1. Gender, violence and mental health: An international perspective
Ranjani.K.Murthy,
Researcher, Gender, Poverty and Health
Presentation prepared for BALM’s symposium on Gender, Violence and Mental Health,
May, 25, 2015

2. Objectives Gender GB Violence against women Mental health Connections
International policies on practice

3. Gender Relations
Gender Relations are socially constructed power relations between men and women, which interlock with other power relations like:
Race
Caste
Class
Ethnicity and religion
Abilities
Sexual orientation and gender identity
(Whitehead, Cornwall …)
NOT
GENDER ROLES

4. Violence Against Women
“Means any act of gender-based violence, that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”. UN, Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women 1993
Mobility as liberty

5. What does VAW encompass? UN, 1993
Physical, sexual psychological- wife battering, FGM, marital rape, dowry, non spousal violence, traditional practices etc
Family
Physical, sexual psychological- rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, intimidation, trafficking, forced prostitution etc
Com/work /edu
Physical, sexual psychological- perpetuated and condoned by state
State

6. Mental Health
Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. (WHO, 2014)

7. The links gender, violence and mental health (WHO)
One in 3 suffer from depression, anxiety and somatic conditions- >W
1 in 5 men and 1 in 12 women develop alcohol dependence
Violence against women (16-50%,)one important factor contributing to depression/PTSD
Rates of depression are 3-4 times higher for women who have experienced violence
Women more likely to seek for mental health, men for alcohol use- but diagnosis and treatment poor
Violence as one of the causal factors is rarely investigated;

8. Link- gender, mental health and violence the other side
Women and girls with mental illness labelled possessed/disturbed inflicted with violence
Women and girls with mental illness more vulnerable to VAW
Men and women with some forms of severe untreated mental illness may be violent against women

9. Is there attention to the links between gender, VAWG, and mental health?
Increasing
Burden of mental health diseases
VAWG
Inequality
Little-CEDAW, Vienna, Beijing, GC ICESCR, Draft SDGs
More DISABILITY CONVENTION, 2006 Beijing+20, 2015,
CEDAW, 1979 only VAW, Vienna, 1993 and Beijing, 1995 both but not interlinkage

10. Convention on rights of People with disability, 2006 – on Women
States Parties shall put in place effective legislation and policies to ensure violence against persons (women) with disabilities are identified, investigated and prosecuted.
State parties ensure access by women and girls with disabilities to social protection and poverty reduction programmes;

11. WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE Internationally/nationally
Better Statistics : UN Gender Statistics (integrate this better) and National statistics.
Beyond WHO- UNICEF, UNDP- UNDAF document
SDGs- One indicator on VAW and mental health. All women coming for mental health care screened for VAW.
Develop international and national protocol on the same
Understanding perpetrators.

12. National strategies: Gender, VAW and mental health
Integrate in NHMs
National protocol development
Training of health police, personnel
Treatment
Legal, counseling housing livelihood
Reintegration
SHGs, MGNREGA
Work with men and boys

13. Strategies: Understand perpetrators (Srivatsava, 2012)
Not sex, but gender
Childhood experience of violence
Social learning
Screen alcohol use case for violence and serious mental illness

14. Develop strategies for all three!
Gender/
masulinities
VAW
Mental health