The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #72269

Claudia Garcia Moreno, MD, MPH¹, Henrica A.F.M. Jansen, MD, MSc, MPH¹, Mary C. Ellsberg, PhD², Lori Heise², and Charlotte Watts, PhD³. (1) Department of Gender and Women's Health, World Health Organization, 20 Ave. Appia, Geneva 27-1211, Switzerland, (2) Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), 1600 K St. N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006, (3) Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom

In response to the lack of data on the magnitude and nature of violence against women and to guide interventions, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a multi-country study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence. The WHO study, implemented in 8 countries, constitutes the first global effort to produce reliable and comparable data on domestic violence and women’s health across countries. It demonstrates how carefully developed and applied research can act as an intervention at many levels. For the respondents it appeared to be an important opportunity to share, often for the first time, the abuses that they have experienced. For interviewers and researchers, participation in an intensive study on violence against women has been a transforming process, with many going on to work to address the violence they have been documenting. At the national level too, researchers have become actively involved in the anti-violence movement, engaging in policy discussions and follow-on work. The study further illustrates how efforts to collect evidence on the magnitude, consequences and determinants of domestic violence, when implemented in partnership with both researchers and women’s organisations, can contribute to strengthening national activities to address violence against women, and act as a facilitating force for change.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session participants will be able to: 1)Describe the main goals and methodology used by the multi-country study on Domestic Violence and Women's Health
• Identify the ethical challenges associated with violence against women and describe 3 specific measures that the WHO study used to address these challenges

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.