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Established to tackle violence against women and girls, the Gender Violence and Health Centre was instrumental in bringing the problem of violence against women to global attention.

While this is still a core focus of our work, our scope has expanded to include a growing number of projects on violence against children and adolescents. The Gender Violence and Health Centre members also conducted one of the first surveys to estimate prevalence of intimate partner violence against men in same-sex relationships, and have led major studies into human trafficking and labour exploitation.

At the core of all of our work is an understanding of the importance of social norms and power imbalances in perpetuating and creating vulnerabilities to violence. Our action-oriented research aims to equip policy makers, practitioners and activists with the evidence they need to create lasting social change.

Our major themes

Extent, causes, and consequences of violence against women

The Gender Violence and Health Centre has been instrumental in bringing the problem of violence against women to global attention, from its role in early high profile studies such as the , through to the . By documenting the extent of Violence against Women, and the physical, mental, social and economic consequences that it has for women, their families, communities and society as a whole, we increase the imperative of the global community to act – both to prevent violence and to respond more effectively to those affected.

Key to preventing violence is an understanding of what causes it. The Ecological Framework developed by member and former-Director of the Gender Violence and Health Centre, is now widely used by violence researchers, activists and policy makers around the world to acknowledge the different levels at which risk factors for intimate partner violence operate – individual woman, individual man, relationship, community and society. While our research focuses on all of these levels and the interactions between them, a strong focus of much of our current work is on community and societal (or ‘structural’) level factors that drive intimate partner violence risk. These include gender norms and women’s lack of access to education and economic opportunities.

Links between violence against women and HIV are also a major focus of the Centre. Intimate partner violence can be both a cause and consequence of HIV infection, and the two often share common underlying risk factors (such as notions of manhood that condone both men’s power over women and men engaging in risky sexual behaviours).

Our projects use diverse methods, from large-scale multi-country population-based surveys allowing us to make comparisons between settings, through to longitudinal studies that allow us to look at trajectories of risk over time and better disentangle causes versus consequences of intimate partner violence.

Prevention of violence against women

The Gender Violence and Health Centre is at the forefront of research on the prevention of violence against women and is a member of the research consortium implementing the DFID Global Programme.

Despite recognition of the extent of violence against women and  its severe consequences for women around the world, rigorous evidence on what works to prevent violence against women is scarce. The Gender Violence and Health Centre has led some of the first cluster randomised trials of violence against women prevention programmes in low and middle income countries. We have evaluated a broad range of violence against women interventions, including those aiming to empower women socially and economically, those working with men to promote ‘positive masculinities’, and those seeking to mobilise entire communities to challenge the underlying norms and structures that drive high rates of violence against women and girls. We are also interested in the potential for violence against women prevention programmes to impact on other forms of violence such as violence against children, and in how to integrate violence against women and HIV prevention efforts.

A growing evidence base demonstrates that cash transfers have potential to reduce intimate partner violence. Members of the Gender Violence and Health Centre have led qualitative studies to understand the pathways of influence of cash transfers on intimate partner violence and conducted the first review of rigorous studies from low-and middle-income countries, demonstrating that cash transfers decrease intimate partner violence.

The Gender Violence and Health Centre is involved in all stages of the evaluation process, from formative research around the development and adaptation of intervention approaches and content, through to impact evaluations and research into the adaptation and scale-up of promising intervention models. Economists within our team also work closely alongside epidemiologists and social researchers to cost interventions, a key consideration of policy-makers tasked with deciding which interventions to adopt on a wider scale.

For more information on cash transfers and IPV contact Dr Ana Maria Buller, Dr Meghna Ranganathan, Dr Shelley Lees and Dr Nambusi Kyegombe.

Violence against sex workers

Women who sell sex are at increased risk of violence compared with women in the general population. Recent estimates suggest that between 45% and 75% of female sex workers (FSWs) will experience violence in their lifetime, with between 32% and 56% reporting violence in the past year (Deering AJPH 2014).

As well as experiencing violence from their intimate partners, women who sell sex face violence from a host of other perpetrators, including clients, pimps, madams, the police, other sex workers, strangers and goons/thugs. Women face emotional abuse, physical and sexual violence, financial violence and police extortion, illegal police arrest and incarceration. In most settings, the illegal/unclear legal status of sex work means that women who experience violence rarely report this to the authorities and men who perpetrate violence are rarely bought to justice, enabling them to continue re-offending with impunity (Dunkle AJRI 2012).

FSWs are also at greatly increased risk of HIV infection compared with women in the general population (Baral Lancet Infect Dis 2012). There is good evidence from longitudinal cohort studies that women who experience violence are at increased risk of HIV infection (Li JIAS 2014), and this is also true of FSWs. Among women living with HIV, violence also impacts on HIV outcomes, including reducing uptake and adherence of HIV anti-retroviral (ARV) medicines (Hatcher AIDS 2015).

At LSHTM we have a long history of working with collaborators in India, Kenya and Canada on issues of violence and HIV with female sex worker populations in low- and middle-income countries.

The 10-year Bill and Melinda Gates funded , found peer-led comprehensive violence and HIV prevention programming was associated with reductions in both violence and HIV among FSWs.

The 7-year MRC-DFID funded , has been working in partnership with , south India, to reduce violence against FSWs by their intimate partner.

The 3-year MRC-DFID funded Maisha Fiti study in Nairobi, Kenya, is working in partnership with , and aims to understand the indirect pathways by which violence experience increases HIV risk and the impact of violence and other social factors on ARV uptake and adherence.

For more information on GVHC research on violence against sex workers, contact Dr Tara Beattie.

Violence against children and adolescents

Violence against children occurs in all societies throughout the world. In 2016 it was estimated that half of all children aged 2-17 years – that is 1 billion children –had experienced emotional, physical or sexual violence in the past year.  All too often this violence is carried out by someone the child knows: family members, teachers, schoolmates, boyfriends and employers.

The consequences of this violence can be profound and long-term, affecting children’s physical, psychological and mental health. Children who experience violence are also more likely to perpetrate violence against others later in life, perpetuating cycles of violence in future generations.

The Child Protection Research Group led by Prof Karen Devries is part of the Gender Violence & Health Centre. This research group includes several Gender Violence & Health Centre members and works with partners in low and middle income countries, to better understand the causes and consequences of violence against children, and to develop and evaluate interventions to reduce this violence.

Much of the work of the Child Protection Research Group is focused on the primary prevention of violence. They have led major studies on the development and evaluation of school-based violence prevention strategies, as well as research into community based prevention programming. They also conduct research with children and adolescents identified as high risk or already receiving child protection services, to study resilience and explore how to improve health outcomes among those who have experienced violence.

The Child Protection Research Group uses a range of epidemiological and social research methods, including randomised controlled trials, cross-sectional and cohort studies, qualitative research, evidence synthesis and modelling. They also undertake methodological research into the ethical conduct of child protection research, how to ensure children and adolescents are able to disclose their experiences to researchers, and how to measure experience and use of different forms of violence in different settings.

The Gender Violence and Health Centre benefits from a close relationship – and the exchange of skills, knowledge and ideas – with the Child Protection Research Group. The Learning Initiative on Norms, Exploitation and Abuse (LINEA) was established within the Gender Violence & Health Centre in 2014. This international multi-pronged project explores how social norms theory can be used to prevent the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents across the world.

An additional focus of the Gender Violence and Health Centre is the intersections between violence against women and violence against children. Areas of interest include the co-occurrence of violence against women and violence against children within households, intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence against adolescent girls, the effects that witnessing intimate partner violence have on children’s well-being and future risk of perpetrating/experiencing intimate partner violence, and the potential for violence against women interventions to impact on children’s well-being.

For more information on social norms and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents contact Dr Ana Maria Buller and Ms Lottie Howard-Merrill.

Intimate partner violence against men in same sex relationships

Research suggests that at least a third of men in same sex relationships have experienced violence by an intimate partner. Studies from the US indicate that among some populations this figure may be upwards of 75%. And yet, intimate partner violence against men in same sex relationships remains a largely hidden problem.

As with women, the effects of IPV on men’s health and behaviours can be serious and far-reaching. They include increased depressive symptoms, substance abuse, unprotected sex and HIV infection. However, whilst there is a growing body of evidence on health systems interventions for women who experience domestic violence, there is sparse research on the needs of men in same sex relationships, or interventions that may address the specific situations and challenges faced by them.

Men are often reluctant to seek help from services due to the dual stigma of being gay and suffering abuse from a same sex partner. Internalised gender notions about masculine identity may cause men to be silent about their experiences. The heteronormative frameworks within which health system interventions for domestic violence are developed pose an additional barrier to help seeking. Furthermore, bidirectional violence is common within this population, meaning it can be difficult to distinguish ‘victim’ from ‘perpetrator’.

Dr Loraine Bacchus was Principal Investigator on the first UK study (PROVIDE) to explore experiences of domestic violence and associated health problems among gay and bisexual men attending sexual health services, as part of an NIHR programme grant on health sector responses to domestic violence. The research also pilot tested an intervention to help sexual health practitioners identify, support and provide appropriate referrals for men in same sex relationships who are experiencing domestic violence.

Within the context of PROVIDE GVHC Deputy Director Dr Ana Maria Buller, led the first global systematic review on the health outcomes of IPV among MSM which found that MSM who have experienced IPV are more like to be HIV positive, show signs of mental health illness and substance abuse among other detrimental health outcomes.

For further details contact Dr Loraine Bacchus and Dr Ana Maria Buller.

Health systems and service responses to violence

Health systems have a crucial role in responding to violence against women as part of a coordinated multi-sector response. Women access health services at multiple points – from primary care and hospital settings through to sexual and reproductive health clinics and HIV services. This provides opportunities for those experiencing violence against women to access support, but health services are often slow to recognise violence, have limited resources, and lack staff trained in how to help. The Gender Violence and Health Centre conducts research into how best to integrate violence against women interventions into health systems and services.

While existing evidence on health systems responses to violence against women is skewed towards high income countries, the Gender Violence and Health Centre research spans low-, middle- and high-income countries. We have conducted studies in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, sub- Saharan Africa, Latin America and North America. Our work draws on a variety of disciplines including health services research, health systems and policy analysis, social science and economics.

The Gender Violence and Health Centre researchers have undertaken health policy and systems research evaluations of a wide variety of intervention models, including:

• One Stop Crisis Centres in Asia;
• integration of intimate partner violence screening/services into primary care, sexual and reproductive health and HIV settings in a range of LMIC countries;
• incorporation of an mHealth intimate partner violence intervention into nurse home visitation programmes in the US;
• responses to intimate partner violence in antenatal care settings (in both LMIC and HIC).

Our focus extends beyond the evaluation of specific intervention models. Bigger picture questions have included: how to engage key stakeholders in intervention development and evaluation, how to create links between healthcare systems in low- and middle-income countries and community organisations working on violence against women, and identifying opportunities for coordinated responses to intimate partner violence and child maltreatment. Insights from these have helped us to achieve greater influence on policy and programming, and ultimately ensure better outcomes for women and children.

An innovative multi-country health system and service response project is the  in low- and middle-income countries, co directed by Dr Loraine Bacchus with the University of Bristol. 

We explore the theoretical underpinnings of how these interventions work, as well as the systems and service factors that may affect their implementation in diverse countries and health settings. Furthermore, we conduct comparative research into promising intervention models, and estimate the relative costs of different health sector interventions.

For more information on the Gender Violence and Health Centre research on health systems responses to violence against women, contact Dr Loraine Bacchus or Dr Manuela Colombini.

Migration, human trafficking and labour exploitation

We live in an increasingly globalised world. The latest figures suggest that there are approximately one billion people on the move – 258 million international migrants and about 750 million people who have migrated within their own country. While migration can bring many benefits for individuals, their families and communities of origin and destination, it can also put migrants at risk of abuse, exploitation and adverse health outcomes. The Gender Violence and Health Centre leads pioneering research into the health and well-being of vulnerable mobile groups, including trafficked persons, low-wage migrant workers, refugees and asylum-seekers.

The Gender Violence and Health Centre has been a key player in highlighting the links between trafficking and health. European based studies led by Prof Cathy Zimmerman, a founding member of the Gender Violence & Health Centre, generated the first data on the health risks and outcomes associated with trafficking, while the  in the Mekong region remains the .

Our research goes beyond highlighting risks – it is tailored to influence programming and policy and to ultimately improve the lives of migrants. To this end, we have conducted a major evaluation of a multi-country programme to prevent forced labour (SWIFT), developed a migration policy-making framework, engaged heavily with policy makers to ensure effective research uptake, and produced guidance for health care providers on responding to the health needs of trafficked persons.

The Gender Violence and Health Centre work focuses on all stages of the migration process, identifying both the risks and intervention opportunities that can occur at each stage – from pre-departure planning and travel, through to arrival and life at destination, and (in some instances) return to the country of origin. We use mixed methods, quantitative and qualitative, to help understand the complexity of the migration process and diversity of migrants’ experiences.

The Gender Violence and Health Centre has led projects in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe (including the UK). Many of these are multi-country studies, reflecting regional migration flows and challenges.

