Violence Against Women And Mental Health

Too prevalent to ignore : violence against women, its prevalence, and health consequences / García-Moreno, C., Stockl, H. -- Gender-based violence in the Middle-East : a review / Madi Skaff, J. -- Violence against women in Latin America / Gaviria A., S.L. -- Violence against women in south Asia / Niaz, U. -- Violence against women in Europe : magnitude and the mental health consequences described by different data sources / Helweg-Larsen, K. -- Intimate partner violence as a risk factor for mental health in South Africa / Jewkes, R. -- Intimate partner violence and mental health / Oram, S., Howard, L.M. -- Sexual assault and women's mental health / Martin, S.L., Parcesepe, A.M. -- Child sexual abuse of girls / MacMillan, H.L., Wathen, C.N. -- Sexual violence and armed conflict : a systematic review of psychosocial support interventions / Stavrou, V. -- Abuse and trafficking among female migrants and refugees / Kastrup, M. -- Abuse in doctor-patient relationships / Tschan, W. -- Workplace harassment based on sex : a risk factor for women's mental health / Cortina, L.M., Leskinen, E.A. -- Violence against women and suicidality : does violence cause suicidal behaviour? / Devries, K.M., Seguin, M. -- Violence against women suffering from severe psychiatric illness / Rondon, M.B. -- Violence against women and mental health : conclusions / García-Moreno, C., Riecher-Rössler, A.

We know that gender traits and mental disorders are based on social, cultural, personal and physiological background. In order to formulate the best management plan for the patient, the mental health practitioner needs to incorporate all available information. Women and Mental Health provides a comprehensive overview of the most prominent mental health problems in women today. Examining the physiological, social and psychological factors of mental illness, and providing an up-to-date perspective on the etiology of different disorders, the book will help mental health professionals formulate the best management plan for the individual. Covering issues including perinatal psychiatric disorders, depression, eating disorders, schizophrenia, and alcohol and drug abuse - from a female perspective - Women and Mental Health will prove a valuable tool for all those working in the fields of mental health.

"World Health Organization, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, South African Medical Research Council"--Title page.

People with mental health problems are more likely to be a victim of domestic violence than the general population. This text offers practical guidance on how mental health professionals can identify and respond to domestic violence experienced by their patients.

A health-care provider is likely to be the first professional contact for survivors of intimate partner violence or sexual assault. Evidence suggests that women who have been subjected to violence seek health care more often than non-abused women, even if they do not disclose the associated violence. They also identify health-care providers as the professionals they would most trust with disclosure of abuse. These guidelines are an unprecedented effort to equip healthcare providers with evidence-based guidance as to how to respond to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women. They also provide advice for policy makers, encouraging better coordination and funding of services, and greater attention to responding to sexual violence and partner violence within training programmes for health care providers. The guidelines are based on systematic reviews of the evidence, and cover: 1. identification and clinical care for intimate partner violence 2. clinical care for sexual assault 3. training relating to intimate partner violence and sexual assault against women 4. policy and programmatic approaches to delivering services 5. mandatory reporting of intimate partner violence. The guidelines aim to raise awareness of violence against women among health-care providers and policy-makers, so that they better understand the need for an appropriate health-sector response. They provide standards that can form the basis for national guidelines, and for integrating these issues into health-care provider education.

Gender has a fundamental influence on the human brain, not only by virtue of biological and hormonal differences between the sexes but also because of the impact of gender-specific cultural, social, anthropological and environmental factors. Nevertheless, the relation of gender and psychopathology remains a largely neglected field. Gender perspective has been treated as a paradigm in this book on psychopathology because it determines the way in which a psychiatric symptom is defined, perceived and understood. This conception of gender as being of key importance in the definition of psychiatric symptomatology is exceptional in the literature. The book opens by examining historical and cultural aspects of mental health in women worldwide and the relation of sex, brain and gender, with coverage of both neurobiological and psychosocial aspects. The significance of gender with regard to specific aspects of psychopathology is then addressed in detail. A wide range of psychological disorders are considered, as well as hormonal influences and issues concerning body image, self identity, sexuality and life instinct. It is hoped that this book will make a significant contribution in ensuring that gender perspective receives due attention within descriptive psychopathology.

This book discusses psychiatric disorders among women in a manner that is relevant to clinical practice and keep cultural and social realities in perspective. The book is important in the face of rapidly changing conditions globally (including better education and more opportunities for work for women); challenges such as migration, war and violence and emerging areas such as newer reproductive technologies, Women's mental health cannot be divorced from social and cultural realities and while the book emphasises these areas, it also gives due importance to the current advances in neurobiology and psychopharmacology of psychiatric disorders among women. Chapters in the book are written by multiple authors, many of the chapters use the life stage approach, and have been written by authors from different parts of the world to ensure cultural relevance and diverse viewpoints.