Publication: Mainstreaming Gender in the Health Sector : Prevention of Gender-Based Violence and Male Involvement in Reproductive Health
Date
2006-04
ISSN
Published
2006-04
Author(s)
Betron, Myra
Fort, Lucía
Abstract
The Bank has hosted various conferences
to address issues of male involvement in reproductive health
and gender-based violence, yet no projects in the World
Bank's portfolio have directly addressed either topic.1
Recent gender-related work in the World Bank's health
projects in Latin America has made evident the limited
capacity of health personnel and communities to integrate
men into family planning and reproductive health programs or
to respond effectively to domestic violence cases.2 Midwives
at women's birthing centers in Nicaragua, for example,
have been challenged with trying to convince men who oppose
family planning of the economic difficulties of raising
large families.3 Moreover, sheer lack of knowledge and
capacity prevents health providers from screening for and
providing proper treatment to gender-based violence
survivors. The Integral Health Project for Men and Women, or
PROSALVAR as it is commonly known, was designed to help
build a response to these apparent gaps in healthcare
projects in the LCR through pilot activities in three Highly
Indebted Poor Countries: Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Financed by the Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program, the
project's main objectives were to build the capacity of
staff in health care centers and hospitals to effectively
screen for intra-family violence and refer victims to
appropriate services, and to better educate and involve men
in sexual and reproductive health. As a pilot project,
PROSALVAR also sought to help the Bank better understand its
operational role in preventing and responding to
gender-based violence and in promoting the male involvement agenda.
Citation
“Betron, Myra; Fort, Lucía. 2006. Mainstreaming Gender in the Health Sector : Prevention of Gender-Based Violence and Male Involvement in Reproductive Health. en breve; No. 88. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/ea66afaf-bcc9-560f-b088-c188bc8dfdb6 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”