The association has also taken an active role in lobbying the government on legislation to protect women s legal rights, specifically the Domestic Violence Law No. 24-97 which modified the Penal Code to criminalize domestic violence, sexual abuse, sexual assault, and incest. Rape is a violation of human rights and a public health problem, but there are not clear mechanisms for responding to the problem. Society is not taking the measures we need to stop aggressors, and we re not protecting the victims. This is critical, as health care workers need to understand that GBV has many negative reproductive health consequences in order to be able to provide appropriate care for victims. The training includes knowing how to detect GBV, how to respond to a client who reveals that she has experienced GBV, and the role and expectations of the provider.
Unprepared providers can lead women to despair, and they won t come back to the health center.
For these reasons, integration of care for survivors requires the commitment and participation of health care workers and society as a whole.