Prevention of intimate partner and sexual violence against

Prevention of intimate partner and sexual violence against women Prof Rachel Jewkes Director, Gender & Health Research Unit, Medical Research Council, South Africa, and Secretary, Sexual Violence Research Initiative

Prevalence of victimisation: • Most research globally on GBV has focused on victimisation, notably the WHO multi-country study found: – 15 - 71% experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) – 0. 3 - 11. 5% experienced sexual violence by a nonpartner when > 15 years • Rape perpetration research is largely from South Africa and N America, but important work in is progress in Asia Pacific region

Community-based randomly selected sample of adult men and women in Gauteng Province South Africa

Sexual and intimate partner violence have a huge impact on social development and health impact • Women exposed have a very high prevalence of mental health problems – especially depression, anxiety, PTSD and substance abuse • Research increasing shows that many of the major development problems facing a country like South Africa are aggravated by IPV and rape, including teenage pregnancy, school completion, economic empowerment, crime and violence

Prevention is essential • Primary prevention – prevention of any occurrence • Secondary prevention - Responses to assist victim/ survivors of rape/sexual violence and IPV • These two need to be understood as dynamically interconnected – the response of a society to survivors and pursuit of justice for them send powerful messages about social morality • So what underlies the problems of rape and IPV?

Rape prevention: interpreting research findings, understanding context • Local knowledge is essential – Understand the context in which rape occurs – Understand confounding • Need theoretical models that draw on understandings from a range of disciplines • Rape prevention has to include addressing the context in which rape is often perpetrated (social or environmental) as well as addressing distal factors

Intimate partner violence prevention • Important to recognise the multiple overlaps between rape and IPV • Key areas of difference: – Relationship factors – conflict, poor communication, compounded by alcohol abuse – Women’s consent to subordination which contributes to their risk

So what must we do? • Intervention must address all levels – societal, community, family and individual • Interventions with a sound theoretical basis from which one can realistically anticipate impact on behaviour change • Need to combine actions: – – those aimed at reducing perpetration those protecting victims responses for victims those aimed at removing impunity • Need a long term view of change

Intervention focus: • Strengthening the home context of childhood – starting from birth (or before) • Transformation of the practices of gender relations, thus working to reduce violence and improve relationship skills • Interventions currently proven effective include school-based programmes, out of school interventions that focus on skills-building and are gender transformative (Stepping Stones), +/economic empowerment for women • Need to recognise that the current research base of intervention evaluations is very limited but includes evidence of what does not work!