Association of War-Related and Gender-Based Violence With Mental Health States of Yazidi Women

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Yazidi women in northern Iraq have experienced severe human rights violations through attacks by the so-called Islamic State group, with severe consequences for their health. However, no studies to date have investigated how war-related and gender-based violence, including partner violence, are associated with mental health disorders in this population. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the associations between Yazidi women's experiences of violence (ie, war violence, partner violence, enslavement) and their mental health. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study of 326 women was conducted in camps for displaced persons in the Kurdistan region of Iraq between January and July 2017. Participants were married women from the Yazidi population in northern Iraq who were affected by Islamic State attacks. Participants were selected via household-randomized sampling. Data analysis was conducted from December 2018 to September 2019. EXPOSURES Experiences of enslavement, war-related events, and intimate partner violence were measured with event checklists. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression levels were measured using culturally validated instruments. RESULTS A total of 326 women (mean [SD] age, 34.3 [12.9] years) participated in the study. Almost all participants reported the experience of at least 1 war-related violent event (325 [99.7%]), 54 (16.6%) reported a history of abduction and sexual slavery, and 215 (66.0%) reported the experience of at least 1 type of intimate partner violence in the past year. There were no significant differences between women who did and did not experience abduction regarding exposure to intimate partner violence. Rates of PTSD and depression symptoms were high among the whole sample, and women who experienced abduction reported significantly higher levels of psychopathology than those who did not (mean [SD] PTSD score: 61.48 [12.38] vs 47.

Exploring the role of gender and women in the political economy of health in armed conflict: a narrative review

“…Studies have shown conflict-affected countries since 1990 have consistently higher maternal and child mortality rates than non-conflict countries and access to essential reproductive and maternal health services for poorer, less educated and rural-based families was considerably worse in conflict versus non-conflict countries [ 29 ]. Alarmingly high rates of sexual and gender-based violence with a strong association of mental health disorders, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression, have long been documented in several conflict-affected settings [ 30 , 31 ]. Women are disproportionately affected by the negative consequences of conflict-induced forced displacement [ 6 ].…”

The mental health and well-being of internally displaced female Yazidis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: a realist review of psychosocial interventions and the impact of COVID-19

“…Aside from violence perpetrated by other groups, Yazidi females are exposed to violence in their interpersonal relationships. In 2019, 66% of female Yazidi IDPs reported past-year exposure to IPV (Goessmann et al ., 2020 ). These high rates are situated within the broader context – Iraq has the largest social and legal gender inequalities in the world (The World Bank Group, 2019 ).…”

“…One study amongst many reports an 8-year-old girl who had been raped hundreds of times during her 14-month captivity (Mohammadi, 2016 ). 92.6% of Yazidi women residing in an internally displaced person (IDP) camp experienced an average of 4.87 acts of violence during captivity (Goessmann et al ., 2020 ). Mass killings and graves mean many don't know whether their relatives are still alive (Womersley and Arikut-Treece, 2019 ).…”

Thinking about young refugees’ mental health following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022

“…The experiences are related to the characteristics of the conflict, and also personal characteristics. For example, in many conflicts, men may be more likely to have been combatants, detained and imprisoned, women may be more likely to have experienced rape (Goessmann et al, 2020;Kastrup & Arcel, 2004), and children to have suffered the effects of separation from parents and caregivers and the risk of being trafficked (Jud et al, 2020;Kadir et al, 2019). The response of resettlement countries to asylum seekers and refugees has been varied and has changed over time.…”