Cooperation between women’s NGOs and healthcare providers: A comparative study in the Western Balkans and Turkey

The assessment “Cooperation between women’s NGOs and healthcare providers: A comparative study in the Western Balkans and Turkey” provides a snapshot of the quality of cooperation between women’s civil society organizations and healthcare providers within the broader context of multisectoral response to violence against women (VAW). The research also explores and illustrates various aspects of such cooperation, including referral pathways, cooperation with mental healthcare professionals, standardized forms to document injuries, guidelines or protocols in place for healthcare providers, and promising practices and shortcomings of such cooperation, among others.

Assessing the level of cooperation between women’s NGOs and healthcare providers supporting women victims of violence is an important aspect of the overall response to violence against women and domestic violence. Through analysis of survey responses from 14 NGOs, cooperation with healthcare providers has been assessed as average, which is consistent with other recent comparative surveys in the Western Balkans region.

Furthermore, the research also found more effective cooperation among organizations and healthcare providers who had established a personal link. However, the data gathered from women’s NGOs working in the field suggests that information is scarce when it comes to the work carried out by healthcare professionals as well as the protocols in place that guide their response. Therefore, there is an apparent need to gather and utilize national-level data on victims’ access to healthcare for the purpose of monitoring, shadow reporting and advocacy.

The regional assessment was developed by Women against Violence Europe Network (WAVE), under the UN Women regional programme on ending violence against women “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds,” funded by the European Union.