Please note that there are two different conference venues: June 14/15 - Century City Conference Centre June 16 - Kirstenbosch Conference Centre (transportation available)
Abstract #76 Title: Being a girl in Diepsloot: Making meaning of risk and resilience Presenter: Linda Nienaber (University of Pretoria, South Africa) Co-Author: Salomé Human-Vogel Introduction: Girl youth, especially girl youth from high-risk communities, are vulnerable to risks. Interventions focused on addressing risk draw on western paradigms of resilience, not accounting for cultural aspects of resilience. Therefore, understanding how girls in Diepsloot conceptualise risk and resilience is an important step in fostering resilience among girl youth. Methods: I draw on an ecologically-oriented systemic approach to explore how girl youth make meaning of risk and resilience based on their lived experiences of being a girl in Diepsloot. Using a qualitative case study design, I collected data from eight girl youth in Diepsloot who attended an equine-assisted intervention in Diepsloot called Growing Great Girls. From open-ended focus group interviews, photovoice, journal entries and observations as data sources, I used inductive thematic data analysis to interrogate how girl youth make meaning of the risks they face to discover the source and nature of their resilience. Findings: The findings I will report on include themes focused on individual psychosocial characteristics, family climate, community-related social issues and broader societal issues. The findings of this study contributes to a broader understanding of risk and resilience that is ecologically relevant to the lives of girl youth from high risk communities.
Abstract #47 Title: Role of social support intervention to enhance women’s resilience in Karachi, Pakistan Presenter: Gerri Lasiuk (University of Alberta, Canada) Co-Author: Saima S. Hirani, Colleen Norris Introduction: Women’s mental health is a concern globally and especially in developing countries because of its direct association with children’s health. In developing countries like Pakistan, where resources are scarce, there is a need for low cost and gender sensitive interventions to promote women’s mental health in primary health care settings. Methods: A 6-week social support intervention was tested with 120 community-dwelling women in a low socioeconomic area of Karachi Pakistan. 60 women were randomly assigned to a 6-week group social support intervention, while the 60 women in the control group received a single session on mental health. Resilience was measured at baseline and immediately post-intervention using the Resilience Scale-14 (RS-14) and the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA). Findings: Women in the intervention group showed better resilience and ability to see goals and plans to achieve them. They also reported experiencing other positive changes and increased ability to address their day-to-day life issues. The study demonstrates that group interventions in primary health care settings have potential to promote resilience.
Abstract #163 Title: Resilience and Social Support Networks of Kenyan Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in Shelter Homes Presenter: Jane Rose Njue (Family and Child Studies, Northern Illinois University, USA) Co-Author: Joan Kabaria Muriithi, Lucy Kathuri-Ogola Introduction: This papers revisits the role played by individual women survivors and shelter homes in coping with the experience of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Premised on selected tenets of family resilience theory, it postulates that key processes in family resilience are pertinent in helping women survivors deal with traumatic experiences Methods: The discussions in the paper will be based on a study that was carried out in shelter homes in Nakuru and Nairobi, Kenya. The study employed a cross-sectional survey research design and studied four forms of violence: psychological, economic, physical and sexual. The target population comprised all women survivors of IPV who were seeking or had sought support services from the shelter homes in the past one year prior to the study and service providers in the shelter homes. Findings: Survivors relied on individual and community strengths to get through the trying times. However, the full utilization of the legal and economic framework has been hampered by deep seated cultural beliefs and weak enforcement capacity. Consequently, strengthening of the collaboration amongst relevant stakeholders in the management of IPV is paramount.
