Gender, violence and mental health: An international perspective

Ranjani.K.Murthy, rk_km2000@yahoo.comResearcher, Gender, Poverty and Health

Presentation prepared for BALM’s symposium on Gender, Violence and Mental Health,

May, 25, 2015

Objectives

Gender

GB Violence against women

Mental healthConnections

International policies on

practice

Gender Relations

Gender Relations are socially constructed power relations between men and women, which interlock with other power relations like:- Race- Caste- Class- Ethnicity and religion- Abilities- Sexual orientation and gender identity(Whitehead, 1979+ Cornwall …)

NOT GENDER ROLES

Violence Against Women

“Means any act of gender-based violence, that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”.

UN, Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women 1993

What does VAW encompass? UN, 1993

Physical, sexual

psychological-wife

battering, FGM, marital rape, dowry, non spousal

violence, traditional

practices etc

Family

Physical, sexual

psychological-rape, sexual

abuse, sexual harassment, intimidation,

trafficking, forced

prostitution etc

Com/work /edu

Physical, sexual

psychological-perpetuated

and condoned by state

State

Mental Health

Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.

(WHO, 2014)

The links gender, violence and mental health (WHO)

One in 3 suffer from depression, anxiety and somatic conditions- >W

1 in 5 men and 1 in 12 women develop alcohol

dependence

Violence against women (16-50%,)one important

factor contributing to depression/PTSD

Rates of depression are 3-4 times higher for women who have

experienced violence

Violence as one of the causal factors is rarely investigated;

Link- gender, mental health and violence the other side

Women and girls with mental illness labelled possessed/disturbed

inflicted with violence

Women and girls with mental illness more vulnerable to VAW

Men and women with some forms of severe

untreated mental illness may be violent

against women

Is there attention to the links between gender, VAWG, and mental health?

Attention Increasing

Convention on rights of People with disability, 2006 – on Women

• States Parties shall put in place effective legislation and policies to ensure violence against persons (women) with disabilities are identified, investigated and prosecuted.

• State parties ensure access by women and girls with disabilities to social protection and poverty reduction programmes;

WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE Internationally/nationally

• Better Statistics : UN Gender Statistics (integrate this better) and National statistics.

• Beyond WHO- UNICEF, UNDP- UNDAF document

• SDGs- One indicator on VAW and mental health. All women coming for mental health care screened for VAW.

• Develop international and national protocol on the same

• Understanding perpetrators.

National strategies: Gender, VAW and mental health

Integrate in NHMs

National protocol development

Training of health police, personnel

Treatment

Legal, counseling housing

livelihood

Reintegration

SHGs, MGNREGA

Work with men and boys

Strategies: Understand perpetrators (Srivatsava, 2012)

Not sex, but gender

Childhood experience of

violence

Social learning

Screen alcohol use

case for violence and

serious mental illness

Develop strategies for all three!

Gender/

masulinities

VAWMental health