About this Research Topic
Gender-based violence (GBV) is considered to be a global pandemic, affecting at least one in three women during their lifetime. According to UN Women, 37% of women who reside in the least developed countries in the world are subject to sexual/physical Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) at least once in their life. There are more than 640 million women aged 15 years and older who are subject to IPV and one in four adolescent girls aged 15-19 years old have experienced IPV. Growing evidence shows that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many women and girls were trapped with perpetrators as a result of lockdown measures and there were severe disruptions to social, legal and healthcare services. Stigma can undermine the intended outcomes of projects and the fight against GBV is not exempt. Statistics show that one in every three women and one in every six men are beaten, coerced into sex or abused in their lifetime. The toll of this on women’s health surpasses that of traffic accidents and malaria combined.
International organisations, governments and civil society are implementing policy, legislative and programming measures to address GBV. There are multiple examples of innovations e.g. a range of low-and-middle-income (LMICs) have implemented one-stop centres (OSC) as a model which integrates health services and either of the following services; social, legal, police and shelter for survivors of GBV. Other examples of innovation include digital technology for seeking help (service and or referral information), counselling services, decision-maker and service level training, or programmes targeting harmful socio-cultural norms.
Given the current scourge of GBV and the implications for gender equality and development, this Research Topic in Frontiers in Global Women’s Health will be a resource for implementers at different levels including policy, legislative and programmatic. Interventions/ innovations could be implemented globally, regionally, nationally and at local levels. Articles submitted must be solution and action-orientated, demonstrating impact, with potential for replication, scale-up and lessons learnt.
Topics of interest include:
● Garnering policy and legislative traction
● Investment in and strengthening of movements and networks to address GBV
● Campaigning on GBV, mass media approaches, protest action
● Programming
- Provision and strengthening of legal, social and medical GBV services including mental health and digital health interventions.
- Community-level programming for social norm change, such as awareness campaigns among religious/ traditional leaders, teachers and partnerships.
- Interventions that reduce stigma, discrimination and violence among key and vulnerable populations, including LGBTQI, persons with disabilities, migrants/ refugees and adolescent girls and young women.
International organisations, governments and civil society are implementing policy, legislative and programming measures to address GBV. There are multiple examples of innovations e.g. a range of low-and-middle-income (LMICs) have implemented one-stop centres (OSC) as a model which integrates health services and either of the following services; social, legal, police and shelter for survivors of GBV. Other examples of innovation include digital technology for seeking help (service and or referral information), counselling services, decision-maker and service level training, or programmes targeting harmful socio-cultural norms.
Given the current scourge of GBV and the implications for gender equality and development, this Research Topic in Frontiers in Global Women’s Health will be a resource for implementers at different levels including policy, legislative and programmatic. Interventions/ innovations could be implemented globally, regionally, nationally and at local levels. Articles submitted must be solution and action-orientated, demonstrating impact, with potential for replication, scale-up and lessons learnt.
Topics of interest include:
● Garnering policy and legislative traction
● Investment in and strengthening of movements and networks to address GBV
● Campaigning on GBV, mass media approaches, protest action
● Programming
- Provision and strengthening of legal, social and medical GBV services including mental health and digital health interventions.
- Community-level programming for social norm change, such as awareness campaigns among religious/ traditional leaders, teachers and partnerships.
- Interventions that reduce stigma, discrimination and violence among key and vulnerable populations, including LGBTQI, persons with disabilities, migrants/ refugees and adolescent girls and young women.
Keywords: gender-based-violence, best practices, solutions, innovations, policy, legal, medical, programs
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
