The Health and Economic Costs of Violence against Women and Girls on Survivors, Their Families, and Communities in Ghana

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a worldwide phenomenon. Globally, 35% of women have experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) or non-partner sexual violence in their lives. VAWG is estimated to cost the global economy about US$ eight trillion. Most studies on violence in Ghana discuss domestic violence or some forms of sexual violence but lack a comprehensive view of VAWG and its costs and impacts on communities, businesses, and the national economy. Our international consortium undertook a mixed-methods study to estimate the economic and non-economic losses caused by VAWG. We surveyed 2002 women and 805 male and female employees and conducted 24 in-depth interviews (IDIs) and 8 focus group discussions (FGDs). The study finds that costs of VAWG are high and multi-fold. It estimates costs to health, social relationships, and productivity for individuals, their families, and communities. Individual well-being and capabilities are impacted through absenteeism or missed care work and mental health issues. VAWG deepens household poverty by out-of-pocket expenditures that arise to address medical and legal issues that result from violence. Additionally, VAWG affects the vibrancy of communities as women’s participation and leadership decline. These costs accumulate to have profound effects on the Ghanaian economy and society

The health-related impacts and costs of violence against women and girls on survivors, households and communities in Ghana

Past research on violence in Ghana primarily discusses domestic violence and some types of sexual violence, but lacks a comprehensive analysis of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and its wider costs and impacts. Our study on the social costs of VAWG is a unique contribution, which aims to fill that gap. Through indepth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) with adult women and men, we explored the health impact of VAWG and the resulting social and economic consequences on survivors, their families and their communities. The research, which took place in the Eastern, Central, and Greater Accra regions of Ghana, points to several physical and mental health outcomes among survivors including physical injuries and disability, as well as impacts on mental health such as anxiety and suicidal ideation. Many VAWG survivors also experience stigma and social isolation. Our findings also reveal that survivors’ families can bear various social and economic costs. Lack of public and private service provision and shelters for survivors heighten these impacts. Without institutional support for survivors, families and communities absorb these costs of VAWG

Mental Heath as a weapon : whistleblower retaliation and normative violence

What form does power take in situations of retaliation against whistleblowers? In this article, we move away from dominant perspectives that see power as a resource. In place, we propose a theory of normative power and violence in whistleblower retaliation, drawing on an in-depth empirical study. This enables a deeper understanding of power as it circulates in complex processes of whistleblowing. We offer the following contributions. First, supported by empirical findings we propose a novel theoretical framing of whistleblower retaliation and the role of mental health, which draws upon poststructuralist psychoanalytic thinking. Specifically, we highlight how intra- and inter-psychic affective and ambivalent attachments to organizations influence the use of normative violence in cases of whistleblower retaliation. The second contribution is empirical and builds upon the existing literature on whistleblower retaliation by highlighting how organizations position whistleblower subjects as mentally unstable and unreliable individuals, to undermine their claims. We conclude by highlighting the implications of normative power for the outcomes of whistleblower struggles

The possibilities of feminism(s) in an uncertain world

[No abstract available