Peer-reviewed article
A qualitative investigation of gender-based violence prevention and response using digital technologies in low resource settings and refugee populations
Luissa Vahedi, Lindsay Stark, Rachel Ding, Caroline Masboungi, Dorcas Erskine et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This qualitative study examined how organizations providing gender-based violence prevention and response services rapidly shifted to digital platforms during COVID-19 in Brazil, Guatemala, Iraq, and Italy. Researchers interviewed service providers from medical, legal, and psychosocial sectors to understand their experiences with digitalization. The study found that while many services successfully moved online, digital divides and new forms of online violence created significant barriers to safe and equitable service delivery for women and displaced girls.
Key points
- A spectrum of GBV prevention and response services were digitalized during COVID-19 across multiple sectors
- Gender digital divide emerged as a major barrier to equitable, safe, and effective service digitalization
- Digital violence became an unintended consequence of increased digitalization across social and public services
- Digitalization requires balancing the benefits of remote service delivery with access and safety considerations
- Study covered four countries with different socio-political contexts: Brazil, Guatemala, Iraq, and Italy
Limitations
This qualitative study captures service provider perspectives but does not measure outcomes for survivors of gender-based violence or assess the actual effectiveness of digitalized services. The findings are based on interviews conducted during 2020-2021 and may not reflect longer-term sustainability or adaptations made after the acute phase of the pandemic.
Abstract
Background: Governmental and non-governmental organizations across medical, legal, and psychosocial sectors providing care to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and their families rapidly digitalized services during the COVID-19 pandemic. GBV prevention/response services working with women and children who are forcibly displaced and/or living in low-and-middle income countries (LMIC) were no exception to the rapid digitalization trend. Literature is lacking a critical synthesis of best practices and lessons learned since digitalization replaced major operations involved in GBV prevention/response.Objective: This research qualitatively investigated how GBV service providers, located in a range of socio-political settings, navigated the process of digitalizing GBV prevention/response during the COVID-19 crisis.Method: Semi-structured key informant interviews (KII) with GBV service providers in varied sectors were implemented virtually (2020–2021) in Brazil, Guatemala, Iraq, and Italy (regarding forcibly displaced women/girls for the latter). Participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Interview guides covered a range of topics: perceived changes in violence and service provision, experiences with virtual services, system coordination, and challenges. The KIIs were conducted in Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, and Italian. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. The research team conducted thematic analysis within and between countries using a structured codebook of data driven and theory driven codes.Results: Major themes concerned the: (1) spectrum of services that were digitalized during the COVID-19 crisis; (2) gender digital divide as a barrier to equitable, safe, and effective service digitalization; (3) digital violence as an unintended consequence of increased digitalization across social/public services.Conclusion: Digitalization is a balancing act with respect to (1) the variety of remotely-delivered services that are possible and (2) the access/safety considerations related to the gender digital divide and digital violence.