The unhealthy divide: how the secular-faith binary potentially limits GBV prevention and response

ABSTRACT

While progress has been made in creating conversations between the secular and faith actors involved in developmental issues, a distinct binary still exists. This could potentially be limiting a holistic response to gender-based violence, a global public health, development, humanitarian, and human rights issue. This article explores how perceptions of this binary – faith versus secular – are understood to impact GBV prevention and response efforts. Drawing on interviews conducted during a scoping study, the opinions and experiences of actors from faith-based organisations and academic institutions are used to shed light on how the faith-secular binary is being upheld and challenged, and how it is perceived to be impacting holistic GBV prevention and response.     

A comprehensive approach to providing services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Democratic Republic of Congo: addressing more than physical trauma

ABSTRACT

The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is impacted by a prolonged conflict and humanitarian crisis. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) affects an estimated 39.7% of women and 23.6% of men in the region, and is associated with serious medical, psychological, and socio-economic outcomes for survivors and communities. IMA World Health, a faith-based non-profit organisation, implements a USAID-funded project, Ushindi, which is a collaborative effort with three national NGOs and one technical partner in response to SGBV in eastern DRC. The consortium provides a comprehensive package of services to SGBV survivors, focusing on medical, emotional, psychological, legal, and socio-economic needs.     

Factors affecting access to primary health care services in Pakistan: a gender-based analysis

This article explores access to primary health care (PHC) services and associated factors in Pakistan. Data were collected from 302 respondents. The findings revealed that women accessed PHC services more than men due to their greater health needs. However, a large proportion of both genders did not access any PHC services. Besides general weaknesses, gender-related barriers were found in basic health unit locations, distance, transport, staff availability, income, service hours, and service organisation, confirming gender issues in access to PHC services. Policymakers are recommended to take measures to improve access to PHC services through the formulation of gender-responsive policies and strategies.     

Time poverty,gender and well-being: lessons from the Kyrgyz Swiss Swedish Health Programme

Time poverty methodologies are a response to the failure of income-based measures of poverty to reflect gendered aspects of well-being. However, national time use surveys normally fail to examine issues around women and men's qualitative evaluation of their time uses, or the extent of their control over their own time. The result could be distorted policy responses which lose sight of the original intentions of time poverty as a tool to reveal gendered elements of well-being. This paper draws on the findings of a qualitative survey to asses a rural health promotion programme in Kyrgyzstan to demonstrate this point.

La pauvreté en temps, le sexe et le bien-être: les enseignements du programme kirghiz suisse suédois

Les méthodologies liées à la pauvreté en temps constituent une réponse à l’échec des mesures de la pauvreté basées sur le revenu pour traduire les aspects du bien-être liés au genre. Cependant, les études nationales sur l'utilisation du temps n'examinent pas en général les questions concernant l’évaluation qualitative par les femmes et les hommes des manières dont ils utilisent leur temps, ni la mesure du contrôle qu'ils exercent sur leur propre temps. Le résultat pourrait être des ripostes politiques déformées qui perdent de vue les intentions initiales de la pauvreté en temps comme outil visant à mettre à jour les aspects du bien-être liés au genre. Afin de démontrer cette observation, cet article s'inspire des conclusions d'une enquête qualitative menée pour évaluer un programme de promotion de la santé rurale au Kirghizistan.

Tiempo-pobreza, el género y el bienestar: lecciones del programa de Kirguistán Suiza Sueco

Las metodologías tiempo-pobreza constituyen una alternativa ante lo insuficientes que resultan las medidas de pobreza basadas en el ingreso cuando se considera el aspecto de género en el bienestar. En general, las encuestas nacionales de uso de tiempo no abordan las evaluaciones cualitativas realizadas por mujeres y hombres en relación a su uso del tiempo, así como tampoco valoran el alcance del control que tienen sobre su tiempo. Por ello, los resultados obtenidos en estos casos podrían dar pie a la elaboración de políticas equivocadas, que ignoren la intención original de las medidas tiempo-pobreza, en cuanto medidas que evidencian el factor de género en el bienestar. Este artículo se basa en las conclusiones de un estudio cualitativo, realizado con el objetivo de evaluar un programa de promoción de la salud rural en Kirguistán, el cual fue llevado a cabo para demostrar la validez de lo anterior.

