Comparing health systems readiness for integrating domestic violence services in Brazil, occupied Palestinian Territories, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Domestic violence (DV) is a global prevalent health problem leading to adverse health consequences, yet health systems are often unprepared to address it. This article presents a comparative synthesis of the health system's pre-conditions necessary to enable integration of DV in health services in Brazil, Nepal, Sri Lanka and occupied Palestinian Territories (oPT). A cross-country, comparative analysis was conducted using a health systems readiness framework. Data collection involved multiple data sources, including qualitative interviews with various stakeholders; focus-group discussions with women; structured facility observations; and a survey with providers. Our findings highlight deficiencies in policy and practice that need to be addressed for an effective DV response. Common readiness gaps include unclear and limited guidance on DV, unsupportive leadership coupled with limited training and resources. Most providers felt unprepared, lacked guidance and felt unsupported and unprotected by managers and their health system. While in Brazil most providers felt they should respond to DV cases, many in Sri Lanka preferred not to. Such organizational and service delivery challenges, in turn, also affected how health providers responded to DV cases leaving them not confident, uncertain about their knowledge and unsure about their role. Furthermore, providers' personal beliefs and values on DV and gender norms also impacted their motivation and ability to respond, prompting some to become 'activists' while others were reluctant to intervene and prone to blame women. Our synthesis also pointed to a gap in women's use of health services for DV as they had low trust in providers. Our conceptual framework demonstrates the importance of having clear policies and highlights the need to engage leadership across every level of the system to reframe challenges and strengthen routine practices. Future research should also determine the ways in which women's understanding and needs related to DV help-seeking are addressed.

Ethical challenges in global research on health system responses to violence against women: a qualitative study of policy and professional perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Studying global health problems requires international multidisciplinary teams. Such multidisciplinarity and multiculturalism create challenges in adhering to a set of ethical principles across different country contexts. Our group on health system responses to violence against women (VAW) included two universities in a European high-income country (HIC) and four universities in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to investigate professional and policy perspectives on the types, causes of, and solutions to ethical challenges specific to the ethics approval stage of the global research projects on health system responses to VAW. METHODS: We used the Network of Ethical Relationships model, framework method, and READ approach to analyse qualitative semi-structured interviews (n = 18) and policy documents (n = 27). In March-July 2021, we recruited a purposive sample of researchers and members of Research Ethics Committees (RECs) from the five partner countries. Interviewees signposted policies and guidelines on research ethics, including VAW. RESULTS: We developed three themes with eight subthemes summarising ethical challenges across three contextual factors. The global nature of the group contributed towards power and resource imbalance between HIC and LMICs and differing RECs' rules. Location of the primary studies within health services highlighted differing rules between university RECs and health authorities. There were diverse conceptualisations of VAW and vulnerability of research participants between countries and limited methodological and topic expertise in some LMIC RECs. These factors threatened the timely delivery of studies and had a negative impact on researchers and their relationships with RECs and HIC funders. Most researchers felt frustrated and demotivated by the bureaucratised, uncoordinated, and lengthy approval process. Participants suggested redistributing power and resources between HICs and LMICs, involving LMIC representatives in developing funding agendas, better coordination between RECs and health authorities and capacity strengthening on ethics in VAW research. CONCLUSIONS: The process of ethics approval for global research on health system responses to VAW should be more coordinated across partners, with equal power distribution between HICs and LMICs, researchers and RECs. While some of these objectives can be achieved through education for RECs and researchers, the power imbalance and differing rules should be addressed at the institutional, national, and international levels. Three of the authors were also research participants, which had potential to introduce bias into the findings. However, rigorous reflexivity practices mitigated against this. This insider perspective was also a strength, as it allowed us to access and contribute to more nuanced understandings to enhance the credibility of the findings. It also helped to mitigate against unequal power dynamics.

