Prevention and Response

Prevention and response

There are a growing number of well-designed studies looking at the effectiveness of prevention and response programmes. More resources are needed to strengthen the prevention of and response to intimate partner and sexual violence, including primary prevention, i.e. stopping it from happening in the first place.
Regarding primary prevention, there is some evidence from high-income countries that school-based programmes to prevent violence within dating relationships have shown effectiveness. However, these have yet to be assessed for use in resource-poor settings. Several other primary prevention strategies: those that combine economic empowerment of women with gender equality training; that promote communication and relationship skills within couples and communities; that reduce access to, and harmful use of alcohol; and that change cultural gender norms, have shown some promise but need to be evaluated further.
To achieve lasting change, it is important to enact legislation and develop policies that:

• address discrimination against women;
• promote gender equality;
• support women; and
• help to move towards more peaceful cultural norms.

An appropriate response from the health sector can play an important role in the prevention of violence. Sensitization and education of health and other service providers is therefore another important strategy. To address fully the consequences of violence and the needs of victims/survivors requires a multi-sectoral response.

WHO response

WHO, in collaboration with partners, is:

• Building the evidence base on the size and nature of violence against women in different settings and supporting countries' efforts to document and measure this violence and its consequences, including improving the methods for measuring violence against women in the context of SDG monitoring. This is central to understanding the magnitude and nature of the problem at a global level and to initiating action in countries.
• Strengthening research and research capacity to assess interventions to address partner violence.
• Undertaking interventions research to test and identify effective health sector interventions to address violence against women.
• Developing technical guidance for evidence-based intimate partner and sexual violence prevention and for strengthening the health sector responses to such violence.
• Disseminating information and supporting national efforts to advance women's health and rights and the prevention of and response to violence against women.
• Supporting countries’ to strengthen the health sector response to violence against women, including the implementation of WHO tools and guidelines.
• Collaborating with international agencies and organizations to reduce and eliminate violence globally.

Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/