Intimate partner violence among Afghan women living in refugee camps in Pakistan

A Meta-Summary of Qualitative Findings on the Lived Experience among Culturally Diverse Domestic Violence Survivors

“…This theme also overlaps in other studies (Bhowon & Munbauhal, 2005;Hyder, Noor, & Tsui, 2007), where gender role expectations are often manifested in marriage and within the confines of the family. For example, fundamental to all Islamic beliefs is the premise that female and male personalities and roles are distinctly different, and that marriage is central to maintaining such order of gender relations (Sherif, 1999).…”

Effective gender-based violence screening tools for use in primary health care settings in Afghanistan and Pakistan: a systematic review

“…Of these 20 were eliminated on in-depth review due to absence of reference or relevance to violence against women and its cultural context. The 7 studies used in the review relating to sociocultural characteristics specific to Afghanistan and Pakistan had clear aims and appropriate methodologies [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. The study populations were well-defined but weaknesses were found in sample justifications.…”

“…This implies an environment in which health provider involvement in enquiring about domestic violence would be interpreted as an unacceptable intrusion into family affairs. Indeed, health workers treating Afghani refugees in Pakistan reported that domestic violence should be addressed and resolved privately in the family and not be addressed by the health sector [8]. Descriptions of social norms on family, marriage and women in Afghanistan and Pakistan were similar across the 7 articles reviewed.…”

“…Existence of cultural traditions such as early marriages, exchange marriages and marriages with conditional bride pricing, as cited in Hyder et al [8], are indicators of gender inequality which limit the decision-making powers of women and increase their vulnerability to violence. In the context of traditional harmful attitudes and practices towards gender equality, the family domain is often viewed as private and beyond the jurisdiction of institutions.…”

“…Only when there were severe cases of abuse against women did health care providers report initiating actions beyond a purely medical response, for example by involving local authorities or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) known to be working in human or women's rights [8]. Fikree et al's study found that Pakistani obstetricians cited barriers due to insufficient time during consultations, unawareness of referral resources for intimate partner violence, fear for patient's safety upon disclosure, inability to help the situation and fear of police involvement [12].…”