Search Results (12)

Background: The 2022 Pakistan floods devastated healthcare access for pregnant women in already impoverished areas in Sindh province. This study examines how Cash for Health assistance (CH) of USD 112 alleviated financial burdens and improved maternal health outcomes and resilience, bridging a critical literature gap on cash effectiveness in humanitarian crises. Methodology: This study used a mixed-methods approach to assess the CH assistance intervention for families of pregnant/lactating women in flood-affected rural Sindh, Pakistan. A pre-post quantitative analysis of baseline (May–June 2024) and endline (August–November 2024) survey data in ~100 villages (Jamshoro/Sehwan) examined changes in healthcare access, expenditure, and preferences using t-tests, proportion tests, and multivariable regression. Concurrently, five qualitative case studies from key informant interviews provided thematic content analysis, triangulating findings on economic, health, and social impacts. Results: Respondents predominantly had low literacy rates and were from households of daily wage laborers in vulnerable, flood-affected areas. While income and education remained low, instances of forgone care due to financial barriers increased (68% to 97%, p < 0.001). CH significantly improved healthcare access (58% to 98%, p < 0.001). Access to regular physicians (20% to 69%) and private facilities (10% to 41%) notably expanded. Healthcare expenditure significantly increased from USD 9.3 to USD 25, with a shift in spending preference towards medication, consultations, and diagnostics. CH also significantly improved food security (21% to 97%), meal frequency, and overall household stability, including reducing domestic violence. Qualitative data emphasized pre-existing vulnerabilities and CH’s role in addressing health, nutrition, and psychosocial needs. Conclusions: CH significantly improved healthcare access and reduced financial burdens for vulnerable pregnant women post-disaster. However, a sustainable impact requires integrated “cash plus” models, combining financial aid with stronger health systems, psychosocial support, and literacy for long-term resilience. Full article

It is not uncommon that women residing in Dutch shelters following domestic violence consider returning to their partners during the course of their stay. Social workers cannot prohibit return due to the importance of the client’s autonomy, as stated in the Code of Ethics. Simultaneously, social workers aim to ensure women’s safety and encourage a positive future, which can lead to tensions in their way of support-giving. Based on thirty-five interviews with social workers, this study explores how they navigate these tensions and the support they give in such cases. Building on Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach, we distinguish a hands-off and an interventionist approach to autonomy. While the hands-off approach leads to non-intervention and respecting the woman’s decision, the interventionist approach focuses on providing tools and encouraging safer alternatives. The findings show that the hands-off approach is the common type of support, leading to feelings of powerlessness for social workers and often prompting endeavors to intervene more actively. Simultaneously, we argue that, whilst the Code of Ethics demonstrates an ambivalence towards these different forms of autonomy, it is often interpreted by social workers as promoting only a hands-off approach. Consequently, we argue that social workers would benefit from a greater recognition of an interventionist approach to autonomy and more liberty in support-giving. Full article

Intimate Partner Domestic Violence (IPDV) has been reported to be high in minorities across the US. Among minorities, refugees and immigrants encounter particular barriers that may influence their responses to IPDV. This scoping review examined three decades of literature (1980–2022) on resettled married Afghan and Arab refugee women’s attitudes and behaviors toward IPDV in their host countries, aiming to explore gaps in the research, practice, and policy recommendations. Based on the Arksey and O’Malley model, our scoping review conducted extensive searches in SCOPUS, PubMed, PsychInfo, CINAHL, the Web of Science, the Directory of Open Access Journals, and the Embase databases. Searches identified articles that examined resettled Afghan and/or Arab refugees’ responses to IPDV in Western countries. The search identified 439 unique citations; 17 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The major findings included acculturative changes in refugee attitudes and behaviors and in stakeholders’ perspectives. Significant attitudinal changes (acknowledgment, silence, justification, or IPDV disapproval) contrasted with less behavioral changes (help-seeking behaviors, or action plans), or changes in barriers to actions, and with a resistance to change in stakeholders (cultural norms and beliefs, the community patriarchal normalization of violence, service providers’ unfamiliarity with client diversity and refugee cultures) in supporting women’s decision-making regarding IPDV. Not a single article made explicit policy recommendations. Full article

