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Why focus on violence against women?
Nearly one in three women 15 years and older (30%) have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence by any perpetrator. Violence against women is a public health problem. The issue is rooted in gender inequality and is a violation of women’s human rights. Such violence negatively affects women’s mental and physical health, including sexual and reproductive health, and well-being.
What is the role of health systems and sectors?
Within a multisectoral response, the health system is an important entry point to identify and support women experiencing violence, even though most women who experience violence do not explicitly disclose this. Women who are abused are more likely to seek health services compared with those who are not abused.
Since most women seek health-care services at some point in their lives, particularly in relation to sexual and reproductive health, the health system provides an important opportunity to identify women being subjected to violence, provide first- line support (psychological first-aid), treat-injuries and other presenting health conditions, mitigate health consequences, and refer to other support services, including psychological support, shelters and legal aid.
The health system also provides an opportunity to promote prevention through messages to communities about the non- acceptability of violence, its harmful health consequences, the importance of mutually respectful and equal relationships, and services to address risk factors such as alcohol and substance use.
What are the political mandates and commitments made by Member States?
Eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls in public and private spheres is a target (5.2) of Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The health system response to violence against women and girls has been prioritized by WHO Member States through the World Health Assembly (WHA Resolution 67.15) and the Global Plan of Action to Strengthen the Role of the Health System within a National Multisectoral Response to Address Interpersonal Violence, in Particular against Women and Girls, and against Children (WHA Resolution 69.5). It has also been prioritized in the WHO General Programme of Work 13 (2019–2023) and is a core area of focus for WHO’s work on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
What is in this resource package?
To support and guide countries and partners to strengthen a health systems response to address violence against women, WHO has produced several tools, including:
• clinical and policy guidelines;
• implementation handbooks and manuals;
• training curriculum;
• evidence-based policy, prevention and intervention strategy packages.
The resource package consolidates these documents to support countries to develop or update their national or subnational guidelines, protocols, standard operating procedures, health provider training materials, and multisectoral action plans to prevent and respond to violence against women.
The resource package is also intended to be used for training and sensitization of policy-makers, advocates, health care providers and managers of services and programmes to address violence against women.
Figure 1 shows the different documents with weblinks, and their intended audiences and uses.
Partnerships in implementing the toolkit
Implementation of the tools in this resource package in countries has been achieved through a wide range of partnerships and collaborations. The primary partnership has been with Ministries of Health (MoH) and United Nations partners, including through the Joint United Nations initiative on the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subjected to Violence, which involves UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, UNODC, and WHO. International (e.g. International Planned Parenthood Federation, Care, JHPIEGO) and national nongovernmental organizations have also been key partners and collaborators.