Pobreza de tempo, gênero e bem-estar: lições do programa do Quirguistão Suíça Sueca

As metodologias de pobreza do tempo são uma resposta ao fracasso de medidas da pobreza baseadas na renda em refletir aspectos do bem-estar relativos a gênero. Porém, as avaliações nacionais do uso do tempo normalmente deixam de examinar questões relacionadas à avaliação qualitativa do uso do tempo por parte de mulheres e homens ou a extensão de seu controle sobre seu próprio tempo. O resultado poderia ser o de respostas de política distorcidas que perdem de vista as intenções originais da pobreza do tempo como ferramenta para revelar elementos de bem-estar relativos a gênero. Este artigo baseia-se nos resultados de uma pesquisa qualitativa para avaliar um programa de promoção da saúde rural em Kyrgyzstan a fim de demonstrar esse ponto.     

Understanding accessibility to healthcare for elderly people in Bangladesh

Healthcare facilities for the rising number of elderly people living in rural and semi-urban areas in Bangladesh are insufficient. This article assesses the accessibility to healthcare for elderly people living in rural and semi-urban areas. Data collection was carried out using surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, and both quantitative and qualitative tools were used in analysis. Upazila hospitals, which are geographically easily accessible for elderly people in rural and semi-urban areas, have a dearth of specialist doctors to treat their chronic diseases and lack sophisticated diagnostic facilities. It is recommended that a course on gerontology be introduced in the medical curriculum to increase the number of available geriatricians, and resources allocated for sophisticated diagnostic facilities in upazila hospitals.     

Whole-person health and development: two South Indian initiatives

ABSTRACT

In responding to the 2016 reformulation of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, the development community’s efforts are focused on a sweep of initiatives aiming to promote whole-society, sustainable development. The ambition of the SDGs is inspiring, but also daunting, and does not always sit easily within national models of economic development. This viewpoint profiles two organisations in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, that have decades of experience in whole-person development among scheduled tribes and disability communities. Both organisations serve as timely examples of ongoing holistic, whole-person health and development in the context of new ideals and economic realities.     

Female entrepreneurs and poverty reduction: hair craft SMEs in Tanzania

This study attempts to link poverty alleviation with specific sectors and gender in the context of a developing country, focusing on, female hairstylists in Tanzania. Using the absolute definition of poverty based on income/consumption in relation to specific nationally and internationally defined living standards, the study examined the income and consumption patterns of 230 women engaged in the hairstyling business in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Findings suggest that female entrepreneurs in the business earn more relative to conventionally defined indicators. Their earnings have improved their consumption, investments and savings, and enabled them to fulfil their dependents’ basic needs.     

Women’s adoption of improved cook stoves in Timor-Leste: challenges and opportunities

This article examines Timorese women’s decision-making process of adoption of improved cooked stoves, using Slaski and Thurber’s conceptual framework of “motivation, affordability, and level of engagement”, developed by Slaski and Thurber (2009). Despite the obvious, evidence-based socio-economic benefits of using improved cook stoves, the majority of households still persist with their traditional cooking method. This article argues that the level of engagement with new technology needs to be contextualised in light of cultural attributes and beliefs which have led to the slow uptake of clean, efficient cooking technology.     

Gender in education: policy discourse and challenges

This article examines the socio-economic and cultural milieu of girls in Bangladesh and how it erodes the benefits of education. Laws and rules, even basic human rights, are unknown to many women. Economically active women too are affected by cultural norms and social taboos which reinforce their helplessness. Gender discrimination, especially for women, and inequity, physical, and verbal abuse persist. Women's empowerment is resisted by some women, and this poses a barrier to girls’ education, as evident from a rights perspective. Women's subordination to men is conditioned by a whole range of traditional practices embedded in the family and kin-group. Women's scope of work is mostly limited to domestic chores and care: education investment, borne out of the instrumentalist approach, is rendered ineffective as it is quite dependent upon socio-economic status and concomitant social structure. Education investment must uphold a capabilities approach to achieve sustained outcomes in education.     

Women,work, and wage equity in agricultural labour in Saiss,Morocco

This article documents wages and working conditions for landless female and male agricultural labourers in Morocco. We found that higher-paid, equipment-intensive tasks were predominantly assigned to men, whereas women often performed lower-paid, time-intensive tasks. Women were systematically paid less than men even when they performed the same tasks. Enforcing existing legislation in Morocco to ensure equal pay for women is an essential first step towards enabling women to benefit equitably with men from their agricultural labour contributions. A revalorisation of the importance of agriculture is also necessary so that agricultural labour is not perceived as an occupation of last resort.     

