Introduction: Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a violation against human rights with severe implications for the health of women globally. Migrant women may be exposed to a heightened risk of SGBV as well as obstacles that impair their ability to respond to violence and access care. The aim of this meta-synthesis is to explore healthcare providers’ perceptions and experiences of caring for migrant women affected by SGBV in North America and Europe, in order to identify facilitating factors and strategies used to overcome existing barriers to the provision of care. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted between February and April 2019 by using the databases PubMed, Scopus, Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA) and Proquest Social Science Premium Collection. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The ten studies included illustrate perceptions and experiences of healthcare providers from multiple professional backgrounds in the United States, Great Britain and Sweden. Three themes derived from the analysis; (a) Providing a patient-centred care; (b) Knowledge and training-key factors affecting screening and response; and (c) Working under psychologically demanding conditions. Conclusion: Healthcare providers address violence screening and response by adopting a patient-centred approach to care, facilitated by trust-building strategies and external support. However, barriers grounded in a lack of knowledge and training, underline a need of context specific guidelines and screening tools. Further, emotional distress and health issues bring attention to the importance of support mechanisms when caring for migrant women affected by SGBV.

<p>The thesis firstly looks at how women&rsquo / s right to freedom from violence has developed in international (global) human rights law since the early 1990s. In this regard, the study finds that while the issue of violence against women (and women&rsquo / s rights generally) was barely on the international human rights agenda at the beginning of this period, an enormous degree of development has subsequently taken place. Through the adoption of documents such as General Recommendation No. 19 by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Declaration on Elimination of Violence against Women and the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, international norms and standards were set regarding role of the State in providing women with protection against violence.</p>

The thesis finds that the majority of women affected by HIV and AIDS in South Africa still live in conditions of poor access to health services, inadequate access to housing, limited access to property and live amidst gender-based violence. Nevertheless, there exist legal protections and jurisprudential developments in the country that are significant for the realisation of women’s rights in the context of HIV and AIDS. The thesis concludes that the law is not the ultimate site for change to improve women’s lives, but that applied with other efforts, can be transformative.

Efforts to increase girls‘ access to quality education focus mostly on removing obstacles linked to poverty and discrimination, and often fail to acknowledge the violence many of them suffer in, around, and on the way to and from school. The objective of the present research is to examine the barriers to combating male sexual and gender-based violence in schools at the community level, and to consider community and expert-issued suggestions on removing these obstacles in the Ghanaian context. It does so through the lens of the Gender and Development approach and uses the Ecological Model of Gender-based Violence. Inspired by the standpoint feminist approach to research, data collection in Awaso and Accra involved classroom observation in four (4) Junior high school classes, 19 qualitative interviews with government and civil society personnel, and four (4) focus group discussions with parents, students and teachers. The findings show that barriers to eliminating male sexual and gender-based violence in Awaso include lack of knowledge of girls‘ rights to protection from violence, of consequences of violence against women and girls and of reporting mechanisms. Other barriers identified were lack of resources at the family and government levels, traditional values of family, community and religion, and social perceptions of both gender hierarchies and violence against women and girls. Gendered power dynamics underlie these barriers and hinder progress on the issue of girls‘ protection from violence, but groups of Ghanaian women, girls, men and boys are challenging these dynamics and finding ways to make schools safer for girls. Their strategies for change are also featured in the present research.

Efforts to increase girls‘ access to quality education focus mostly on removing obstacles linked to poverty and discrimination, and often fail to acknowledge the violence many of them suffer in, around, and on the way to and from school. The objective of the present research is to examine the barriers to combating male sexual and gender-based violence in schools at the community level, and to consider community and expert-issued suggestions on removing these obstacles in the Ghanaian context. It does so through the lens of the Gender and Development approach and uses the Ecological Model of Gender-based Violence. Inspired by the standpoint feminist approach to research, data collection in Awaso and Accra involved classroom observation in four (4) Junior high school classes, 19 qualitative interviews with government and civil society personnel, and four (4) focus group discussions with parents, students and teachers. The findings show that barriers to eliminating male sexual and gender-based violence in Awaso include lack of knowledge of girls‘ rights to protection from violence, of consequences of violence against women and girls and of reporting mechanisms. Other barriers identified were lack of resources at the family and government levels, traditional values of family, community and religion, and social perceptions of both gender hierarchies and violence against women and girls. Gendered power dynamics underlie these barriers and hinder progress on the issue of girls‘ protection from violence, but groups of Ghanaian women, girls, men and boys are challenging these dynamics and finding ways to make schools safer for girls. Their strategies for change are also featured in the present research.

<p>The thesis firstly looks at how women&rsquo / s right to freedom from violence has developed in international (global) human rights law since the early 1990s. In this regard, the study finds that while the issue of violence against women (and women&rsquo / s rights generally) was barely on the international human rights agenda at the beginning of this period, an enormous degree of development has subsequently taken place. Through the adoption of documents such as General Recommendation No. 19 by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Declaration on Elimination of Violence against Women and the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, international norms and standards were set regarding role of the State in providing women with protection against violence.</p>

The thesis finds that the majority of women affected by HIV and AIDS in South Africa still live in conditions of poor access to health services, inadequate access to housing, limited access to property and live amidst gender-based violence. Nevertheless, there exist legal protections and jurisprudential developments in the country that are significant for the realisation of women’s rights in the context of HIV and AIDS. The thesis concludes that the law is not the ultimate site for change to improve women’s lives, but that applied with other efforts, can be transformative.

