UCL-led team receive £2m to address the mental health effects of violence against women

Researchers from UCL, Sangath and SNEHA India, HAWCA Afghanistan, the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, King’s College London and the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene have been awarded a £2m NIHR Global Health Research Group grant to address the mental health effects of violence against women in South Asia. 

Led from the UCL Institute for Global Health, the grant will be used to support a large group of early career and senior researchers that spans UK and South Asian institutions.

The group will develop a package of practical measures to improve the mental health of survivors of gendered violence in India, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. Particular strengths of their work are that there are potential commonalities in support for survivors of different types of violence, and the understanding that mental health may depend as much on social as on psychological support.

Gendered forms of violence, such as violence against women, modern slavery, and civil conflict triple the risk of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thinking. Addressing these conditions in resource-constrained settings requires combined mental health, social, and institutional responses.

The award is part of a £40m investment by NIHR into world class research through its Global Health Research (GHR) Programme, focusing on research with measurable benefits to patients and the public in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

This research was commissioned by the National Institute of Health Research using Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding. 

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR): improving the health and wealth of the nation through research. 

Established by the Department of Health and Social Care, the NIHR: 

• funds high quality research to improve health 
• trains and supports health researchers 
• provides world-class research facilities 
• works with the life sciences industry and charities to benefit all 
• involves patients and the public at every step 

For further information, visit the NIHR website.

Photogaph: Tejal Pandey for SNEHA