Gender influences on child survival, health and nutrition: a ... - Unicef

<strong>Gender</strong> Influences On Child Survival, Health And Nutrition: A Narrative Review
(CEDV) which includes direct prenatal exposure and direct or indirect involvement meaning that the
child may have experienced an altered environment in the womb due to violence against the mother, or
been involved directly in witnessing or experiencing an assault, or been told of or heard about an assault
second-hand (p. 1535). Although the studies referred to here may not have used this definition
consistently, most nevertheless refer to direct prenatal exposure and direct involvement of the child in
violence.
The majority of the studies included in the review are from high-income countries, however the
following results are taken from studies included in the review but conducted in low and middle income
contexts across Latin America, South Asia and Africa. The diagram below (Figure 3) summarises the
evidence and provides a visual representation of the links between violence against mothers and
increased risks to child survival, health and nutrition 17 .
17 There are of course multiple effects of violence that may impact on health, by increasing fear, disempowerment
and other forms of social, psychological and emotional risks. This diagram details those which have been identified
in the literature on effects of violence on child health and nutrition. The root causes of such violence are briefly
discussed towards the end of the section and in Box 10.
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