Our work focuses on the gendered aspects of migration, trafficking and exploitation, recognising the particular vulnerability of women and children to sexual abuse and exploitation, and the experiences of men and boys in situations of hazardous and forced labour.

For more information on the Gender Violence and Health Centre research on migration, human trafficking and labour exploitation, contact Prof Cathy Zimmerman, Dr Ligia Kiss, Dr Nicola Pocock, Ms Alys McAlpine, Dr Ana Maria Buller, Dr Heidi Stöckl and Ms Camilla Fabbri.

Social norms, gender and child protection

We envision a world where children, women and men take care of each other with compassion and kindness. To contribute to that vision, our mission is to (1) increase visibility of what children and women hope in their lives, and (2) examine the extent to which global health efforts help or hamper the achievement of those hopes. Specifically, our research team studies how gender and social norms affect people’s lives in global health and international development. We use social norms theory to both look at how norms affect people’s community practices (for example, child marriage, FGM/C, intimate partner violence, use of contraceptive) as well as how they affect design and implementation of grants, policy and interventions (for example, resource competion, attribution of results, top-down target setting). This work is co-led by colleagues and research partners in Kenya, Indonesia, New Zealand, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda,and the United States. Our team consists of researchers with training in anthropology, ayurveda medicine, moral philosophy, international development, mixed-methods research, social epidemiology and the social sciences. Our current research projects fall across three thematic areas: 

 

Theme 1: Gender norms and family planning 

Theme 2: Improving social norms praxis 

Theme 3: Child rights, honour and violence 

 

Theme 1: Gender, social norms and family planning 

Project 1: Increasing women’s voice in Family Planning Interventions Addressing Gender Norms 

The main objective of this project is to utilize a critical feminist perspective to investigate the extent to which existing family planning interventions include women’s desires, voices and representation. This project will consist of 4 layers with specific objectives and outputs. 

Layer 0: Conceptual: The conceptual layer of our project will include a literature review, sounding board, and interviews with global advocates from the Global North and Global South. The literature review will provide an overview of how family planning interventions in West Africa take ethical perspectives regarding social norms and gender roles into consideration. Next, we will interview global advocates from the family planning community who will include academics, officials from funding agencies and international NGOs, as well as government officials from the Global North and Global South. These interviews aim to uncover dominant and counter-normative global narratives of which family planning interventions are ethical and justifiable.

Layer 1: Funding Stream: The funding stream layer of this project will be focused on investigating the family planning interventions funded by the top-10 funding agencies in the period 2010-2020 in West Africa. The main objective of this layer is to explore how international organizations and/or funders consider ethics and local social norms when designing, implementing and funding sexual and reproductive health services in West Africa.  A discourse analysis will be performed on the proposals using a preliminary framework designed to effectively assess proposals on whether they aim to increase women’s capacity to achieve their reproductive goals, or to exclusively reach specific reproductive targets. 

Layer 2: Implementation: The implementation layer of this project includes conducting focus groups and participatory workshops in Senegal. Participants will include local NGO workers, government officials and healthcare providers working within the family planning field in West Africa. The aim of these workshops is to explore the views of participants on the ethical challenges faced by professionals working in family planning in West Africa. The workshops will also allow participants to take part in designing the qualitative study of layer 3.

Layer 3: Field Experience: Following the implementation piece of the project, a research agenda will be co-designed with the participants involved in the first workshop to formulate the objectives and research questions of the qualitative study aimed at exploring the reproductive wishes and lived experiences of women and men in Senegal, which will be used as a case study for West Africa.

 

Project 2: The Potential of Online Networks to Initiate Social Norms Change in Offline Communities during COVID-19: A Mixed Methods Study in Nairobi, Kenya

This mixed-methods study aims to explore the potential diffusion of social norms from online to offline networks which address the gender norms limiting women’s access to modern family planning (FP) methods (MFPM) in peri-urban Nairobi, Kenya. 

This project has two phases: 

1. Formative Phase: This is a qualitative exploratory study to generate formative evidence on gender norms limiting women’s access to MFPM and the role of digital media in shaping these norms. We will conduct qualitative interviews with women, men, and other community members who influence women’s contraceptive decisions and affect gender norms.

2. Experimental Phase: We will conduct two behavioural experiments which will test (1) how the gender composition of a perceived online community (via a controlled website environment) reacting positively to MFPM media will affect attitudes and social norms about MFPM and (2) if organized contact between the online and offline community strengthens norm change and O2O diffusion.

