Gender-based violence and infectious disease in humanitarian settings: lessons learned from Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19 to inform syndemic policy making.
Journal
Conflict and health
ISSN: 1752-1505
Titre abrégé: Confl Health
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101286573
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
20 Nov 2021
20 Nov 2021
Historique:
received:
30
03
2021
accepted:
02
11
2021
entrez:
21
11
2021
pubmed:
22
11
2021
medline:
22
11
2021
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The impacts of infectious disease outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics are not gender neutral. Instead, infectious diseases and gender-based violence (GBV) mutually reinforce each other. Women and girls in humanitarian settings are disproportionately impacted as crises exacerbate gender inequality, violence, and community transmission. A syndemic model of infectious disease and GBV draws attention to their critical linkage, enabling more effective approaches to address both infectious disease transmission and GBV prevalence. Implementation of infectious disease control measures have been consistently absent of critical gender considerations in humanitarian settings. We drew learnings from Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19 to highlight how women and girls living in humanitarian settings have faced bi-directional syndemic vulnerabilities between GBV and infectious disease. Our findings indicate that Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19 exacerbated GBV risk and experience of GBV increased community transmission of these infectious diseases. Moreover, we identified a failure of existing policies to address this mutually deleterious linkage. Thus, we advocate for policymakers to ask three foundational questions: (i) What are the gendered bi-directional risk pathways between infectious disease and GBV?; (ii) How can we act on the gendered risk pathways?; and, (iii) Who should be involved in designing, implementing, and evaluating gender-sensitive policies? Our syndemic policy framework challenges existing thinking on a neglected issue that disproportionally impacts women and girls. By offering foundational guidance to address and thwart the syndemic of infectious disease and GBV in humanitarian settings, we endeavor to proactively and holistically address the reinforcing linkage between GBV and current or emergent infectious diseases.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The impacts of infectious disease outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics are not gender neutral. Instead, infectious diseases and gender-based violence (GBV) mutually reinforce each other. Women and girls in humanitarian settings are disproportionately impacted as crises exacerbate gender inequality, violence, and community transmission. A syndemic model of infectious disease and GBV draws attention to their critical linkage, enabling more effective approaches to address both infectious disease transmission and GBV prevalence.
MAIN BODY
METHODS
Implementation of infectious disease control measures have been consistently absent of critical gender considerations in humanitarian settings. We drew learnings from Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19 to highlight how women and girls living in humanitarian settings have faced bi-directional syndemic vulnerabilities between GBV and infectious disease. Our findings indicate that Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19 exacerbated GBV risk and experience of GBV increased community transmission of these infectious diseases. Moreover, we identified a failure of existing policies to address this mutually deleterious linkage. Thus, we advocate for policymakers to ask three foundational questions: (i) What are the gendered bi-directional risk pathways between infectious disease and GBV?; (ii) How can we act on the gendered risk pathways?; and, (iii) Who should be involved in designing, implementing, and evaluating gender-sensitive policies?
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
Our syndemic policy framework challenges existing thinking on a neglected issue that disproportionally impacts women and girls. By offering foundational guidance to address and thwart the syndemic of infectious disease and GBV in humanitarian settings, we endeavor to proactively and holistically address the reinforcing linkage between GBV and current or emergent infectious diseases.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34801062
doi: 10.1186/s13031-021-00419-9
pii: 10.1186/s13031-021-00419-9
pmc: PMC8605893
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
84Informations de copyright
© 2021. The Author(s).
Références
Soc Sci Med. 2016 Nov;168:186-197
pubmed: 27665064
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015 May 07;9(5):e0003767
pubmed: 25951327
Trauma Violence Abuse. 2011 Jul;12(3):127-34
pubmed: 21511685
Vaccines (Basel). 2018 Dec 04;6(4):
pubmed: 30518082
Am J Crim Justice. 2020 Jun 6;:1-12
pubmed: 32837152
Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2020 Dec;28(1):1764748
pubmed: 32366190
Anaesthesia. 2021 Jan;76(1):132-133
pubmed: 32654118
N Engl J Med. 2017 Oct 12;377(15):1428-1437
pubmed: 26465681
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jun 29;18(13):
pubmed: 34209746
BMJ Open. 2016 Jan 07;6(1):e008859
pubmed: 26743699
PLoS One. 2018 Jan 3;13(1):e0190024
pubmed: 29298358
J Infect Dis. 2021 Sep 1;224(5):860-864
pubmed: 33395487
BMJ Glob Health. 2020 May;5(5):
pubmed: 32424014
BMJ Glob Health. 2020 Nov;5(11):
pubmed: 33208316
J Urban Health. 2016 Apr;93(2):364-78
pubmed: 27000124
Confl Health. 2018 Aug 6;12:37
pubmed: 30127845
BMJ Glob Health. 2021 Aug;6(8):
pubmed: 34413078
Lancet. 2020 Oct 10;396(10257):1059
pubmed: 33038955
Med Anthropol Q. 2003 Dec;17(4):423-41
pubmed: 14716917
Lancet. 2017 Mar 4;389(10072):941-950
pubmed: 28271845
Glob Public Health. 2021 May;16(5):692-705
pubmed: 31887070
Health Care Women Int. 2020 Nov-Dec;41(11-12):1294-1312
pubmed: 33085577
BMJ Glob Health. 2020 Sep;5(9):
pubmed: 32948618