Citation

Logie CH, Daniel C, Ahmed U, Lash R. Glob. Health Action 2016; 10(Suppl 2): 1270816.

Affiliation

e Faculty of Anthropology , Dalhousie University , Halifax , NS , Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Centre for Global Health Research (CGH) at Umeå University, Sweden, Publisher Co-Action Publishing)

DOI

10.1080/16549716.2017.1270816

PMID

28219254

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Haiti's 2010 earthquake devastated social, health, and economic infrastructure and left 2 million persons homeless. Over 6 years later 61,000 people remain displaced, most lacking protection, services, and durable solutions. Structural contexts elevate risks of gender-based violence (GBV) targeting internally displaced (ID) girls and women.

OBJECTIVE: We used an intersectionality framework to explore lived experiences and understanding of violence among ID young men and women in Leogane, Haiti.

METHODS: We conducted six focus groups, three with ID young women (n = 30) and three with ID young men (n = 30) aged 18-24 years, and 11 in-depth individual interviews with frontline workers in Leogane. Focus groups and interviews were conducted in Kreyol, transcribed verbatim, translated into English, and analyzed using narrative thematic techniques.

RESULTS: Findings revealed violence experienced by ID youth was (re)produced at the intersection of gender, poverty, displacement, and age. Multi-level forms of violence included structural (e.g. poverty), community (e.g. gender norms, and interpersonal (e.g. family expectations) dimensions. Coping strategies spanned intrapersonal (hope), community (social support), and structural (employment/education) dimensions.

CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to reduce violence should be tailored to address the social inequities that emerge at the intersection of youth, poverty, displacement, and hegemonic gender norms.

Language: en

Keywords

Displacement; HIV; gender-based violence; masculinity; structural violence