GENDER
AND MENTAL HEALTH
By Bhargavi Davar
Mental
ill health is often rooted in common sufferings of life,
relationships, survival and work. A trend of greater common
mental disorders and the need for social planning to address “life
problems”
as well has been repeatedly validated in the international
as well as in the national context.
We
assume a “social determinants” model of mental health in
this chapter. “Empowerment” is not just a political concept
but also a key mental health strategy, because of various
psychological benefits derived. Even though some marginal
gains have been obtained for women’s empowerment in Gujarat,
there is much to be achieved still. The health and reproductive
health status of women, linkages of work, family and health,
all point to several stressors impacting women’s mental
health.
Domestic
violence has both short and long term effects on the mental
health of women, children as well as the entire family.
Communal conflict and other types of disaster situations
bring their own mental health impact and disability on
communities. Local evidence points to the enormity of these
issues and the urgent need for community mental health
interventions. Men need to be equally involved in all such
interventions.
There
are evident linkages between reproductive health and MH.
There is an expressed need for integration and linkages
with support counseling or MH services. Finally, MH care
also contributes a lot in attitudinal and behavioural changes
in communities relating to RH, sexuality and body image
issues of men and women. RH program impact is possibly
improved by strengthening the underlying behavioural, attitudinal
and MH dimensions of gender relationships. A gap in the
studies is the lack of address of men’s (and boys’) RH
issues.
The
mental health status of women in Gujarat is commensurate
with women’s mental health status in India and around the
world. There is a need for gender sensitive services addressing
special needs of men and women. Women’s positive MH has
a significant impact on the overall health of the community
(family, community and children). NGOs and women’s organizations
have a role to play in this.
Address
for correspondence:
Bhargavi
Davar
Center for Advocacy in Mental Health, Pune
info@camhindia.org ; wamhc@dataone.in
|