Violência sexual contra mulheres por parceiro íntimo e desigualdade de gênero na voz dos profissionais da Atenção Primária à Saúde / Violencia sexual contra las mujeres por parte de la pareja íntima y desigualdad de género en la voz de los profesionales de la Atención Primaria de Salud / Sexual violence against women by intimate partner and gender inequality in the voice of Primary Health Care professionals

É difícil reconhecer o sexo forçado vivido nas relações sexuais no âmbito doméstico como violência. Há também uma imprecisão entre a violência, tal como no sexo forçado, e a desigualdade de gênero, como na aceitação do dever marital. Buscou-se compreender o que profissionais da Atenção Primária pensam sobre essas duas experiências, como interpretam relatos das mulheres e o que fazem sobre isso. Entrevistados, os profissionais dizem que sexo forçado ou sexo sem consentimento explícito são ambos violência, e assim devem ser nomeados. Agindo desse modo, eles pensam esclarecer suas pacientes acerca dos direitos das mulheres. No entanto, no dia a dia, nem todos o fazem e ninguém reconheceu ou nomeou a aceitação do dever marital como desigualdade de gênero. Conclui-se que, se a violência está presente como questão, sua distinção quanto à desigualdade de gênero ainda é um desafio.(AU)

Es difícil reconocer el sexo forzado vivido en las relaciones sexuales en el ámbito doméstico como violencia. Hay también una imprecisión entre la violencia, tal como en el sexo forzado, y la desigualdad de género, como en la aceptación del deber conyugal. Se buscó entender lo que los profesionales de la atención primaria piensan sobre esas dos experiencias, cómo interpretan los relatos de las mujeres y qué hacen sobre eso. Al ser entrevistados, los profesionales decían que el sexo forzado o el sexo sin consentimiento explícito son violencia y deben ser denominados como tal. Actuando así, ellos piensan aclarar a sus pacientes los derechos de las mujeres. Sin embargo, en el cotidiano no todos lo hacen y ninguno reconoció o nombró la aceptación del deber conyugal como desigualdad de género. Se concluyó que la violencia está presente como cuestión y que su distinción con relación a la igualdad de género todavía es un desafío.(AU)

Studies show how difficult it is to recognize what is experienced in sexual relationships within households. There is an inaccuracy between violence as in the forced sex, and gender inequality as in the acceptance of the marital duty. We aimed to understand what health care providers think about these two experiences, how they interpret women's reports and what they do about it. Interviewed, the professionals say that both forced sex and sex with no explicit consent are violence and so they should be named. By doing so, professionals intend to enlighten their patients about women's rights. However, in everyday life not everyone does and no one recognized or named marital duty as gender inequality. We conclude that if violence is present as an issue, its distinction in relation to gender inequality is still a challenge.(AU)

Atenção primária à saúde e os serviços especializados de atendimento a mulheres em situação de violência: expectativas e desencontros na voz dos profissionais / Primary health care and the specialized care services to women in situation of violence: expectations and mismatches in the voice of professionals

Resumo O trabalho em rede tem papel central na assistência a mulheres em situação de violência. Este estudo analisa as diferentes perspectivas desse trabalho para profissionais da Atenção Primária e profissionais de serviços especializados nas áreas de assistência social, assistência jurídica e segurança pública, na cidade de São Paulo, Brasil. Realizaram-se entrevistas semi-estruturadas com 16 profissionais dos serviços especializados e 46 da saúde. Os eixos para a análise temática foram: o que os profissionais sabem e pensam sobre os demais serviços; sua atuação a partir disso; e suas expectativas. Os dados revelaram conhecimento insuficiente sobre os distintos serviços, resultando em dificuldades comunicativas, bem como em encaminhamentos equivocados pautados em idealizações sobre como deveria atuar o outro serviço. Concluímos que cada setor é bastante autônomo e seus serviços partem de seu próprio campo de atuação para definir aquilo que seria melhor para a mulher. O conjunto funciona mais como uma trama de serviços do que como uma rede.

Abstract Networking plays a central role in assisting women in situations of violence. This study analyzes how different the work perspectives are for Primary Care professionals and specialized services professionals in the areas of social and law assistance, and public security in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 16 professionals from specialized services and 46 from the health sector. The axes for a thematic analysis were: what professionals know and think about services other than their own; their performance based on that; and their expectations. The findings revealed insufficient knowledge of the different services, resulting in communication difficulties as well as wrong referrals to other services, based on how other services would ideally work. We concluded that each sector is autonomous and its services start from its own field of action to define what would be best for women. The set works more like a mesh of services than a network.