This Photovoice study engaged Indigenous girls, aged fifteen, in a participatory study to explore their knowledge of commercial sexual exploitation. Through photos, writing, and discussion four major themes emerged: i. all the participant-researchers had directly experienced and witnessed various incidences of sexual exploitation; ii. the sexual exploitation of Indigenous girls is pervasive and normalized; iii. racialization impacts on life as an Indigenous girl, and finally; iv. friendly and accessible services are critical to preventing and intervening in sexual exploitation but are inadequate. Overall the findings that emerged from the girls’ photos and stories indicate that in view of historic conditions and ongoing racialization and sexualization Indigenous girls are very vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Broad-level change is needed in order to eventually eradicate the sexual exploitation of Indigenous girls. In the meantime, there is the continued need for immediate, community support for girls in regard to sexual exploitation. More research engaging Indigenous girls directly in knowledge creation is needed.

Efforts to increase girls‘ access to quality education focus mostly on removing obstacles linked to poverty and discrimination, and often fail to acknowledge the violence many of them suffer in, around, and on the way to and from school. The objective of the present research is to examine the barriers to combating male sexual and gender-based violence in schools at the community level, and to consider community and expert-issued suggestions on removing these obstacles in the Ghanaian context. It does so through the lens of the Gender and Development approach and uses the Ecological Model of Gender-based Violence. Inspired by the standpoint feminist approach to research, data collection in Awaso and Accra involved classroom observation in four (4) Junior high school classes, 19 qualitative interviews with government and civil society personnel, and four (4) focus group discussions with parents, students and teachers. The findings show that barriers to eliminating male sexual and gender-based violence in Awaso include lack of knowledge of girls‘ rights to protection from violence, of consequences of violence against women and girls and of reporting mechanisms. Other barriers identified were lack of resources at the family and government levels, traditional values of family, community and religion, and social perceptions of both gender hierarchies and violence against women and girls. Gendered power dynamics underlie these barriers and hinder progress on the issue of girls‘ protection from violence, but groups of Ghanaian women, girls, men and boys are challenging these dynamics and finding ways to make schools safer for girls. Their strategies for change are also featured in the present research.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:46:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarwylaGL_DISSERT.pdf: 1835757 bytes, checksum: 903840c5717708199f06b9fc18d0784e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-30 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Cotidianamente, as mulheres s?o v?timas de uma viol?ncia espec?fica perpetrada pelos companheiros. Esses, tomados pelo sentimento de posse, superioridade e domina??o, a praticam contra a mulher, na esfera de uma rela??o ?ntima de afeto, no ?mbito dom?stico onde se d?o as rela??es de familiaridade. Esse tipo espec?fico de crime foi, no dia 06 de outubro de 2006, contemplado com o advento da Lei 11.340/06, conhecida como Lei Maria da Penha, que ? a primeira Lei espec?fica de combate a viol?ncia de g?nero praticada as mulheres. Essa viol?ncia foi por muitos anos invisibilizada, sendo somente na d?cada de 70, ap?s o acontecimento de v?rios crimes passionais que ocorreram nesse per?odo, que o movimento feminista conseguiu, por interm?dio de v?rios atos p?blicos, publicizar a viol?ncia de g?nero perpetrada as mulheres. A partir da d?cada de 80, as feministas come?aram a lutar pelas primeiras pol?ticas p?blicas de combate a essa viol?ncia, o que proporcionou a cria??o da primeira DEAM que, apesar de representar uma grande conquista para as mulheres por criminalizar os atos de viol?ncia, sem uma lei espec?fica para lhe dar suporte, e tendo em vista que os profissionais que nela atuavam n?o eram sensibilizados(as) para compreender o comportamento amb?guo das mulheres - de sa?da e retorno da rela??o-, pouco se avan?ou nesse sentido. Em 2005, o Poder Judici?rio preocupado com a falta de celeridade processual e entendendo que a concilia??o seria uma proposta vi?vel para seu desafogamento, promulgou a Lei 9.099/95 fazendo surgir no pa?s a figura dos Juizados Especiais Criminais, constitu?dos para julgar os crimes de menor potencial ofensivo, onde foi abarcado o crime de viol?ncia de g?nero contra a mulher, constituindo um retrocesso na luta pelo fim dessa viol?ncia. Em 2006, com o advento da Lei Maria da Penha, surgem a figura dos Juizados de Viol?ncia Dom?stica e Familiar Contra a Mulher, com compet?ncia civil e criminal devolvendo ?s DEAM?s seu objeto prim?rio de interven??o e retomando o Inqu?rito policial. Em Natal, resultado da pesquisa realizada com 5 profissionais das ?reas jur?dico/policial, p?de-se obter como resultado que, os(as) aplicadores de ambas as ?reas tem um entendimento limitado acerca da categoria g?nero, fundamental para entender esse tipo penal; apenas um, dos cinco entrevistados n?o foram capacitados para aplicarem a Lei; que apesar da exist?ncia de uma rede social de apoio ?s v?timas, essa n?o se d? de forma articulada; que a maior prote??o ofertada ? v?tima ? a casa-abrigo e outras medidas protetivas de urg?ncia. Entre tantos limites encontrados para aplica??o da Lei, est?o: a falta de uma estrutura adequada, falta de um trabalho com o agressor e o fato da Lei ser condicionada a representa??o da ofendida. Entre os avan?os, p?de-se destacar as medidas protetivas de urg?ncia como sendo aquilo de mais inovador e ?gil proporcionado pela Lei