USAID Guide on Gender-Based Violence for Health Se
The Guide states that violence against women is more prevalent in male-dominated societies, states with weak legal measures to prosecute violence, poor and crime-ridden countries. The Guide encourages USAID to invest in community mobilization programs, which collaborate with already-existing structures such as women’s groups to challenge societal norms that make violence against women acceptable. The next section of the report promotes the use of communications systems, including newspapers, radio, television and posters, to preach nonviolence. Health services delivery programs should focus on the role of violence in women’s reproductive health and the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus. Youth programs need to educate both girls and boys about the harmful effects of coercive sexual initiation. Finally, USAID must invest in humanitarian relief programs, since violence against women is exacerbated in situations of armed conflict and natural disaster.
Compile from: "Addressing Gender-Based Violence Through USAID's Health Programs: A Guide for Health Sector Program Officers," United States Agency for International Development (USAID), July 2006.
For more information
For more information, please see the Domestic Violence and the Sexual Assault sections of this website.
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