The workshop aims to gather health officials to discuss the current system, mechanism, tools and capacity of the health sectors in responding and addressing Violence against Women (VAW) as well as to prioritize key actions in the National Plan of Action on Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women and Violence against Children in Lao PDR 2014-2020 relevant to the health sector and recommendations on what can be done.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Phouthone MuongPak, Vice Minister of Ministry of Health spoke at the workshop that health sector plays a key role to support survivors: “We need a collective responding system throughout health sectors at all levels, to ensure that we are ready to support survivors with appropriate and quality healthcare services including sexual and reproductive health.”

The study shows that VAW has serious direct and indirect consequences on women’s physical and mental health, in the short and long terms. Nearly half of all women who were physically or sexually abused by their husbands reported frequent physical injuries, and survivors of violence are four times more likely to consider suicide. VAW can have a long-term psychological impact on both women and their children.

According to the study, women ever-pregnant and who experienced physical and/or sexual violence had a higher likelihood of miscarriage (30.6%) and abortion (18.5%) than those who did not experience violence (20.4% and 8.7%, respectively).

A female interviewee in rural said: “When I was 5 months pregnant with my daughter he would hit me in the face and kick my stomach 3 – 4 times.”

“VAW has serious consequences on women’s physical and mental health and their well-being, thus, we need to ensure that they can access to healthcare including reproductive health, post-rape care and counselling.” – said Frederika Meijer, UNFPA Representative.

Violence against Women is also costly to societies and the health sector is directly affected by these costs, especially when taking into account the extra burden that caring for survivors of violence places on it. Hence, it is significant to increase attention and investment in primary prevention. The Health sector also has an important role to play including data collection on prevalence and the use of health strategies to change social norms.

Violence against Women is a major problem with many health implications. The health sector has a role to play in both prevention and response. However, addressing this issue requires a response from various sectors. Only when the health system is coordinated with the criminal justice system, education and so forth will an effective response be sustained.

Responding to VAW requires multi-sector’s supports. These include increasing women and children’s access to police and justice, social and welfare support as well as health care services. Specifically, these services should ensure security, safety and protection, with appropriate healthcare for injuries and psychological trauma, sexual and reproductive health needs.

Seeking for help is not easy for abused-women. They are afraid to lose their children if they talk to someone, to bring shame on the family or to upset their partner. The study indicates that only one in five women who experienced violence sought help from local authorities, police and healthcare service.

Access the report in Lao version at: http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/lao/?reports=13625

Access the report in English version at: http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/lao/?reports=13626

For more information please contact:
Vanly Lorkuangming 
Communication Associate, UNFPA Lao PDR
Tel: +856 21 315 547, 353 048, 353 049
Mobile: +856 20 9990 3355
E-mail: lorkuangming@unfpa.org 
Website: http://lao.unfpa.org /