Gender-Based Violence Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women: A Neglected Consequence of the West African Ebola Outbreak
Gender-Based Violence Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women: A Neglected Consequence of the West African Ebola Outbreak
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DOI：
10.1007/978-3-319-97637-2_8
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发表时间：
2019-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Shah, Rupal Ramesh
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Onyango, Monica Adhiambo;Resnick, Kirsten;Shah, Rupal Ramesh
2013-2015年西非埃博拉病毒病（EVD）爆发期间，应对工作的重点是控制该疾病并将新病例数减少至零。尽管这一重点很重要，但在疫情爆发期间，从未制定保护少女和年轻女性的方案。随着隔离和学校关闭以遏制疾病传播，妇女和少女很容易受到胁迫、剥削和性虐待，其中一些导致意外怀孕。年轻妇女和少女也无法参加社区会议，会上就如何保护自己免受感染进行教育和指导。虽然埃博拉病毒感染者和死亡人数得到了准确记录，但疫情爆发期间的暴力受害者却没有被统计、未被识别和无人照顾。在应对过程中性别被忽视，导致年轻女孩非常脆弱。未来的应对措施必须确保公平的卫生系统，并将性健康和生殖健康服务视为应对过程中的关键。创造安全空间并为少女提供信息和支持非常重要。安全空间可以为少女提供安全保障、谋生技能、针对性别暴力的心理社会咨询以及获得性健康和生殖健康信息和转诊服务的机会。
During the 2013-2015 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa, response efforts focused on containing the disease and reducing the number of new cases to zero. While this focus was important, protocols were never established to protect adolescent girls and young women during the outbreak. As quarantines and school closures were put in place to contain the spread of disease, women and adolescent girls were vulnerable to coercion, exploitation, and sexual abuse, some of which resulted in unwanted pregnancies. Young women and adolescent girls were also unable to attend community meetings where education and instructions were given about how to protect themselves from contracting the disease. While the number of Ebola-infected patients and deaths were recorded accurately, victims of violence during the outbreak went uncounted, unrecognized, and unattended. Gender was overlooked during the response, leaving young girls highly vulnerable. Future response must ensure equitable health systems and consider sexual and reproductive health services as essential during response. The creation of safe spaces and empowering teenage girls with information and support is important. Safe spaces can provide adolescent girls with security, livelihood skills, psychosocial counselling for gender-based violence, and access to sexual and reproductive health information and referral services.