Pandemic within a pandemic! Policy Implications of community-based Interventions to mitigate violence against women during COVID-19 in Urban Slums of Lucknow, India

Fnu Kajal; Ram Manohar Mishra; Amit Mehrotra; Vijay Kumar Chattu; Fnu Kajal; Ram Manohar Mishra; Amit Mehrotra; Vijay Kumar Chattu

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2023022

AIMS Public Health

2023, Volume 10, Issue 2: 297-309. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023022

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Research article

Pandemic within a pandemic! Policy Implications of community-based Interventions to mitigate violence against women during COVID-19 in Urban Slums of Lucknow, India

1.
Department of Health Promotion Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
2.
UNICEF, India Country Office
3.
Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 1V7, Canada
4.
Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai- 600077; India
5.
Center for Evidence-Based Strategies, Global Health Research and Innovations Canada Inc. (GHRIC), ON, Toronto, Canada

Received: 17 November 2022 Revised: 22 March 2023 Accepted: 03 April 2023 Published: 27 April 2023

Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unprecedented adverse impact on women's health. Evidence from the literature suggests that violence against women has increased multifold. Gender-based violence in urban slums has worsened due to a lack of water and sanitation services, overcrowding, deteriorating conditions and a lack of institutional frameworks to address gender inequities.

Methods
The SAMBHAV (Synchronized Action for Marginalized to Improve Behaviors and Vulnerabilities) initiative was launched between June 2020 to December 2020 by collaborating with the Uttar Pradesh state government, UNICEF and UNDP. The program intended to reach 6000 families in 30 UPS (Urban Poor settlements) of 13 city wards. These 30 UPS were divided into 5 clusters. The survey was conducted in 760 households, 397 taken from randomly selected 15 interventions and 363 households from 15 control UPS. This paper utilized data from a baseline assessment of gender and decision-making from a household survey conducted in the selected UPS during July 03–15, 2020. A sample size of 360 completed interviews was calculated for intervention and control areas to measure changes attributable to the SAMBHAV intervention in the behaviours and service utilization (pre- and post-intervention).

Results
The data analysis showed a significant difference (p-value < 0.001) between respondents regarding women's freedom to move alone in the control and intervention area. It also reflected a significant difference between control and intervention areas as the respondents in the intervention area chose to work for the cause of gender-based violence.

Conclusion
The SAMBHAV initiative brought an intersectional lens to gender issues. The community volunteers were trained to approach issues based on gender-based violence with the local public, and various conferences and meetings were organized to sensitize the community. The initiative's overall impact was that it built momentum around the issue of applying the concept of intersectionality for gender issues and building resilience in the community. There is still a need to bring multi-layered and more aggressive approaches to reduce the prevalence of gender-based violence in the community.
- COVID-19,
- gender-based violence,
- vulnerable women,
- urban slums,
- domestic violence,
- violence against women,
- India
Citation: Fnu Kajal, Ram Manohar Mishra, Amit Mehrotra, Vijay Kumar Chattu. Pandemic within a pandemic! Policy Implications of community-based Interventions to mitigate violence against women during COVID-19 in Urban Slums of Lucknow, India[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2023, 10(2): 297-309. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023022

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Abstract

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unprecedented adverse impact on women's health. Evidence from the literature suggests that violence against women has increased multifold. Gender-based violence in urban slums has worsened due to a lack of water and sanitation services, overcrowding, deteriorating conditions and a lack of institutional frameworks to address gender inequities.

Methods

The SAMBHAV (Synchronized Action for Marginalized to Improve Behaviors and Vulnerabilities) initiative was launched between June 2020 to December 2020 by collaborating with the Uttar Pradesh state government, UNICEF and UNDP. The program intended to reach 6000 families in 30 UPS (Urban Poor settlements) of 13 city wards. These 30 UPS were divided into 5 clusters. The survey was conducted in 760 households, 397 taken from randomly selected 15 interventions and 363 households from 15 control UPS. This paper utilized data from a baseline assessment of gender and decision-making from a household survey conducted in the selected UPS during July 03–15, 2020. A sample size of 360 completed interviews was calculated for intervention and control areas to measure changes attributable to the SAMBHAV intervention in the behaviours and service utilization (pre- and post-intervention).

Results

The data analysis showed a significant difference (p-value < 0.001) between respondents regarding women's freedom to move alone in the control and intervention area. It also reflected a significant difference between control and intervention areas as the respondents in the intervention area chose to work for the cause of gender-based violence.

Conclusion

The SAMBHAV initiative brought an intersectional lens to gender issues. The community volunteers were trained to approach issues based on gender-based violence with the local public, and various conferences and meetings were organized to sensitize the community. The initiative's overall impact was that it built momentum around the issue of applying the concept of intersectionality for gender issues and building resilience in the community. There is still a need to bring multi-layered and more aggressive approaches to reduce the prevalence of gender-based violence in the community.

Acknowledgments

We thank UNICEF-India and UNFPA-India for wholeheartedly supporting this intervention. We also appreciate Mr Sanjeev Kumar, Research Specialist, Health Systems Transformation Platform, for reviewing this paper and improving the content.

Conflict of interest

There are no financial interests to disclose.

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