Gender-based violence shouldn’t be gone through alone or in silence

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES:

• Barrett, B. J., Peirone, A., & Cheung, C. H. (2020). Help seeking experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence in Canada: The role of gender, violence severity, and social belonging. Journal of family violence, 35(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-019-00086-8
• Lokuge, K., Verputten, M., Ajakali, M., Tolboom, B., Joshy, G., Thurber, K. A., … & Banks, E. (2016). Health services for gender-based violence: Médecins sans Frontières experience caring for survivors in urban Papua New Guinea. PloS one, 11(6), e0156813. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156813
• Horn, R., Puffer, E. S., Roesch, E., & Lehmann, H. (2016). ‘I don’t need an eye for an eye’: Women’s responses to intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Global public health, 11(1-2), 108-121. http://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2015.1032320

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COMMENT:

Studies show that gender-based violence shouldn’t be go through alone or in silence. Belonging to a social collective facilitates strategies for social gatherings during and after the violence suffered, is essential to enhance the survivors’ sense of belonging and increase the likelihood of being helped (Barrett, Peirone, & Cheung, 2020; Lokuge, et al., 2016). In the same vein, Horn et al. (2016) research shows how the role of neighbours, family and friends is crucial, both for emotional support and practical assistance. Likewise, more formal structures also play an essential role, such as chiefs and women’s groups.

OTHER SOURCES: