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Addressing domestic violence through antenatal care in Sri Lanka's plantation estates: Contributions of public health midwives

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  • Infanti, Jennifer J.
  • Lund, Ragnhild
  • Muzrif, Munas M.
  • Schei, Berit
  • Wijewardena, Kumudu

Abstract

Domestic violence in pregnancy is a significant health concern for women around the world. Globally, much has been written about how the health sector can respond effectively and comprehensively to domestic violence during pregnancy via antenatal services. The evidence from low-income settings is, however, limited. Sri Lanka is internationally acknowledged as a model amongst low-income countries for its maternal and child health statistics. Yet, very little research has considered the perspectives and experiences of the key front line health providers for pregnant women in Sri Lanka, public health midwives (PHMs). We address this gap by consulting PHMs about their experiences identifying and responding to pregnant women affected by domestic violence in an underserved area: the tea estate sector of Badulla district. Over two months in late 2014, our interdisciplinary team of social scientists and medical doctors met with 31 estate PHMs for group interviews and a participatory workshop at health clinics across Badulla district. In the paper, we propose a modified livelihoods model to conceptualise the physical, social and symbolic assets, strategies and constraints that simultaneously enable and limit the effectiveness of community-based health care responses to domestic violence. Our findings also highlight conceptual and practical strategies identified by PHMs to ensure improvements in this complex landscape of care. Such strategies include estate-based counselling services; basic training in family counselling and mediation for PHMs; greater surveillance of abusive men's behaviours by male community leaders; and performance evaluation and incentives for work undertaken to respond to domestic violence. The study contributes to international discussions on the meanings, frameworks, and identities constructed at the local levels of health care delivery in the global challenge to end domestic violence. In turn, such knowledge adds to international debates on the roles and responsibilities of health care professionals in responding to and preventing domestic violence.

Suggested Citation

  • Infanti, Jennifer J. & Lund, Ragnhild & Muzrif, Munas M. & Schei, Berit & Wijewardena, Kumudu, 2015. "Addressing domestic violence through antenatal care in Sri Lanka's plantation estates: Contributions of public health midwives," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 35-43.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:145:y:2015:i:c:p:35-43
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.09.037
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Frank Ellis, 2000. "The Determinants of Rural Livelihood Diversification in Developing Countries," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 289-302, May.
    2. Frank Ellis, 1998. "Household strategies and rural livelihood diversification," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 1-38.
    3. World Bank, 2015. "World Development Indicators 2015," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 21634.
    4. John Seely Brown & Paul Duguid, 1991. "Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 40-57, February.
    5. Ellis, Frank, 2000. "Rural Livelihoods and Diversity in Developing Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296966.
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    1. Wild, Kayli & Gomes, Lidia & Fernandes, Angelina & de Araujo, Guilhermina & McDonald, Susan & Taft, Angela, 2020. "Security from above and below: A critical ethnography of the health response to violence against women in Timor-Leste," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    2. Dinusha Perera & Muzrif Munas & Katarina Swahnberg & Kumudu Wijewardene & Jennifer J. Infanti & on behalf of the ADVANCE Study Group, 2022. "Obstetric Violence Is Prevalent in Routine Maternity Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of Obstetric Violence and Its Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in Sri Lanka’s Colombo District," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-13, August.

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