Practice-based insights in developing and implementing a sport-based programme for girls

Parivartan Plus is a structured sports mentoring programme for girls, implemented in a Mumbai slum where social expectations around gender-appropriate behaviour and good parenting restricts girls’ mobility and visibility in public spaces. This article presents practice-based learning from developing and implementing programme theory to empower girls in achieving changes in their everyday social interactions at home and beyond. Gender and social norms theory were combined with local practical wisdom to turn main implementation challenges into opportunities. The article reflects on the strategies that gave visibility to, and achieved community endorsement for, the erosion of restrictive gender norms while ensuring community safety.     

Teachers as social capital agents: an exploratory study from Brazil

While socialisation aspects of schooling are widely considered as significant mechanisms of reproducing social inequalities, teacher contributions are rarely examined in terms of the social-relational dimensions of student outcomes. This paper employs a social capital framework to examine teacher-student engagement in two under-resourced urban public schools in Brazil. Extended interviews with teachers reveal that inspired educators do take great initiatives to transform the nature of their relationships with low-income students into sources of critical institutional and psycho-social support. The study offers critical policy perspectives on how teachers could be enabled to potentially become social capital agents for their students.

Les enseignants comme agents de capital social : une étude exploratoire menée au Brésil

Si les aspects de la scolarisation relatifs à la socialisation sont considérés par beaucoup comme des mécanismes considérables de reproduction des inégalités sociales, les contributions des enseignants sont rarement examinées en termes des dimensions sociales-relationnelles des résultats pour les étudiants. Cet article a recours à un cadre de capital social pour examiner le dialogue enseignant-étudiant dans deux écoles publiques urbaines brésiliennes disposant de moyens insuffisants. Des entretiens étendus avec les enseignants révèlent que les pédagogues inspirés prennent effectivement de fantastiques initiatives visant à transformer la nature de leurs rapports avec des étudiants issus de familles à faible revenu en sources cruciales de soutien institutionnel et psychosocial. Cette étude offre des manières de voir cruciales sur le plan des politiques en ce qui concerne la manière dont les enseignants pourraient avoir la possibilité de devenir peut-être des agents de capital social pour leurs étudiants.

Los maestros como agentes de capital social: un estudio exploratorio en Brasil

Si bien los aspectos socializantes de la educación son ampliamente considerados como mecanismos significativos de reproducción de las desigualdades sociales, pocas veces se examinan las contribuciones que los maestros realizan en términos de las dimensiones social-relacionales de los resultados obtenidos por los estudiantes. Con el fin de analizar la interacción que tiene lugar entre maestros y estudiantes de dos escuelas públicas de escasos recursos localizadas en el ámbito urbano de Brasil, el presente artículo utiliza un marco de capital social. Las entrevistas a profundidad aplicadas a los maestros revelaron que los educadores inspirados implementan muchas iniciativas con el objetivo de modificar la naturaleza de sus relaciones con los estudiantes de bajos recursos, pretendiendo transformar tales relaciones en cruciales fuentes de apoyo institucional y psico-social. El estudio propone varias ideas políticas fundamentales vinculadas a la forma en que los maestros podrían ser capacitados de modo de convertirse en agentes de capital social para sus estudiantes.

Professores enquanto agentes de capital social: um estudo investigativo do Brasil

Embora os aspectos de socialização do ensino sejam amplamente considerados mecanismos importantes de reprodução de desigualdades sociais, as contribuições dos professores são raramente examinadas em termos das dimensões sociais-relacionais dos resultados dos estudantes. Este artigo emprega uma estrutura de capital social para examinar o engajamento professor -estudante em duas escolas públicas urbanas com recursos insuficientes no Brasil. Entrevistas mais longas com professores revelam que educadores inspirados realmente têm grandes iniciativas para transformar o recurso de sua relação com estudantes de baixa renda em fontes de apoio crítico institucional e psicossocial. O estudo oferece perspectivas de políticas críticas sobre como professores podem ser capacitados para tornarem-se potencialmente agentes de capital social para seus estudantes.     

Applying an ecological model to orphans and vulnerable children programming

Research has shown that programmes that take a holistic approach to addressing the challenges of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) are more likely to achieve sustainable outcomes. However, OVC programme staff can feel overwhelmed by the challenge of designing holistic approaches due to realities on the ground. The paper introduces an adaptation of Bronfenbrenner's ecological model of development. The framework is designed specifically to assist programme staff in constructing more holistic and integrated OVC responses by translating an established theoretical background into an approachable way to better conceptualise and support OVC intervention(s) across multiple systems and multiple sectors.     

