TY - JOUR
T1 - Gender-based violence in conflict and displacement
T2 - Qualitative findings from displaced women in Colombia
AU - Wirtz, Andrea L.
AU - Pham, Kiemanh
AU - Glass, Nancy
AU - Loochkartt, Saskia
AU - Kidane, Teemar
AU - Cuspoca, Decssy
AU - Rubenstein, Leonard S.
AU - Singh, Sonal
AU - Vu, Alexander
N1 - Funding Information:
Our thanks are due to the displaced women and survivors in Colombia who provided their experiences and input to contribute to the development of the GBV screening tool. Additional gratitude is due to Gabriel Jacquet, Francy Cifuentes, Margarita María Rodríquez, Cristina Mejía, and Jennifer Lopera who supported field research. Thanks are due members of UNHCR Geneva, Margriet Veenma, and UNHCR Colombia, Terry Morel, Saskia Loochkartt, Teemar Kidane, Pär Westling, Miguel Palacios, Nora Staunton, Mauricio Erazo, Laura Badillo, Angel Granja, Cesar Mesa, Marzia Dalto who supported this project from conceptualization through implementation. We thank the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, for their review and support of this project, specifically Susanna Helfer-Vogel and Rocío Gutiérrez. We thank Pastoral San José de Guaviare, including Padre Carlos Fernando Bustamante and Mariela Legarda Ortega, and UNHCR suboffices for their efforts and use of their facility for interviews. This project was funded as a gift of the U.S. Government (U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration). Publication of this article was funded in part by the Open Access Promotion Fund of the Johns Hopkins University Libraries. Opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect UNHCR’s position or opinions.
PY - 2014/7/11
Y1 - 2014/7/11
N2 - Introduction. Gender-based violence (GBV) is prevalent among, though not specific to, conflict affected populations and related to multifarious levels of vulnerability of conflict and displacement. Colombia has been marked with decades of conflict, with an estimated 5.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and ongoing violence. We conducted qualitative research to understand the contexts of conflict, displacement and dynamics with GBV. This as part of a multi-phase, mixed method study, in collaboration with UNHCR, to develop a screening tool to confidentially identify cases of GBV for referral among IDP women who were survivors of GBV. Methods. Qualitative research was used to identify the range of GBV, perpetrators, contexts in conflict and displacement, barriers to reporting and service uptake, as well as to understand experiences of service providers. Thirty-five female IDPs, aged 18 years and older, who self-identified as survivors of GBV were enrolled for in-depth interviews in San Jose de Guaviare and Quibdo, Colombia in June 2012. Thirty-one service providers participated in six focus group discussions and four interviews across these sites. Results: Survivors described a range of GBV across conflict and displacement settings. Armed actors in conflict settings perpetrated threats of violence and harm to family members, child recruitment, and, to a lesser degree, rape and forced abortion. Opportunistic violence, including abduction, rape, and few accounts of trafficking were more commonly reported to occur in the displacement setting, often perpetrated by unknown individuals. Intrafamilial violence, intimate partner violence, including physical and sexual violence and reproductive control were salient across settings and may be exacerbated by conflict and displacement. Barriers to reporting and services seeking were reported by survivors and providers alike. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need for early identification of GBV cases, with emphasis on confidential approaches and active engagement of survivors in available, quality services. Such efforts may facilitate achievement of the goals of new Colombian laws, which seek to prevent and respond to GBV, including in conflict settings. Ongoing conflict and generalized GBV in displacement, as well as among the wider population, suggests a need to create sustainable solutions that are accessible to both IDPs and general populations.
AB - Introduction. Gender-based violence (GBV) is prevalent among, though not specific to, conflict affected populations and related to multifarious levels of vulnerability of conflict and displacement. Colombia has been marked with decades of conflict, with an estimated 5.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and ongoing violence. We conducted qualitative research to understand the contexts of conflict, displacement and dynamics with GBV. This as part of a multi-phase, mixed method study, in collaboration with UNHCR, to develop a screening tool to confidentially identify cases of GBV for referral among IDP women who were survivors of GBV. Methods. Qualitative research was used to identify the range of GBV, perpetrators, contexts in conflict and displacement, barriers to reporting and service uptake, as well as to understand experiences of service providers. Thirty-five female IDPs, aged 18 years and older, who self-identified as survivors of GBV were enrolled for in-depth interviews in San Jose de Guaviare and Quibdo, Colombia in June 2012. Thirty-one service providers participated in six focus group discussions and four interviews across these sites. Results: Survivors described a range of GBV across conflict and displacement settings. Armed actors in conflict settings perpetrated threats of violence and harm to family members, child recruitment, and, to a lesser degree, rape and forced abortion. Opportunistic violence, including abduction, rape, and few accounts of trafficking were more commonly reported to occur in the displacement setting, often perpetrated by unknown individuals. Intrafamilial violence, intimate partner violence, including physical and sexual violence and reproductive control were salient across settings and may be exacerbated by conflict and displacement. Barriers to reporting and services seeking were reported by survivors and providers alike. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need for early identification of GBV cases, with emphasis on confidential approaches and active engagement of survivors in available, quality services. Such efforts may facilitate achievement of the goals of new Colombian laws, which seek to prevent and respond to GBV, including in conflict settings. Ongoing conflict and generalized GBV in displacement, as well as among the wider population, suggests a need to create sustainable solutions that are accessible to both IDPs and general populations.
KW - Colombia
KW - Conflict
KW - Displacement
KW - Gender-based violence
KW - Humanitarian settings
KW - Intimate partner violence
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U2 - 10.1186/1752-1505-8-10
DO - 10.1186/1752-1505-8-10
M3 - Article
C2 - 25076981
AN - SCOPUS:84904087075
SN - 1752-1505
VL - 8
JO - Conflict and Health
JF - Conflict and Health
IS - 1
M1 - 10
ER -