Documenting cases of violence against women and girls and recording the health sector response: How to strengthen health administrative data on intimate partner violence and sexual violence in the Region of the Americas. Information kit

Abstract

Violence against women and girls is a major public health challenges in the Region of the Americas. While preventing violence requires a multisectoral response, the health system has a critical role to play, including providing appropriate care and support to survivors of violence. One of the strengths of the health system response is its access to valuable data to monitor the response to violence, to sensitize others, and to advocate for change.

Good health administrative data facilitate the adoption, adaptation, and improvement of the response to violence against women and girls. Generating comparable statistics on cases of violence and the quality of health care offered allows health professionals and those responsible for health management and policymaking to monitor key indicators and make decisions based on scientific evidence.

This toolkit aims to support health workers, managers and policymakers in the collection and use of health administrative data on intimate partner and non-partner sexual violence. It includes information sheets that introduce and explain the importance of collecting health administrative data for cases of intimate partner violence and sexual violence and proposes a form for collecting these data and instructions for their correct use. It also stresses the importance of offering a health system response of good quality and based on human rights principles. The kit aligns with existing Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization recommendations and tools and provides practical guidance to health sector staff in the implementation of this guidance and the strengthening of health administrative data on violence against women and girls.