Background
Violence against women is a serious public health issue and violation of human rights. At Nepalgung Medical College Teaching Hospital, around 30 women seek help for gender-based physical and sexual abuse every month. This hospital is one of the biggest referral health institutions in Nepal, but has lacked sufficient medical and social support services for women who have been subjected to gender-based violence.

About the project
This project was created to strengthen the system for providing care and support to physically and sexually abused women. A protocol for how to treat women subjected to gender-based violence was developed by the hospital’s head of departments, which clearly explained how to treat these clients, what tests to perform and how to assess their injuries. The care services were also strengthened by training the health workers on gender-based violence and recruiting a qualified counsellor for the hospital’s social support unit.

Results
By the end of this project, 80 clients had been treated according to the new protocol and all of them received counselling from the social support unit. As the word spread in the community about the new services offered at the hospital, more women came to seek help. The health workers’ awareness of gender-based violence had increased by the end of the project and the care services for clients suffering from gender-based violence are now part of the mainstream health care delivery system at the hospital.

Year: 2009