Violence against Women as a Health Care Issue

Abstract

Women often approach health facilities to seek treatment for health consequences emerging out of violence. Health facilities are also mandated by several laws in India to play a therapeutic and forensic role in responding to women facing violence. Despite India being a signatory to international treaties, health professionals are unable to respond to violence owing to their own biases and misconceptions related to the issue. The chapter discusses the prevalence of violence against women, the resultant health consequences, and perceptions of health professionals towards this violence. While doing so the chapter raises concerns about the lack of institutionalised health care response and draws attention to the policy gaps that keeps the government from committing itself to ending all forms of violence against women.

THE GIRL IN THE PANDEMIC: Transnational Perspectives

“…Adolescent girls face violence specifi c to their age and gender (Ellsberg et al 2017), as well as the consequences of the stay-athome policy, which include emotional stress and anxiety about the future, exposure to parental violence, disrupted education, forced early marriage, and the deprivation of peer and other support services . Violence against women (VAW) is known to be associated with a wide range of adverse physical, sexual, and mental health impacts (Rege and Bhate-Deosthali 2018). A surge in unwanted pregnancy among adolescent girls, mostly resulting from sexual violence following the Ebola epidemic in Africa, was found to be associated with the closure of schools and increased exposure of girls to abusers as they took on the role of caregivers to the family (UNFPA 2015).…”