Kaul, A; Saboor, L; Ahmad, A; Mannell, J; Paphitis, SA; Devakumar, D
(2024)
What are the experiences and psychosocial needs of female survivors of domestic violence in Afghanistan? A qualitative interview study in three Afghan provinces.
BMJ Open, 14 (6).
e079615.
ISSN 2044-6055
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-079615
SGUL Authors: Ahmad, Ayesha
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to qualitatively explore (1) the experiences of female survivors of domestic abuse and mental health problems in Afghanistan; (2) how female survivors of violence and abuse, male members of the community and service providers perceive and respond to mental health and domestic violence in Afghanistan and (3) the provision of mental health services for female survivors of violence and abuse in Afghanistan, including the barriers and challenges faced around accessing mental health services. DESIGN: Qualitative interviews and framework thematic analysis. SETTING: Kabul, Bamyan and Nangarhar in Afghanistan. PARTICIPANTS: 60 female survivors of domestic abuse, 60 male community members and 30 service providers who work with female survivors of domestic abuse. RESULTS: Experiences of multiple and compounding traumatic experiences of violence, armed conflict, and complex and competing psychosocial concerns were common among the female survivor participants. All female survivor participants reported experiencing negative mental health outcomes in relation to their experiences of violence and abuse, which were further precipitated by widespread social stigma and gender norms. Support and service provision for female survivors was deemed by participants to be insufficient in comparison to the amount of people who need to access them. CONCLUSIONS: There are many risks and barriers women face to disclosing their experiences of violence and mental health problems which restrict women's access to psychological support. Culturally relevant services and trauma-informed interventions are necessary to respond to these issues. Service providers should be trained to effectively recognise and respond to survivors' mental health needs.
Item Type: |
Article
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Additional Information: |
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: |
health services accessibility, mental health, psychiatry, public health, trauma management, Humans, Female, Afghanistan, Qualitative Research, Adult, Survivors, Domestic Violence, Male, Social Stigma, Mental Health Services, Interviews as Topic, Young Adult, Middle Aged, Health Services Accessibility, Humans, Mental Health Services, Qualitative Research, Domestic Violence, Adult, Middle Aged, Survivors, Health Services Accessibility, Afghanistan, Female, Male, Interviews as Topic, Young Adult, Social Stigma, mental health, trauma management, psychiatry, public health, health services accessibility, 1103 Clinical Sciences, 1117 Public Health and Health Services, 1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences |
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: |
Academic Structure > Institute of Medical & Biomedical Education (IMBE) Academic Structure > Institute of Medical & Biomedical Education (IMBE) > Centre for Clinical Education (INMECE ) |
Journal or Publication Title: |
BMJ Open |
ISSN: |
2044-6055 |
Language: |
eng |
Dates: |
Date | Event |
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5 June 2024 | Published | 20 May 2024 | Accepted |
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Publisher License: |
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 |
Projects: |
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PubMed ID: |
38839389 |
Web of Science ID: |
WOS:001250808000003 |
![](http://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/2745237/img/27842) |
Go to PubMed abstract |
URI: |
https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/116733 |
Publisher's version: |
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-079615 |
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