Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T08:15:41.925Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Increased Gender-based Violence Among Women Internally Displaced in Mississippi 2 Years Post–Hurricane Katrina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2013

Michael Anastario ,
Nadine Shehab  and
Lynn Lawry
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objectives: Although different types of gender-based violence (GBV) have been documented in disaster-affected populations, no studies have documented a quantitative increase in rates of GBV among populations living in protracted displacement after a disaster. We aimed to assess the change in rates of GBV after Hurricane Katrina among internally displaced people (IDPs) living in travel trailer parks in Mississippi.

Methods: The study design included successive cross-sectional randomized surveys, conducted in 2006 and 2007, among IDPs in Mississippi using a structured questionnaire. We sampled 50 travel trailer parks in 9 counties in Mississippi in 2006, and 69 parks in 20 counties in 2007. A total of 420 female respondents comprised the final sample. We measured respondent demographics, forms of GBV including sexual and physical violence further subtyped by perpetrator, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9–assessed depression.

Results: Respondents had a mean age of 42.7 years. The crude rate of new cases of GBV among women increased from 4.6/100,000 per day to 16.3/100,000 per day in 2006, and remained elevated at 10.1/100,000 per day in 2007. The increase was primarily driven by the increase in intimate partner violence. GBV experience was significantly associated with increased risk for poor mental health outcomes.

Conclusions: Overall, the rate of GBV, particularly intimate partner violence, increased within the year following Hurricane Katrina and did not return to baseline during the protracted phase of displacement. Disaster planning efforts should incorporate plans to decrease the incidence of GBV following a disaster, and to ensure adequate services to people with postdisaster GBV experience. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3:18–26)