In The Netherlands, women who experience domestic violence can rely on public policies that aim to support them, such as shelters. Drawing on the lived experiences, through 10 interviews and observations, of women with different cultural backgrounds and nationalities staying in a shelter, and on 37 interviews with social workers working with these women, we observed that this support falls short for them. We argue that immigration rules, together with policies on domestic violence and housing, (unintentionally) often work in tandem with violent partners to prevent women with migration backgrounds from leaving violent relationships. The paper draws on a perspective of institutional considerations of solidarity to unpack the relations between domestic violence, cultural constraints, and public policies but looks also at the positive experiences of women of migrant backgrounds with these Dutch policies. This research indicates that there is a lack of institutional solidarity towards women, especially those arriving as marriage migrants, who have experienced domestic violence. In exploring the intersections of domestic violence and often exclusionary state policies, the paper reflects on how The Netherlands can provide more support to those women and how intersectional justice and solidarity might be expressed. Full article

This article reports a representative quantitative and qualitative study covering the entire territory of Bulgaria, related to the analysis of stereotypes regarding male and female roles in the family and in the society. The results of the study indicate that the factor “age” is significant in relation to attitudes towards the social roles of men and women in the modern family, including in relation to domestic violence. The interpretation of the results enabled the formulation of justified conclusions related to changes in attitudes towards the roles of men and women in a dynamic way. The hypothesis was proven that the tensions between them can be more easily overcome through appropriate differentiated measures tailored to the different age groups. Full article

Background: Violence against women is a relevant health and social problem with negative consequences on women’s health. The interaction between genome and environmental factors, such as violence, represents one of the major challenges in molecular medicine. The Epigenetics for WomEn (EpiWE) project is a multidisciplinary pilot study that intends to investigate the epigenetic signatures associated with intimate partner and sexual violence-induced stress-related disorders. Materials and Methods: In 2020, 62 women exposed to violence (13 women suffering from sexual violence and 49 from Intimate Partner Violence, IPV) and 50 women with no history of violence were recruited at the Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence. All women aged 18–65 were monitored for their physical and psychological conditions. Blood samples were collected, and DNAs were extracted and underwent the epigenetic analysis of 10 stress-related genes. Results: PTSD prevalence in victims was assessed at 8.1%. Quantitative methylation evaluation of the ten selected trauma/stress-related genes revealed the differential iper-methylation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, dopamine receptor D2 and insulin-like growth factor 2 genes. These genes are among those related to brain plasticity, learning, and memory pathways. Conclusions: The association of early detection of posttraumatic distress and epigenetic marker identification could represent a new avenue for addressing women survivors toward resilience. This innovative approach in gender-based violence studies could identify new molecular pathways associated with the long-term effects of violence and implement innovative protocols of precision medicine. Full article

In response to the high burden of family and domestic violence (FDV), The Australian National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children has established that primary prevention measures are necessary to reduce FDV’s harmful impacts on health. The Community, Respect, and Equality (CRE) project is a primary prevention initiative aimed towards changing harmful social norms and practices that enable FDV in Geraldton, Western Australia. Organizations affiliated with the CRE are required to promote gender equality and a respectful work environment. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the impact and effectiveness of such interventions, especially in rural/regional areas. As such, this study served to evaluate the project’s effectiveness in a CRE-certified workspace, a local non-profit social services provider. Investigators conducted interviews to learn how the organization had implemented the CRE, and whether the CRE had had an impact on social norms and practices within the work environment. Findings indicated that the project had largely failed to permeate workplace culture due to a lack of effective promotion, low perceived benefits, and low resources. Future interventions must take persuasive measures, even for organizations perceived to be receptive to change. Full article

Domestic violence against women is defined as harmful behavior that occurs within a home and it involves aggressive and violent conduct towards women. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and following the restrictions imposed to combat the pandemic (lockdowns, staying at home, isolation), domestic violence against women has increased worldwide. The current entry presents existing knowledge and discusses issues important for public awareness. Full article