Findings from the qualitative research will be used to develop an intervention package of media material to enable online to offline diffusion of gender norms about MFPM. We will develop private websites which will host the media materials for participants to access, post comments, and participate in. Each website will have the same media content with only the gender of the predetermined comments varying. 

 

Theme 2: Improving social norms praxis 

Project 3: The social norms mentorship programme

The goal of the social norms mentorship programme is to provide sustained assistance to NGOs who want to integrate social norms approaches into their work. We want to simplify and demystify social norms. We will do this by curating, generating content and testing an approach to mentorship that other organisations can take forward. 

The design and implementation of the social norms mentorship programme is supported by a Steering Group made up of the following organisations: CARE International, Center on Gender Equality and Health at UC San Diego, The Prevention Collaborative, The CPC Learning Network at Columbia University, Impact & Innovation Development Centre (IIDC), Centre for Gender Equality at Stanford University, Puskapa, Tostan and Universidad de Los Andes.

The social norms mentorship programme has three key tracks. 

Track 1 is intended for decision-makers in international and local organisations, including donors, who want an introduction to social norms. We will provide tailored content to help them understand the basics of social norms – social norms 101 during a half-day introductory training. To discuss your training needs under Track 1, please contact SNteam@lshtm.ac.uk 

Track 2 is designed for technical advisors and consultants who already influence others in international and local organisations, strengthening their capacity on social norms so that they can support others. This track involves virtual labs, which will enable us to intentionally learn from the process of building capacity of these technical advisors and consultants. To discuss your training needs under Track 2, please contact SNteam@lshtm.ac.uk 

Track 3 is offered to organisations that want to engage in a longer sustained mentorship. During the prototyping year, in collaboration with the Impact & Innovation Development Centre (IIDC) in Uganda, we will train and mentor three small/medium-sized organisations in the East Africa region. These organisations are: Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) in Uganda, ICS in Kenya and Tanzania, and TPO Uganda. These organisations will receive sustained mentorship support enabling them to integrate social norms into their child protection and child well-being work. Both leadership and program staff from the three NGOs will be invited to participate in an initial 5-day training. Mentors will support each organisation in integrating a social norms approach into their work, based on the areas identified as needing support. This may include support for formative research, Theory of Change development, and monitoring and evaluation of social norms. We will learn from the experiences of mentors and mentees through a half-point check-in and reflection at the end of the mentorship period. After the prototyping year, we plan to expand this mentorship programme into other geographical hubs, through partnerships with Tostan (West Africa hub), Puskapa (Asia hub) and Universidad de Los Andes (Latin America hub).

Alongside these three tracks, LSHTM will launch a ‘Social Norms HelpDesk’, enabling practitioners to ask questions about social norms and receive responses from the LSHTM and partners within 48 hours (business hours). This will help meet the existing demand for social norms assistance, through a free service.

 

Theme 3: Child rights, honour and violence 

Projects in this theme include a study on honour and child protection, a mapping of narratives in the global child protection sector, a project on the ethics of child protection interventions, and quantitative analyses of child protection outcomes in large scale surveys, with a focus on child marriage in Bangaladesh. With our research partners, we combine a range of research approaches including youth-led research, equity analyses of survey data, and workshops with stakeholders, to explore tensions, narratives, and ethical challenges in the field of child protection.  

 

Project 4: Child Marriage and social norms in Bangladesh 

This mixed methods study examines social norms and trends in child marriage in Bangladesh. In collaboration with icddr,b and UNICEF Bangladesh we will conduct stakeholder interviews with government, non-profit, and bilateral organisations to develop indicators to monitor social norms supporting child marriage, we will develop quantitative analyses to understand the geographies where child marriage increased and decreased over the last decade and the contextual and structural drivers of child marriage. Finally, we will develop a qualitative study using in depth interviews, focus groups, and social network analysis to understand the normative drivers related to enabling, delaying, or preventing child marriage. 

 

Project 5: Social Norms in the Child Protection and Rights Community: A Critical Mapping Investigation

Global child protection and rights policies, largely driven by donors, governments and international agencies in the Global North, have great influence on children’s agency and wellbeing. These global narratives about what is good and bad for the world’s children often promote one-size-fits-all interventions in the child protection and rights industry, which often struggle to take into account adequately the different context-specific needs that children and their families have across different cultural contexts. However, alternative child protection narratives exist that take into account contextual differences in the meanings and practices of childhood, and in how much agency children have. These narratives, however, struggle to find space in the practice of international child protection.

