The roles and ethics of psychosocial support workers in integrated health services for sexual and gender-based violence survivors

Abstract

Summary Mental Health and Psychosocial Support are integral components of the multisectoral programs addressing wartime sexual violence. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, an integrated framework known as the one-stop centre model was implemented at Panzi Hospital for delivering medical, legal, psychosocial, and socioeconomic support services for wartime sexual violence survivors. While recent developments broadly described this model with more focus on its medical pillar, there is limited knowledge on how its psychosocial support component can be harnessed in addressing wartime sexual violence. This article explored the roles and ethics of psychosocial support in integrated health services based on the research data from 11 in-depth interviews with the psychosocial support workers and desk reviews. Findings The findings of this study indicated that the roles and ethics of psychosocial workers in addressing wartime sexual violence are limited by the lack of adequately trained staff members, low professional status, and complex ethical challenges. In this case, psychosocial support draws more from virtue ethics and moral constructivism and less from professional utilitarianism and deontology. While both approaches are integral to providing support services, combining them is necessary for the complementarity and consistency of therapeutic processes. The study's findings also demonstrated the lack of professional social work and mental health interventions in the Congo and suggested coordinated actions engaging social work education, policy, and research developments. Applications We conclude that the roles and ethics of psychosocial support should be of serious concern to decision-makers, practitioners, and educators.

Community Governance Dalam Pencegahan Dan Penanganan Kekerasan Seksual Terhadap Anak Di Kota Bukittinggi

“…Selain itu, Kota Bukittinggi juga memiliki kearifan lokal yang berdasarkan filosofi Adaik Basandi Syarak, Syarak Basandi Kitabullah yang bisa dimanfaatkan untuk pencegahan dan penanganan kekerasan terhadap anak. Kearifan lokal ini melibatkan peran Tigo Tungku Sajarangan dan Bundo kanduang untuk memberikan pemahaman terhadap nilai-nilai luhur budaya kepada masyarakat guna menekan angka kekerasan termasuk kekerasan seksual terhadap anak (Hosseini-Hooshyar et al, 2022;Kasherwa et al, 2023;Messing et al, 2014;Ranganathan et al, 2022).…”