Gender violence is generally conceived as a phenomenon concerning only adults. Nonetheless, it is also perpetrated within teenagers’ relationships, as many empirical studies have shown. We therefore have focused our attention on a non-probabilistic sample consisting of 400 adolescents living in Naples (Italy), to study the association between sexism and the justification of violent attitudes. Generally, sexism is recognised as a discriminatory attitude towards people, based on their biological sex. However, it is conventional to talk about sexism as a prejudice against women. The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) for adolescents was used to evaluate the two dimensions of ambivalent sexism, i.e., hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS). Moreover, the questionnaire regarding attitudes towards diversity and violence (CADV) was administered to assess participants’ attitudes towards violence. A Partial Least Square–Second Order Path Model reveals that girls’ ambivalent sexism is affected more by benevolent sexism than hostile sexism. On the contrary, among boys, hostile sexism has a higher impact. Finally, benevolent sexist girls justify domestic violence more than boys do. Full article

This article explores part of the process of passing a law in the Lebanese Parliament on 1 April 2014 called “Law on the protection of women and other members of the family from domestic violence,” also known as the ‘Protection Law’ or Law 293. In a United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) project on Religion, Politics and Gender Equality, the theorists José Casanova and Anne Phillips are engaged in establishing a transnational perspective on religious gender politics. The article then draws on written documentation regarding the discourse connected to the draft law at that time and on field interviews. The interviews were conducted in the period 2013–2016 with religious leaders and resource persons in Christian, Sunni, and Shi’a communities in Lebanon, and with key persons in the NGOs KAFA and ABAAD. An analysis of the arguments for and against the law before it was passed displays the larger field of intersection between feminism and religious practices and the consequences of the Lebanese dual court system. As a study from the Lebanese context when Law 293 was being intensively discussed, the article shows both the authority and the vulnerability of the religious leaders associated with the dual court system. The article also reveals the ambiguity of feminist activists and NGOs toward the role of the religious communities and leaders in Lebanon. Full article

Violence in relationships is a common experience for a significant number of women. VicHealth (Australia) has noted that one of the underlying and contributing factors towards violence against women is their environment, citing ‘faith-based institutions’ such as churches as one such environment for many women. Indeed, international research shows that the language of religion is often used by women to explain abuse. Additionally, abused Christian women are more likely to remain in or return to unsafe relationships, citing religious beliefs to support avoidance of ‘family break-ups’ despite abuse. In contrast, however, churches can address domestic violence within a context of care, with emphasis on a theology of biblical equality. This paper examines how domestic violence may be supported by Christian language and belief, and suggests an ‘alternate theology’ concerning religious language in concepts of gender roles, sacrifice, submission, and suffering. It reviews current research on the connection between Christian religious language and domestic violence against women, to highlight the Christian church’s role as a contributing factor to such abuse. Finally, the paper makes some suggestions on how religious language can, in contrast to perpetuating abuse through norms, sever the connections between domestic violence and religious language. Full article

Although gender inequalities are the main social mechanisms behind the (re)production of domestic violence, policy responses to domestic violence as a gender-related problem vary at both the national and transnational levels. This article examines the interaction between national and transnational policies against domestic violence, focusing on how domestic violence is constructed as a gender-related problem in Finland, a Nordic welfare state that is often cited as a role model in gender equality. Using the conception of policies as historically changing and culturally specific discourses, this article offers an overview of the ways in which the perspective on domestic violence of the transnational feminist movement has been engaged and transformed in the Finnish context over the five last decades. It is shown that transnational pressure has played a critical role in pushing Finland towards a stronger recognition of domestic violence as a gender issue. However, this transformation has taken place rather within the framework of more neutral “women-friendly” welfare policies than within a feminist framework. The article concludes that the Finnish way of translating transnational norms to the national level is characterized by a tendency to modify the transformative meanings underpinning the transnational feminist discourses to a more gender-neutral form. Full article