Introduction Violence against women is one of the major social problems of our time and a violation of women's human rights. Globally, it is estimated that one out of three women are exposed to some type of violence. Extensive, consequential health problems lead women subjected to violence to seek medical treatment more frequently than women who are not subjected to violence.   Aim The aim was to describe abused women's experiences of the healthcare providers’ encounter in contact with the health and medical services. Method General literature study with an inductive approach and descriptive design. Result The women were reluctant to start conversations about violence on their own initiative, why healthcare providers became a crucial actor in violence disclosure and could, in some cases, be the only chance in identifying violence. Several women had never been asked about violence, instead they described negative experiences of medical services where healthcare providers had acted in a manner which left them feeling humiliated and insulted. A minority of the women experienced that the disclosure of violence had led to better medical care and that the healthcare providers subsequently were also able to support the women through following vulnerable medical procedures. Healthcare providers who showed understanding and empathy could contribute to a comfortable and trusting experience. The women preferred to speak to healthcare providers of their own sex, particularly nurses and midwives. Healthcare providers’ validation and terminological explanations of abuse and violence were also important to help women disclose violence. Conclusion This literature study demonstrates substantial challenges in healthcare services’ response to the patient group of women subjected to violence, in a person-centered manner.The healthcare provider plays an important role in the response of these women. More knowledge and competence is required to develop the healthcare’s response to women subjected to violence. / Introduktion Våld mot kvinnor är ett av vår tids stora samhällsproblem samt en kränkning av kvinnors mänskliga rättigheter. Globalt estimeras att en av tre kvinnor utsatts för någon typ av våld. Hälsoproblemen är omfattande vilket gör att våldsutsatta kvinnor söker vård mer frekvent än icke våldsutsatta. Syfte Syftet var att beskriva våldsutsatta kvinnors erfarenheter av vårdpersonalens bemötande i kontakt med hälso- och sjukvården. Metod  Litteraturöversikt med induktiv ansats samt deskriptiv design. Resultat Kvinnorna ville sällan själva ta initiativ till samtal om våld. Sjukvården blev därför en viktig resurs vid avslöjandet om våld och kunde i vissa fall vara den enda chansen att identifiera våld. Flertalet kvinnorna hade inte blivit tillfrågade om våld, utan beskrev istället negativa vårderfarenheter där sjukvårdspersonal agerat på ett sådant sätt att de känt sig förnedrade och kränkta. En minoritet av kvinnor tyckte att avslöjandet lett till bättre vård samt att vårdpersonal därefter kunnat hjälpa kvinnorna igenom svåra vårdsituationer. Vårdpersonal som försökt förstå och visat empati kunde skapa en bekväm och tillitsfull situation. Kvinnorna föredrog att prata med sjukvårdspersonal av samma kön, företrädelsevis sjuksköterskor samt barnmorskor. Sjukvårdspersonalens validering samt begreppsförklaring av övergrepp och våld var likaså viktiga för att hjälpa kvinnornas avslöjande. Slutsats  Av litteraturöversikten framgår att hälso- och sjukvården haft framstående svårigheter med att bemöta gruppen våldsutsatta kvinnor på ett personcentrerat sätt.Vårdpersonalen har en betydelsefull roll vid bemötande av dessa kvinnor. Ökad kunskap och kompetens behövs för att utveckla vårdpersonalens bemötande av våldsutsatta kvinnor.

This thesis will explore how the municipal governments integration provision provides mental health aid towards refugee women that has been exposed to gender-based violence within Östergörland region in Sweden. This will be achieved by using a thematic analysis application on the gathered data that was conducted through semi-structured interviews with three municipal governments in Östergötland region and two external actors, one regional refugee medical center and the other actor is a non-profit organization in Sweden. The multilevel governance framework will be used to analyze the findings from the interviews with the participants to get a throughout and an in-depth analysis. The findings show how the integration provision of providing mental health aid towards gender-based exposed refugee women, is provided through collaboration with outside actors. With the health care being controlled by the Östergötland regional government, the funds given to the municipalities does not cover project for mental health provision.

This thesis intends to explore the conditions of gender-based violence in Latin America and how it interacts with government type, crime rates, and religion. Currently, feminicide is perceived at higher rates in countries such as Mexico and Guatemala. A significantly higher indigenous community, Catholicism, and increased crime organizations are also present in these countries. Therefore, to uphold fundamental human rights, there needs to be a change in how gender-based violence, especially feminicide, is reported. The discussion will include a connection between the variables listed.

Sexual abuse is increasingly covered in mainstream public media in Kenyan magazines.This thesis examines the perception of victims of sexual abuse in public opinion through the lens of intersectional and queer theory. This study aims to consider how are the victims of sexual abuse presented in the local mainstream media, using examples from articles from The Star Magazine, and what is missing in discussions around gender-based violence? The thesis also concluded that silence around sexuality education impacts the depiction of sexual abuse and its victims.