Socio-economic determinants of the family history of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Pakistan

This article aims to assess the role of important socio-economic factors in the family history of tuberculosis patients in Pakistan. Data were collected from 269 patients, and a logistic regression was used to determine the association between risk factors and the vicious circle of TB. Results of the logistic model show that significant risk factors associated with TB history in patients were education, household size, house structure, rooms in the home, room ventilation, monthly income, income food sufficiency, smoking, diabetes, and heart disease. The current TB control programme needs to formulate strategies to target specific risk factors and poverty reduction simultaneously to break the vicious circle of tuberculosis.     

Deconstructing gender: evidence on how programmes address gender inequalities to improve health

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that incorporating approaches to address gender inequality in programmes can lead to improved health outcomes. This article aims to deconstruct the various dimensions of gender and identify how programmes address these domains to improve health. This study draws on a broader systematic review examining the impact of gender-integrated programmes on health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. We identified 68 programmes meeting our criteria for inclusion. Our analysis found considerable variation in gender domains addressed across programmes, suggesting that more evidence is needed to understand the pathways through which gender-integrated programmes influence health.     

Most Significant Change in conflict settings: staff development through monitoring and evaluation

Capoeira4Refugees is an NGO that uses the Afro-Brazilian art form of Capoeira to promote psychosocial well-being in children affected by conflict and occupation. Capoeira4Refugees introduced the Most Significant Change (MSC) methodology to monitor and evaluate project implementation and impact across two locations in the Middle East. Analysis of interviews conducted with five field staff revealed that in line with, and building on, previous research, MSC became an empowering tool that led to staff development. The potential for MSC to build staff reflexivity, independence, and leadership has implications for other organisations working in conflict areas, particularly in situations of remote management.     

Palestinian youth and non-formal service-learning: a model for personal development,long-term engagement,and peace building

Palestinian youth face developmental, cultural, and political barriers that impede them from fully engaging in civic life. Non-traditional, youth-centred pedagogies of engagement, like community-based service-learning, have shown their potential to motivate marginalised populations and provide space and roles for them to form individual identities while developing civic skills. Using data collected through focus-group interviews, this article considers the impact on West Bank youth who participated in an NGO's community-based service-learning leadership programme. Six themed findings are discussed, and the author suggests that non-school-based service-learning may have a central role to play in the civic-identity development of Palestine's most populous group of citizens.     

Learning from a leprosy project in Indonesia: making mindsets explicit for stigma reduction

International attention for disability recognises that it plays an important role in persistent poverty. Leprosy can cause preventable disability. Stigma associated with leprosy often has greater implications for people affected than physical impairments. The Stigma Assessment and Reduction of Impact (SARI) project in Indonesia employs an action research methodology to develop stigma reduction interventions. By exploring the different mindsets of the stakeholders in the reconnaissance phase of the project, the project identified differences in aspirations, attitudes to research, and conflicting intrinsic models of disability. The differences in mindsets are not symptoms of failure but, rather, should be actively sought out.     

Community rehabilitation workers as catalysts for disability: inclusive youth development through service learning

This paper explores access to health and education for disabled youth in sites with and without community rehabilitation workers (CRWs). A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire was undertaken in nine sites in South Africa, and a snowball sample of 523 disabled youths of both sexes, aged between 18 and 35 years, was selected. The survey found that a significantly larger proportion of disabled youth living in sites with CRWs were seen by health care workers at home, and that there was a large difference in educational access between sites with and without CRWs. CRWs are well positioned to promote equal citizenship for disabled youth through service learning with occupational therapy final year students to improve access to health and education, so that barriers to their participation in economic development are removed.     

Gender equality needs critical consideration in conflict-affected settings

The World Bank's 2012 World Development Report calls for gender equality on a global level but falls short on its analysis of conflict-affected contexts. It is critical that we understand the needs of vulnerable populations in these settings. This viewpoint draws on findings from research in health reform in conflict-affected contexts to highlight some opportunities and challenges for addressing gender equality in these settings, using the policy priorities outlined in the World Bank report. Drawing on this analysis we argue that more attention and action should be focused on addressing gender inequalities and inequities in neglected conflict-affected states.