War, Gender-Based Violence, and Nursing

II. Uluslararası, III. Ulusal Kadın Sağlığı Hemşireliği Kongresi, Ankara, Türkiye, 21 - 23 Aralık 2023, ss.302, (Özet Bildiri)

Münise Akyol1, Kevser Avcı2, İlknur Münevver Gönenç3, Şenay Topuz3

1Mamak State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

2Postgraduate Student, Ankara University, Institute of Health Sciences,

Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing, Ankara, Turkey

3Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ankara University,

Ankara, Turkey

War that creates regional and global problems, is fundamentally based on the

impulse of countries to possess material and immaterial values. Women and

children, who are vulnerable, get harm the most damage from the wars that

are going on in many parts of the world. This review was prepared to discuss

the situation of women who are trapped in war and conflict, who are exposed

to gender-based sexual violence, and the roles and responsibilities of nurses

in caring for these women. The findings obtained from Google Scholar

database using the literature review method has been summarized. Reports

indicate that 30% of women experience sexual violence during war. Sexual

violence and systematic rape against women are said to be used as a means

of "ethnic cleansing" and as weapons of war in wars. Rape, the form of sexual

violence most frequently suffered by women, becomes a means of gaining

advantage between warring parties, as women's bodies are perceived as part

of the enemy's territory. Rape in war leads to consequences such as unwanted

pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and social ostracization after the

conflict. Women face problems such as somatoform disorders, post-

traumatic stress disorder, depression, and sexual dysfunctions later in life due

to all these negative situations they are exposed to. Nurses are health

professionals in many fields such as medical care after sexual violence and

rape, detection, and treatment of injuries, forensic reporting and

documentation, protective and therapeutic services for sexually transmitted

infections, emergency contraception services, safe medical abortion,

pregnancy follow-up, psychosocial support, and follow-up services, in

addition to all health services they provide during and after wartime. In this

context, it is important to raise awareness of the role and responsibilities of

nurses in caring for women exposed to sexual violence in war and to address

this issue in training.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Warfare, Sexual violence, Woman, Nurse