Identifying the Impact of Intimate Partner Violence in Humanitarian Settings: Using an Ecological Framework to Review 15 Years of Evidence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive form of gender-based violence that exacerbates in humanitarian settings. This systematic review examined the myriad IPV impacts and the quality of existing evidence of IPV in humanitarian settings. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) procedures, a total of 51 articles were included from the 3924 screened. We identified the impact of IPV across two levels of the ecological framework: individual and microsystem. Our findings corroborated previous evidence that indicated IPV to be associated with adverse physical and mental health for survivors. Our findings also uniquely synthesized the intergenerational impact of IPV in humanitarian settings. However, findings highlighted a glaring gap in evidence examining the non-health impact of IPV for survivors in humanitarian settings and across levels of the ecological framework. Without enhanced research of women and girls and the violence they experience, humanitarian responses will continue to underachieve, and the needs of women and girls will continue to be relegated as secondary interests. Investment should prioritize addressing the range of both health and non-health impacts of IPV among individuals, families, and communities, as well as consider how the humanitarian environment influences these linkages.

Prosecutorial decision-making regarding offenders’ social reintegration programs in intimate partner violence cases. A Portuguese study

“…The creation of an index or checklist based on what science reveals useful in IPV offenders’ reintegration might support the state prosecutor’s decision-making processes, as long as individuals involved are always looked at from an ecological approach. This Ecological Model [ 92 , 93 ] has been adapted to explain social phenomena, in IPV cases, the risk for violence victimisation and violence perpetration. In the Ecological Model, personal, situational, and sociocultural factors are interpreted to understand how IPV may result from the interaction of factors at different levels of the social environment [ 94 ].…”

Development and Testing of a Community-Based Intervention to Address Intimate Partner Violence among Rohingya and Syrian Refugees: A Social Norms-Based Mental Health-Integrated Approach

“…Results underscore the value of incorporating mental health components into IPV group-based interventions, as research indicates that IPV can impact mental health, and poor mental health can undermine help-seeking [ 42 , 43 , 44 ] and increase risk of perpetrating IPV [ 48 ].…”

“…Mental health is associated with IPV and help-seeking in several ways. First, IPV victimization often results in poor mental health [ 42 ]. In a recent systematic review among girls and women in LMICs, IPV and other forms of gender-based violence were consistently associated with adverse mental health outcomes, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [ 43 ].…”

The Psychosocial Impacts of Intimate Partner Violence against Women in LMIC Contexts: Toward a Holistic Approach

“…The profound mental health impact of IPV is equally horrific and includes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, suicidal ideation and attempts, anxiety, and substance abuse disorder, among others [ 8 , 9 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. These mental health impacts occur not only in societies in the global North but also in LMIC societies [ 1 , 3 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ] and in adolescent girls as well as in adult women [ 3 ]…”