This field study is a thematic and feminist institutionalist analysis on how the civil society and grassroot activists in Gauteng province, South Africa, has been affected and mitigated during and after the COVID -19 pandemic in their work against gender-based violence. The data consist of five semi structured interviews with primary sources, divided in the two sub-groups of activists and formal NGO representatives.  The study presents civil society and activist viewpoints on adaptation, feminist movement building as well as shrinking space and crisis within crisis. This qualitative study is a thematic analysis linked to the theoretical framework of feminist institutionalism in the context of South Africa. The results reflect issues of representation, power balances linked to organizational status, accountability, transparency, and democracy. Conclusion of this study is that need for adaptation and to mitigate the crisis within crisis (GBV and COVID -19 pandemic) is predominant for all stakeholders, but the viewpoints on how the pandemic affected the cooperation within the civil society sector varies between the two subgroups. The formal NGO’s viewpoint in this study is that the pandemic strengthened the cooperation within civil society and with institutions. However, the grassroot activist group’s perspective is that the pandemic created a split within the feminist movement. Shrinking democratic space is evidently affecting the grassroot activist group to a larger extent. The formal NGO group articulates an improved dialogue and cooperation with institutions and an enhanced political will to address gender-based violence.  All stakeholders that were interviewed in this study articulates that the context with new emerging crises, such as power-poverty, inflation and food shortage are challenging the possibilities to address the “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence which is still a predominant human rights and democratic crisis in South Africa. This study contributes to the context analysis around implementation of the national strategic plan on gender-based violence and femicide and informs on challenges on feminist institutionalism in post-pandemic South Africa.

This study examines sexual violence against women in armed conflict settings as a form of discrimination within the framework of CEDAW. Informed by Judith Butler's theory of Gender Performativity emphasizes that gender is socially constructed. This study utilizes existing literature reviews and reports; the analysis focuses on gender-based violence, revealing its structural nature. Using the Democratic Republic of Congo as a case study, it highlights the interplay of ethnic, political, and economic factors leading to extreme violence. The study emphasizes the authority of the CEDAW committee to propose an inclusive and understandable protocol, protecting women's rights universally. Overcoming barriers like structural discrimination is crucial to strengthening CEDAW's response. The study acknowledges the need to avoid generalizations and underscores the urgency of enhancing the existing framework to protect women during armed conflicts. It contributes to human rights discourse by emphasizing the inherent nature of human rights and equal protection for all individuals.

The term “shadow pandemic” arose along with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic globally, referring to the parallel increase of gender-based violence (GBV) as a result of lockdowns, preventive measures and economic hardships in almost every nation worldwide, including Ethiopia, with one of the highest rates of GBV in the world. With limited physical access to essential services and support, information and communication(ICT) services became an important factor to rely on. Based on interviews with four Ethiopian organisations working with women’s health and rights, this study investigates how ICT services were implemented to support victims of GBV during COVID-19 in Ethiopia, including the facilitators and barriers to using these services for women seeking support and information. The study finds that all four organisations either created new or scaled up existing ICT services during COVID-19. The ICT services provided by the organisations were mainly telephone helplines, while interactive voice response services and mobile chat applications were also provided as channels for support. The identified facilitators and barriers to using these ICT services were related to accessibility and technology, language and cultural traditions, and anonymity and security. While the use of ICT services for victims of GBV seems to be a functioning option for many when the access to in-person support is limited, barriers such as the lack and disruption of networks and telephones still pose a significant challenge for women in rural areas to use the support systems provided by the organisations. A postcolonial feminist approach to the findings highlights the need for a contextualisation of the services and the need to move away from simplistic assumptions that access to services automatically leads to active use and empowerment, and the need to work with an intersectional lens and multiple layers of analysis when battling sensitive issues like GBV in areas where harmful practices are part of longstanding cultural traditions, to ensure access and active use for groups in different contexts and areas throughout the country.

Yemen is a conflict ridden country facing humanitarian issues as well as high levels of inequality, both due to the conflict itself but also the patriarchal hierarchy and customs that elevates men above women. The population of Yemen faces inequality in more than one way, however this study will be focusing on the recurring gender-based violence.  Gender-based violence is a widespread phenomenon and something that affects more than a third of women globally, whether it be through physical violence or more invisible forms such as emotional or financial abuse. This study will focus mainly on the physical abuse, including sexual violence in relation to the ongoing conflict, as well as harmful customs and practices that exists in Yemen. By using an intersectional framework and horizontal inequality the objective of this thesis is to examine how different social factors contribute to increasing gender-based violence. Moreover, this research aims to investigate the role of international organizations in relation to gender inequality and gender-based violence in a conflict ridden country, as well as potential initiatives done by the state of Yemen.  In conclusion, this study emphasizes how critical it is to adapt interventions to the specific obstacles suffered by women in conflict areas in order to assist with upcoming initiatives supporting women's empowerment and gender equality in Yemen and other similar circumstances. Additionally, this thesis concludes the importance of implementing both intersectionality and horizontal inequality as frameworks both on Yemen as a case study and on gender-based violence generally, as the issues are broad and fueled by many contributing factors. This is also what is missing from earlier research, broad and inclusive theories that can be applied to the specific case of gender-based violence in Yemen.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) involves aggressive or abusive behaviour that harms or intimidates a current or former romantic partner. Although sexual and gender diverse (2S/LGBTQIA+) people may disproportionately experience IPV, their experiences are not well documented in the Canadian context. This multi-methods qualitative study documents 2S/LGBTQIA+ survivors’ experiences with IPV and access to related services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic via in-depth interviews with survivors and service providers. Survivors experienced multiple, concurrent forms of abuse that contributed to poor mental health outcomes, both of which were intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Survivors had difficulty recognizing themselves as victims and were unaware of services. Services are insufficiently funded and unable to meet the needs of their communities. Gender-based violence organizations want to serve transgender women and transfeminine people but second-wave feminist frameworks in policy and funding mechanisms are a barrier to expanding services. Service providers need predictable, annualized funding, must improve outreach, and shift to an intersectional feminist framework that includes 2S/LGBTQIA+ people. Comprehensive sexual health education and regular IPV screenings by mental health professionals are crucial for IPV prevention.

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