silent Scars: Violence, Trauma and the Health Equity of Women and Children

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 2046

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Obasanjo Bolarinwa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Global Healthcare Management Department, York St John University, London E14 2BA, UK
Interests: health equity; violence; women’s health; children’s health; disability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Violence against women and children remains one of the most pervasive global health challenges, cutting across geography, socioeconomic status, and cultural contexts. The physical, psychological, and social scars of violence, whether domestic, sexual, structural, or institutional, often remain unspoken, yet they shape long-term health outcomes and perpetuate health inequities across generations. The intersections of trauma, gender, and social determinants of health contribute to deep-seated disparities, particularly in underserved and marginalised populations.

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) invites contributions that examine the complex links between violence, trauma, and the health equity of women and children. We welcome empirical studies, intervention evaluations, theoretical perspectives, and policy analyses that investigate both direct and structural forms of violence and their implications for mental, reproductive, and overall health outcomes. Emphasis will be placed on intersectionality-informed, rights-based, and equity-driven approaches that highlight the urgent need for prevention, support systems, and health systems responsiveness.

We encourage multidisciplinary submissions from public health, psychology, social work, demography, education, law, and other relevant fields.

Dr. Obasanjo Bolarinwa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gender-based violence
  • child maltreatment
  • health equity
  • trauma-informed care
  • women’s health
  • mental health
  • intersectionality
  • reproductive justice
  • structural violence
  • public health policy

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 554 KB  
Article
Silent Scars in the Water–Energy–Food Nexus: How Resource Insecurity Shapes Women’s Mental and Reproductive Health in South Africa
by Lucy Khofi, Blessings Nyasilia Kaunda-Khangamwa, Andisiwe Maxela, Emily Ragus and Sylvester Mpandeli
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2026, 23(2), 187; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23020187 - 31 Jan 2026
Viewed by 699
Abstract
Women in resource-scarce communities navigate daily scarcity, structural neglect, and gendered violence, leaving profound but often invisible impacts on mental and reproductive health. Women play an active role in the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) space; they provide water, food, and household security daily. This study [...] Read more.
Women in resource-scarce communities navigate daily scarcity, structural neglect, and gendered violence, leaving profound but often invisible impacts on mental and reproductive health. Women play an active role in the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) space; they provide water, food, and household security daily. This study investigates how chronic deprivation across the WEF nexus shapes experiences of psychological distress, reproductive vulnerability, and social marginalization in South African settings: Lorentzville, a migrant urban informal settlement, and Mqanduli, a peri-urban Eastern Cape community. Using ethnographic methods, including in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory observation, and an analytical framework combining structural violence and feminist political ecology, we show that insecurity over water, energy, and food constrains reproductive autonomy, amplifies self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, and drives coping and adaptation strategies such as informal work, transactional sex, and fragile social support networks. These strategies, while mitigating immediate risks, cannot fully offset systemic harms. By foregrounding women’s lived experiences, this study extends the WEF nexus framework to include embodied, emotional, and reproductive dimensions, linking historical legacies of colonial and apartheid neglect to contemporary inequities. The findings offer critical insights for integrated health, social, and resource policy interventions that center on gender, care, and justice within environmental, wellbeing, and livelihood. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Silent Scars: Violence, Trauma and the Health Equity of Women and Children)
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Review

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19 pages, 703 KB  
Review
Discrimination and Gender: An Umbrella Review of Psychological Evidence
by Giulia Lausi
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2026, 23(1), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23010103 - 12 Jan 2026
Viewed by 640
Abstract
Gender discrimination is a pervasive and multifaceted phenomenon rooted in cognitive, emotional, and social mechanisms that operate across individual, interpersonal, and structural levels. This umbrella review synthesizes systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between 2013 and 2024 examining the relationship between gender, stereotypes, and [...] Read more.
Gender discrimination is a pervasive and multifaceted phenomenon rooted in cognitive, emotional, and social mechanisms that operate across individual, interpersonal, and structural levels. This umbrella review synthesizes systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between 2013 and 2024 examining the relationship between gender, stereotypes, and discrimination. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, searches were conducted across PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, yielding 22 eligible reviews after screening 684 records. Thematic synthesis identified two overarching domains: manifestations of discrimination and health and professional outcomes. Discrimination emerged as structural, interpersonal, and implicit, operating through institutional barriers, microaggressions, and stereotyping mechanisms. These dynamics were found to significantly affect mental health, and particularly anxiety, depression, and psychological distress, as well as physical health, including cardiovascular outcomes and maternal morbidity. Professional and social functioning were also impaired, with gender-based inequalities documented in pay, promotion, and role allocation across multiple occupational contexts. Despite consistent evidence of harm, the literature revealed limited consensus in conceptualization and a lack of longitudinal and intervention research. Collectively, findings underscore that gender discrimination constitutes both a public health concern and a systemic social mechanism that shapes individual cognition, emotion, and behaviour, demanding multi-level psychological and policy responses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Silent Scars: Violence, Trauma and the Health Equity of Women and Children)
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