Violence Against Women: Effects on Reproductive Health potx

OUT LOOK

Volume 20 September

Number 1 2002

Violence Against Women:

Effects on Reproductive Health

Millions of girls and women suffer from violence and its consequences because of

their sex and their unequal status in society. Violence against women (often

called gender-based violence) is a serious violation of women’s human rights.

Yet little attention has been paid to the serious health consequences of abuse and the

health needs of abused women and girls. Women who have experienced physical, sexual,

or psychological violence suffer a range of health problems, often in silence. They have

poorer physical and mental health, suffer more injuries, and use more medical resources

than non-abused women.

Females of all ages are victims of violence, in part because of their limited social and

economic power compared with men. While men also are victims of violence, violence

against women is characterized by its high prevalence within the family; its acceptance

by society; and its serious, long-term impact on women’s health and well-being. The

United Nations has defined violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence

that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to

women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether

occurring in public or private life.”1

Health care workers have the opportunity and the obligation to identify, treat, and

educate women who are being abused. Health care institutions can make significant

contributions to addressing violence against women by supporting clinicians and clients.

Developing and institutionalizing national health-sector policies, protocols, and norms

about violence call attention to the problem of gender-based violence, and help ensure

quality care for survivors of abuse.

This Outlook issue focuses on the reproductive health consequences of violence

against women. It provides examples from research and successful programs and explores

how the health sector can take an active role in the prevention and treatment of violence

against women.

How Common Is Violence Against Women?

Globally, at least one in three women has experienced some form of gender-based

abuse during her lifetime.2

Violence against girls and women can begin before birth and

continue throughout their lives into old age (see Figure 1). Women are reluctant to

discuss abuse, and may accept it as part of their role. Even assuming that current data