Ipas launches toolkit to evaluate services for sexual-violence survivors

Almost 70 percent of the world's women will experience physical violence from a partner in their lifetimes.

Up to 12 percent of women worldwide have been forced to engage in sexual acts, and an estimated 70 percent have experienced violence at the hands of a partner, according to the World Health Organization.

Today, the global observance of International Women’s Day focuses on such violence, with the theme “Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women and Girls.”

But, despite increasing awareness about violence against women and its prevalence, women who seek medical attention are often subjected to health-care systems that have made few strides in integrating treatment of sexual-assault victims into their standard practices. In addition, few community networks exist to address the holistic needs of a person who has experienced a grave violation of her physical well-being and human rights.  

In light of these challenges, Ipas has released a Spanish-language toolkit to help health services and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) evaluate the quality of care they extend to sexual-assault victims.

“¡Ver y atender!: Guía práctica para conocer cómo funcionan los servicios de salud para mujeres víctimas y sobrevivientes de violencia sexual” is a practical guide to aid health facilities gauge how well they respond to sexual violence. Based on global research and Ipas experience across Latin America, the toolkit compiles information about the best practices for assisting sexual-assault victims and uses that data to develop user-friendly evaluations of services in a variety of professional and country settings.

Developed with assistance from the United Nations Population Fund, “¡Ver y atender!” includes tools that help health-care providers and institutions identify the legal issues that inform care for sexual-violence survivors; assess the quality of the various treatment services they offer; and recognize how they can collaborate with other groups that provide care to sexual-violence survivors. The instruments were tested in four Latin American countries where Ipas works: Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Virginia Chambers, director of Ipas’s Latin American programs, said: “We believe that health-care providers who serve women should have awareness of women’s basic human rights and how to protect them. Additionally, they need practical, user-friendly tools that reinforce the protection of women’s rights in the health-care setting and also government health-care policies that standardize those protections. Gender-based violence is one of the most frequent violations of women’s rights, and our hope is that this tool will contribute to the global compendium of useful instruments for serving violence victims and protecting their rights.”

The toolkit promotes a model of medical care that considers the survivor’s current and future health; it includes the collection of data about any injuries sustained during the assault but also recommends provision of ancillary services such as testing and prophylaxis for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Using this model, a sexual-assault survivor would routinely be given emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy. In addition, counseling would help the survivor deal with the psychological impact of assault, provide information about her legal and clinical options, and develop a security plan to ensure her safety.

But proper medical care is largely dependent on the knowledge and skills of the workers who interact with survivors. The guide also helps health and NGO service providers analyze the legal climate in which they must operate, so they understand possible constraints under the law (especially important when abortion care is involved) and how to negotiate with stakeholders for policy change.

While the toolkit provides resources for relevant personnel and institutions to assess themselves, it also encourages them to improve their services by asking affected women to give feedback about services through a questionnaire or interview.

Erika Troncoso, Deborah L. Billings, Olivia Ortiz and Cuautli Suárez co-authored the toolkit. An English version is forthcoming.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258