To advance the understanding of how narratives of child wellbeing construed in the Global North affect child protection and rights practices in the Global South, we will trace how these narratives get embodied in national and sub-national policies and practices, and how they ultimately affect the lives of children and their families. We aim to situate our enquiry in the experiences and voices of children and use their insights to develop questions for global policymakers. We will conduct analysis of narratives in institutional reports and policies, develop interview guides, and lead fieldwork in conjunction with local youth-led researchers at  the community, country, and global level. 

 

Project 6: Multi-country study on honour and child protection 

This multi-country study explores ideas of social control, agency and honour in the context of childhood in collaboration with researchers in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Uganda and South Africa. We will use participatory research approaches, including youth-led approaches to understand how respondents conceptualize honour, the practices related to honour, what happens when honour is gained or lost, and role honour plays in social control and how children experience and use their agency. 

 

Project 7: Cross-country survey on social norms and child protection 

This is a mixed-methods, multi-country study lead by IPSOS Public Affairs and UNICEF to examine the social norms that shape child labour, child marriage, violent discipline, and sexual violence in eight countries. We provide technical assistance to inform research design, sampling, instrument design, and the analytic approaches. 

Project 8: Parenting and protecting children from violence during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in western Uganda: a qualitative interview study

In response to high levels of violence against children (VAC) in the region, the Western Uganda Bantwana Program (WUBP) has worked with communities in western Uganda since 2008 to strengthen approaches to preventing and responding to violence against children in schools and communities.

This study, conducted in collaboration with colleagues at Makerere University, used a qualitative approach to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic in western Uganda affected caregivers and parenting approaches, and whether caregiver involvement in the WUBP program had helped them with parenting during lockdown. The study describes changes in the norms sustaining VAC that took place before and during lockdown. 

The study also explores how key informants (i.e. caregivers, teachers, Community Case Care Workers, Parenting Group Facilitators, Community Development Officers, WUBP Field Assistants and local council representatives) were addressing and responding to reports of VAC during lockdown.

 

Team Members 

Ben Cislaghi, Amiya Bhatia, Sadie Bell, Nour Horanieh, Mahesh Mathpati, Melissa Neuman, Alice Witt, Anja Zinke-Allmang, Marieme Fall, Oumy Ndiaye, Eloisa Montt

 

Research partners and collaborators

AfriChild Centre, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

The Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, Nairobi, Kenya 

Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), Uganda

Impact & Innovation Development Centre (IIDC), Uganda

Investing in Children and their Society (ICS), Kenya and Tanzania

IPSOS Public Affairs, USA 

Stanford University, USA 

TPO, Uganda

UNICEF Bangladesh 

icddr,b Bangladesh 

Unilever, United Kingdom

 

Humanitarian crises and conflict settings

Gender-based violence is an important human rights issue in humanitarian settings with long-term consequences for survivors’ health and well-being. As attention to gender-based violence has increased on the global level, gaps in the evidence base for effective programming and understanding of the drivers, patterns and consequences of gender-based violence have become more pressing as humanitarian aid agencies, donors and governments seek guidance on how to create programmes and policies that effectively prevent and respond to gender-based violence.

The Gender Violence and Health Centre lead on gender-based violence and conflict research portfolio is led by Dr Mazeda Hossain who conducts rigorous research that works to improve the evidence base on gender-based violence and health in humanitarian crisis settings. The research projects primarily consist of close collaborations with UN and humanitarian agencies, policymakers, and partners in conflict-affected settings in order to improve the evidence base on violence prevention and response for all survivors of gender based violence; and develop innovative methodological approaches for conducting research in conflict-affected settings.

The research in conflict-affected and humanitarian settings has focused on a range of topics. Some of the major projects include:

• the development and evaluation of community-based violence prevention programming working with men in conflict settings
• understanding how task sharing with refugee community workers is used to deliver gender-based violence services for survivors in a refugee camp context
• understanding social norms and barriers to using modern family methods among conflict-affected nomadic communities
• and research among adolescent Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

The Gender Violence and Health Centre gender-based violence and conflict research portfolio uses a range of epidemiological and social science methods including cluster randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, realist evaluations, qualitative research, social network analysis, mixed methods, and evidence synthesis. She has developed methodological guidance for researching gender-based violence in humanitarian settings using approaches that address the technical and ethical challenges that researchers face, especially in conflict-affected settings.

For more information on the Gender Violence and Health Centre research on humanitarian crises and conflict settings, contact Dr Mazeda Hossain.