Stigma, Discrimination and Other Social-Structural Factors Associated with Barriers to Counselling or Therapy among Women Living with HIV Who have Experienced Violence in Metro Vancouver, Canada.

Women living with HIV face high social and structural inequities that place them at heightened risk for gender-based violence and mental health conditions, alongside health services access inequities, with almost no research done to better understand access to mental health services. This study therefore examined social and structural factors associated with barriers to counselling or therapy amongst women living with HIV who experienced lifetime physical and/or sexual violence in Metro Vancouver, Canada. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression using generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% Confidence Intervals ([95%CIs] are reported).

Barriers and Facilitators to Integrating Health Service Responses to Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Comparative Health Systems and Service Analysis.

This systematic review synthesizes 11 studies of health-sector responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) in low- and middle-income countries. The services that were most comprehensive and integrated in their responsiveness to IPV were primarily in primary health and antenatal care settings. Findings suggest that the following facilitators are important: availability of clear guidelines, policies, or protocols; management support; intersectoral coordination with clear, accessible on-site and off-site referral options; adequate and trained staff with accepting and empathetic attitudes toward survivors of IPV; initial and ongoing training for health workers; and a supportive and supervised environment in which to enact new IPV protocols.