Health and Well-Being Consequences for Gender Violence Survivors from Isolating Gender Violence

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Aug 15;18(16):8626. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18168626.

Abstract

Recent scientific literature has published about the Isolating Gender Violence (IGV), the violence exerted by harassers against those who support their victims. IGV provokes suffering to advocates with health and well-being consequences that have been analyzed by more recent research; but IGV provokes also suffering on the victims of gender violence when they see the suffering of those who have supported them and also for their isolation. Thus, the aim of the present study is to explore the health and well-being consequences of IGV on gender violence survivors. The methodology includes three narratives of gender violence survivors whose advocates supporting them were victimized by IGV. The results show, on the one hand, an increase of the health and well-being effects of gender violence already analyzed by scientific literature; on the other hand, new health and well-being effects appear. All survivors interviewed say that, besides those new consequences for their health, the support of those advocates has decreased the global health effects of the total gender violence they suffered.

Keywords: bystander intervention; gender-based violence; health consequences; isolating gender violence; policymakers; practitioners; sexual abuse; sexual harassment; survivors; well-being.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Gender Identity
  • Gender-Based Violence*
  • Humans
  • Narration
  • Survivors
  • Violence