Examining intersections between violence against women and violence against children:Perspectives of adolescents and adults in displaced Colombian communities

BackgroundResearch examining the interrelated drivers of household violence against women and violence against children is nascent, particularly in humanitarian settings. Gaps remain in understanding how relocation, displacement and ongoing insecurity affect families and may exacerbate household violence.MethodsEmploying purposive sampling, we used photo elicitation methods to facilitate semi-structured, in-depth interviews with female and male adolescents and adults aged 13–75 (n = 73) in two districts in Colombia from May to August of 2017. Participants were displaced and/or residing in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of insecurity from armed groups.ResultsUsing inductive thematic analysis and situating the analysis within a feminist socioecological framework, we found several shared drivers of household violence. Intersections among drivers at all socioecological levels occurred among societal gender norms, substance use, attempts to regulate women’s and children’s behavior with violence, and daily stressors associated with numerous community problems. A central theme of relocation was of family compositions that were in continual flux and of family members confronted by economic insecurity and increased access to substances.ConclusionsFindings suggest interventions that systemically consider families’ struggles with relocation and violence with multifaceted attention to socioecological intersections

Investigación Acción Participativa (IAP) como una filosofía de vida : encontrando el corazón en (de) la calle

Título del número: Diez años generando conocimiento y liderazgo para transformar lo público. Sección: Investigación"Este artículo está basado en la amistad que hemos construido con diferentes comunidades durante los últimos ocho años en Colombia. Según Fals Borda, la Investigación Acción Participativa (IAP) no es un método de estudio, sino una filosofía de vida. Este requiere de la participación activa tanto del "investigador" como del "investigado"; es decir, que las poblaciones (sujetos de investigación) estén involucradas en todo el proceso investigativo como coinvestigadores, un término que problematiza las jerarquías y distancias entre "investigador" e "investigado" que impone la investigación científica tradicional...

Acorralados en el río : el derecho a la ciudad de los habitantes de calle en Medellín

Título del número: Oportunidades y exigencias del fin del conflicto. Sección: Fotoartículo"¿Qué sucede cuando se eliminan o remodelan lugares históricos en una ciudad? Si para muchos ciudadanos modernos el espacio público es el lugar donde se genera una memoria colectiva, y este mismo espacio de las ciudades está habitado por diferentes poblaciones y dinámicas, eliminarlas es una solución más sencilla que afrontar los problemas sociales actuales y los retos que estos implican para el Estado. Como una manera de mantener orden en el espacio público, los habitantes de la calle son generalmente desalojados en nombre del progreso urbano (Wright, 2004)...

Examining intersections between violence against women and violence against children: perspectives of adolescents and adults in displaced Colombian communities

Background Research examining the interrelated drivers of household violence against women and violence against children is nascent, particularly in humanitarian settings. Gaps remain in understanding how relocation, displacement and ongoing insecurity affect families and may exacerbate household violence. Methods Employing purposive sampling, we used photo elicitation methods to facilitate semi-structured, in-depth interviews with female and male adolescents and adults aged 13–75 (n = 73) in two districts in Colombia from May to August of 2017. Participants were displaced and/or residing in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of insecurity from armed groups. Results Using inductive thematic analysis and situating the analysis within a feminist socioecological framework, we found several shared drivers of household violence. Intersections among drivers at all socioecological levels occurred among societal gender norms, substance use, attempts to regulate women’s and children’s behavior with violence, and daily stressors associated with numerous community problems. A central theme of relocation was of family compositions that were in continual flux and of family members confronted by economic insecurity and increased access to substances. Conclusions Findings suggest interventions that systemically consider families’ struggles with relocation and violence with multifaceted attention to socioecological intersections

The Transformative Potential of Strategic Partnerships to Form a Health Equity Network of the Americas

Health inequities across the Americas are avoidable and unjust yet continue to persist. Systemic social determinants of health, which could be addressed at the policy level, are root causes of many inequities and prevent marginalized individuals and at-risk populations from reaching optimal health and well-being. In this article, we describe our approach to promote health equity through the intersectoral partner­ships that were forged, and strategies that were shared, during the convening entitled “Summit 2017: Health Equity in the Americas” and the resulting emergence of the Health Equity Network of the Americas (HENA). We illustrate how this international network will raise awareness of policies and programs to inform decision makers about actions they can take to put an end to the unjust, persistent and mostly avoid­able health inequities facing the Americas today