Health, Wellbeing and the elimination of violence

Description

We aim to work closely with our sister Centre for Gender and Global Health at UCL but we focus specifically on health and wellbeing in the contexts of disaster risk reduction, conflict and humanitarian crisis where sexual and reproductive health, for example, are often lacking. While violence against women and girls occurs in all settings and at all stages of development, women are more susceptible to violence during times of disasters, conflict and crisis due to increased insecurity and limited protective social systems, as has been seen dramatically during the COVID-19 crisis. Violence also includes child marriage which results in early pregnancy and social isolation, interrupts schooling, limits opportunities and increases risk of experiencing domestic violence for adolescent girls. Our research aims to make gender-based violence a more visible issue and support more informed humanitarian, development and DRR programmes.

Research : “Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices From The Sahel” 

This research was conducted with adolescent girls, their families and communities in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso and Mali where people struggle with a long, complex and violent crisis. The Centre collaborated with Plan International and their field offices to conduct and analyse interviews with adolescent girls, boys, parents, guardians and other key members of their communities in order to better understand the social context and expectations that form girls’ experiences.

There is a dearth of evidence on the situation of adolescent girls in this conflict context and their unique needs are unseen and unmet. Their age and gender make them particularly vulnerable to the surrounding violence, which many have lived with all their lives, and which affects every aspect of their existence. However, their voices are rarely heard and their rights to security, education, health - not protected in the best of times - are rarely upheld in the worst of times.

Dowload the summary and full reports from Plan International 

Research : The impacts of the Covid-19 on Domestic Workers

Launch of the report “The impact of Covid-19 on Domestic Workers in Africa”, 30th April 2021, with the International Domestic Workers’ Federation. Recording available here.

“Domestic workers’ activism during the pandemic crisis in Latin America”, Virtual Dialogues Series on Covid-19, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), 29th October 2020.

“Workers of the World, Stay Home!”, Interview for French radio France Culture. Programme World Cultures, Episode 4, part of a series on Covid-19 and labour, 3rd September 2020. (in French)

Latest publications

How violence against women and girls undermines resilience to climate risks in Chad. Le Masson, V., Benoudji, C., Reyes, S. S., & Bernard, G. (2019). Disasters, 43, S245-S270.

Covid-19 pandemic related research

Right to Health, Right to Live: Domestic Workers Facing the Covid-19 Crisis in Latin America, Acciari, L.; Britez, J. C.; Morales, A. C. (2021)  Gender & Development, 29(1), pp. 11-33, (English)

Care For Those Who Care For You! Domestic Workers’ Struggles in Times of Pandemic Crisis, Acciari, L. (2020) Interface: a journal for and about social movements – Special issue: Organizing Amidst Covid-19, 12(1), pp. 121-127, (English)

“Domestic Workers are Also Human Beings”: The Right to Paid Quarantine as a New Social Privilege?, Acciari, L. (2020)  Dilemas, Special issue: Reflections in the Pandemic, pp. 1-8, (Portuguese)

Domestic Workers’ Resistance and Struggles During the Pandemic Crisis, Pinto, C.; Acciari, L.; Brites, J.; Castro-Gomes; M. and Monticelli, T., (2021) Edited volume in collaboration with the National Federation of Domestic Workers, Santa Maria: UFSM (Portuguese)