Keywords

internally displaced peoplewomen’s healthgender-based violenceHurricane Katrina
Type
Original Research and Critical Analysis
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , March 2009 , pp. 18 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. What Is Gender Based Violence? http://www.un-instraw.org/en/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=909&Itemid=0. Accessed November 21, 2007.Google Scholar
2.Amowitz, LL, Reis, C, Lyons, KH, et alPrevalence of war-related sexual violence and other human rights abuses among internally displaced persons in Sierra Leone. JAMA. 2002;287:513–521.Google Scholar
3.Larrance, R, Anastario, M, Lawry, L. Health status among internally displaced persons in Louisiana and Mississippi travel trailer parks. Ann Emerg Med. 2007;49:590–601.Google Scholar
4.Fothergill, A. Heads Above Water: Gender, Class, and Family in the Grand Forks Flood. Albany: State University of New York Press; 2004.Google Scholar
5.Toole, MJ, Waldman, RJ. The public health aspects of complex emergencies and refugee situations. Annu Rev Public Health. 1997;18:283–312.Google Scholar
6.Khawaja, M, Barazi, R. Prevalence of wife beating in Jordanian refugee camps: reports by men and women. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005;59:840–841.Google Scholar
7.Amowitz, LL, Kim, G, Reis, C, et alHuman rights abuses and concerns about women’s health and human rights in southern Iraq. JAMA. 2004;291:1471–1479.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Amowitz, LL, Heisler, M, Iacopino, V. A population-based assessment of women’s mental health and attitudes toward women’s human rights in Afghanistan. J Women’s Health (Larchmont). 2003;12:577–587.Google Scholar
9. World Health Organization. Ethical and Safety Recommendations for Researching, Documenting, and Monitoring Sexual Violence in Emergencies. http://www.who.int/gender/documents/EthicsSafety_web.pdf. Accessed July 10, 2007.Google Scholar
10. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. http://www.unfpa.org/women/1325.htm. Accessed January 7, 2009.Google Scholar
11.Mollica, RF, McInnes, K, Sarajlic, N, et alDisability associated with psychiatric comorbidity and health status in Bosnian refugees living in Croatia. JAMA. 1999;282:433–439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Kim, G, Torbay, R, Lawry, L. Basic health, women’s health, and mental health among internally displaced persons in Nyala Province, South Darfur, Sudan. Am J Public Health. 2007;97:353–361.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Post-Hurricane Andrew Assessment of Health Care Needs and Access to Health Care in Dade County, Florida. EPI-AID 93-09. Miami: Dept of Health and Rehabilitative Services; 1992.Google Scholar
14.Stein, MB, Kennedy, C. Major depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder comorbidity in female victims of intimate partner violence. J Affect Disord. 2001;66:133–138.Google Scholar
15.Houry, D, Kaslow, NJ, Thompson, MP. Depressive symptoms in women experiencing intimate partner violence. J Interpers Violence. 2005;20:1467–1477.Google Scholar
16.Houry, D, Kemball, R, Rhodes, KV, Kaslow, NJ. Intimate partner violence and mental health symptoms in African American female ED patients. Am J Emerg Med. 2006;24:444–450.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Avdibegovic, E, Sinanovic, O. Consequences of domestic violence on women’s mental health in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croat Med J. 2006;47:730–741.Google Scholar
18.Loxton, D, Schofield, M, Hussain, R. Psychological health in midlife among women who have ever lived with a violent partner or spouse. J Interpers Violence. 2006;21:1092–1107.Google Scholar
19.Lehrer, JA, Buka, S, Gortmaker, S, et alDepressive symptomatology as a predictor of exposure to intimate partner violence among US female adolescents and young adults. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:270–276.Google Scholar
20.Kaslow, N, Thompson, M, Meadows, L, et alRisk factors for suicide attempts among African American women. Depress Anxiety. 2000;12:13–20.Google Scholar
21.Brody, DS, Hahn, SR, Spitzer, RL, et alIdentifying patients with depression in the primary care setting: a more efficient method. Arch Intern Med. 1998;158:2469–2475.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22.Kroenke, K, Spitzer, RL, Williams, JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16:606–613.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23. Suicide prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/suicide/Suicide-def.htm. Accessed January 7, 2009.Google Scholar
24. Suicide and suicidal behavior. National Institutes of Health Web site. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001554.htm. Accessed April 3, 2005.Google Scholar
25.Reis, C, Amowitz, LL, Hare-Lyons, K, et alThe Prevalence of Sexual Violence and Other Human Rights Abuses Among Internally Displaced Persons in Sierra Leone: A Population-based Assessment. Boston: Physicians for Human Rights; 2002.Google Scholar
26.World Medical Association. Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. 5th ed. Edinburgh: World Medical Association; 2000.Google Scholar
27.Stata 10 computer program. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP; 2007.Google Scholar
28. Checchi F, Roberts L. Interpreting and using mortality data in humanitarian emergencies: A primer for non-epidemiologists. http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?ID=2749. Accessed May 31, 2006.Google Scholar
29.Rhodes, KV, Lauderdale, DS, He, T, et al“Between me and the computer”: increased detection of intimate partner violence using a computer questionnaire. Ann Emerg Med. 2002;40:476–484.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30.Trautman, DE, McCarthy, ML, Miller, N, et alIntimate partner violence and emergency department screening: computerized screening versus usual care. Ann Emerg Med. 2007;49:526–534.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31. Survey response rate calculation. http://home.clara.net/sisa/casro.htm. Accessed December 7, 2007.Google Scholar
32. Crime in the United States 2004 Uniform Crime Reports. http://www.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/ucr/cius_04/documents/CIUS2004.pdf. Accessed December 17, 2008.Google Scholar
33.Frasier, PY, Belton, L, Hooten, E, et alDisaster down east: using participatory action research to explore intimate partner violence in eastern North Carolina. Health Educ Behav. 2004;31 (Suppl 4) 69S–84S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34.Watts, C, Zimmerman, C. Violence against women: global scope and magnitude. Lancet. 2002;359:1232–1237.Google Scholar
35.Fischbach, RL, Herbert, B. Domestic violence and mental health: correlates and conundrums within and across cultures. Soc Sci Med. 1997;45:1161–1176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36.MacMillan, HL, Wathen, CN, Jamieson, E, et alApproaches to screening for intimate partner violence in health care settings: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2006;296:530–536.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37.Plichta, SB, Duncan, MM, Plichta, L. Spouse abuse, patient-physician communication, and patient satisfaction. Am J Prev Med. 1996;12:297–303.Google Scholar
38.Gerbert, B, Johnston, K, Caspers, N, et alExperiences of battered women in health care settings: a qualitative study. Women Health. 1996;24:1–17.Google Scholar
39.Feder, GS, Hutson, M, Ramsay, J, et alWomen exposed to intimate partner violence: expectations and experiences when they encounter health care professionals. A meta-analysis of qualitative studies. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:22–37.Google Scholar
40.Rodriguez, MA, Sheldon, WR, Bauer, HM, et alThe factors associated with disclosure of intimate partner abuse to clinicians. J Fam Pract. 2001;50:338–344.Google Scholar
41.Kessler, RC, Berglund, P, Demler, O, et alThe epidemiology of major depressive disorder: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). JAMA. 2003;289:3095–3105.Google Scholar
42. IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. World Health Organization Web site. http://www.who.int/hac/network/interagency/news/mental_health_guidelines/en/index.html. Accessed November 26, 2007.Google Scholar
43.Loxton, D, Schofield, M, Hussain, R, et alHistory of domestic violence and physical health in midlife. Violence Against Women. 2006;12:715–731.Google Scholar
44.Coker, AL, Sanderson, M, Fadden, MK, et alIntimate partner violence and cervical neoplasia. J Women’s Health Gender Based Med. 2000;9:1015–1023.Google Scholar
45.Campbell, JC. Health consequences of intimate partner violence. Lancet. 2002;359:1331–1336.Google Scholar
46.Coker, AL, Smith, PH, Fadden, MK. Intimate partner violence and disabilities among women attending family practice clinics. J Women’s Health (Larchmont). 2005;14:829–838.Google Scholar
47.Drossman, DA, Leserman, J, Nachman, G, et alSexual and physical abuse in women with functional or organic gastrointestinal disorders. Ann Intern Med. 1990;113:828–833.Google Scholar
48.Babbie, E. The Practice of Social Research. Florence, KY: Wadsworth; 2000.Google Scholar
49.Wilson, J, Phillips, B, Neal, D. Domestic violence after disaster. In: Enarson E, ed. The Gendered Terrain of Disaster: Through Women’s Eyes. Westport, CT: Greenwood; 1998 115–122.Google Scholar
50.Enarson, E. Violence against women in disasters: a study of domestic violence programs in the United States and Canada. Violence Against Women. 1999;5:742–768.Google Scholar
51.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Post-Hurricane Andrew Assessment of Health Care Needs and Access to Health Care in Dade County, FL. Miami: Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services; 1992 93–109.Google Scholar
52. Inter-Agency Standing Committee: Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings. World Health Organization Web site. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iasc/content/subsidi/tfgender/gbv. Accessed May 23, 2006.Google Scholar
53. The FREDA Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children. Reports and articles: 1998. http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/freda/reports. Accessed November 26, 2007.Google Scholar
54.Kothari, CL, Rhodes, KV. Missed opportunities: emergency department visits by police-identified victims of intimate partner violence. Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:190–199.Google Scholar