Citation

Vogel J. East Mediterr. Health J. 2013; 19(3): 219-226.

Affiliation

Gender in Health and Development Unit, World Health Organization, Regional Officer for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt. vogelj@emro.who.int

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, World Health Organization)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

23879072

Abstract

Health care providers have an important role to play in the prevention and response to violence against women. However, the existing tools for screening for gender-based violence have been mostly formulated in the context of developed countries. This paper assesses which violence screening tools designed for use as the primary health care level would be feasible for use in Afghanistan and Pakistan, countries characterized by limited resources, unsupportive institutional frameworks and gender and social norms that reinforce domestic violence. A systematic review was made of the literature to evaluate the different screening instruments. The Women's Experience with Battering Scale (short version) and the Ongoing Violence Assessment Tool were judged to be the most useful tools for screening for violence against women in Afghanistan and Pakistan because they are short, S easy to administer and to score and respond to health care provider identified barriers of time and knowledge constraints for conducting screening for intimate partner violence.

Language: en