“I Go up to the Edge of the Valley, and I Talk to God”: Using Mixed Methods to Understand the Relationship between Gender-Based Violence and Mental Health among Lebanese and Syrian Refugee Women Engaged in Psychosocial Programming

Rassil Barada, Alina Potts, Angela Bourassa, Manuel Contreras-Urbina and Krystel Nasr
Additional contact information
Rassil Barada: Abaad Resource Center for Gender Equality, Beirut 21133, Lebanon
Alina Potts: The Global Women’s Institute, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
Angela Bourassa: The Global Women’s Institute, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
Manuel Contreras-Urbina: World Bank, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Krystel Nasr: Abaad Resource Center for Gender Equality, Beirut 21133, Lebanon

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: Lebanon’s intersecting economic and political crises exacerbate complex public health issues among both host and refugee populations. This mixed-methods study by a Lebanese service provider, in partnership with an international research institute, seeks to better understand how experiences of gender-based violence (GBV) and mental health intersect in the lives of Syrian and Lebanese women, and how to better meet these needs. It employs a randomized cross-sectional survey of 969 Abaad service users and focus groups with community members and service providers. There were significant associations between GBV and ill mental health; notably, respondents reporting transactional sex had 4 times the likelihood of severe distress (aOR 4.2; 95% CI 1.2–14.8; p ? 0.05). Focus groups emphasized less-visible forms of violence, such as emotional violence, and the importance of environmental factors in one’s ability to cope, noting “it always came back to the economy”. Recommendations include providing a more holistic and coordinated approach between GBV, mental health, livelihood, and basic assistance sectors; and sensitive, accessible, and higher-quality mental health services informed by GBV response actors’ experience putting in place survivor-centered programming and made available to both host and refugee community members.

Keywords: gender-based violence; intimate partner violence; mental health; humanitarian; Lebanon; Syrian refugees; gender; LMICs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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