Strength and Serenity

Global Initiative Against Gender-Based Violence

Strength and Serenity is a global initiative to end gender-based violence (GBV).

A smiling girl in a pink shirt and pink hijab, against a background of pillars in all shades of pink and red.

Explore This Initiative

Mission Statement

The Strength and Serenity Global Initiative Against Gender-Based Violence seeks to create a worldwide consortium to share best practices, develop training programs, and publish on issues pertaining to sexual exploitation and abuse with the goal to end gender-based violence.

About Us

Strength and Serenity is a global initiative to end gender-based violence (GBV).

The European Institute of Gender Equality defines gender-based violence as “violence directed against a person because of their gender.” Although both genders can experience GBV, women and girls around the world are more commonly impacted.

Gender-based violence takes various forms in different contexts, but is generally rooted in institutional violence and based on cultural, social, and economical perceptions of preconceived gender roles.

At the intersection of medicine, public health, culture, and social sciences, our approach is collaborative and constantly evolving. We partner with academics and professionals from different sectors working on the issue of violence to conduct research, develop programs, and inform policies in the U.S. and abroad.

MGH Global OB-GYN Newsletter

Strength and Serenity offers a concise monthly email newsletter, with field perspectives and informative content on topics related to global health and gender-based violence.

Read past issues

February/March 2024 On the Sociological Fringe? by Annekathryn Goodman, MD, MPH; Speaking Up against Gender Bias: From Barbie to the Bedside by Celeste Day, MS, CRNA; Disparities in Care Based on Gender: A Palliative Care Perspective by Bethany-Rose Daubman, MD.
January 2024 A Call for an Intersectional Gendered Approach to Cervical Cancer Interventions by Cecilia Van Hollen, PhD; Programmatic and Sociocultural Aspects of Preventing and Managing Cervical Cancer in Bangladesh: A Gender Lens Review by Dr. Fariha Haseen.
November/December 2023 Caregivers in Haiti: A Model for Humanity by Joia Mukherjee, MD, MPH; Interview with Jean-Claude Ulysse, MD; Violence Wrought on the Bodies of Women by Rebecca Henderson.
October 2023 Meeting Refugee Mental Health Needs by Dr. Noor Amawi; The Invisible Mental Health Crisis among Refugees in Germany by Dr. Sylke Bakker.
September 2023 The Global Displacement Crisis by Phuong N. Pham, PhD, MPH and Patrick Vinck, PhD, MS; Where Am I From? by Deepali Raina, MD.

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Resources

Academic Bibliography

Strength and Serenity regularly compiles and maintains a selection of relevant academic research papers, literature reviews, and recognized journalistic pieces on gender-based violence.

Download our bibliography (PDF)

Gendered Impacts of COVID Bibliography

We have compiled a bibliography of relevant literature on the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world. The selected publications address issues of access to care, especially sexual and reproductive health services; increased risk of intimate partner violence; and innovative solutions and resources to address these concerns.

Download our bibliography (PDF)

Obstetric Violence Bibliography

Download our bibliography (PDF)

Grants and Funding

Micro-Grants for Artists

Changing the Narrative on Gender-Based Violence Through Art

Strength and Serenity’s micro-grant program recognizes the transformative power of art and literature to inspire action to end gender-based violence. We support artists and writers so that they can help build awareness of the human impact of gender-based violence, give voice to people erased from this conversation, and foster the empathy necessary to drive change.

Grant Amount

Micro-grants are up to USD$300. We will award up to two grants per quarter for a total of up to eight grants annually.

Grant Uses

Micro-grants are intended to help with expenses involved with the creation of visual and literary works by assisting with such things as: artistic supplies, educational/mentorship programs, and other project-related expenses.

How to Apply

Please submit the following information to this email: globalobgynnews@partners.org. Indicate “Micro-Grant Application” in subject line.

Your full contact information, including website and social media links, if available.
A brief statement (max. 150 words) describing your interest in and/or experience with the subject of gender-based violence.
A brief description (max. 150 words) of your vision for the artwork/literary piece and how the grant will be used in the creation process.

Award Terms

Grantees will retain the copyright of their work.
Grantees agree to provide Strength and Serenity (S&S) a reproducible copy of work created with S&S funding support and to allow S&S to use it for educational purposes, including publication in S&S’s digital newsletter.

Research

Obstetric Violence

Obstetric violence is a worldwide phenomenon that takes on various forms, from absence of informed consent to physical harm. Strength and Serenity has published a literature review to assess the prevalence and root causes of obstetric violence in different countries and develop solutions to address disrespect and abuse in childbirth.

Strength and Serenity is conducting a qualitative research study with Tanzanian collaborators on disrespect and abuse in childbirth in Dodoma, Tanzania. Study objectives are to identify obstetric care providers’ perceptions of the underlying root causes of disrespect and abuse during childbirth; and to explore provider attitudes towards the different forms of disrespect and abuse that occur.

Strength and Serenity and our Tanzanian collaborators co-authored a literature review titled "Patient and Provider Perspectives of Disrespect and Abuse during Childbirth in Tanzania: A Literature Review." The paper reviews existing literature on this topic to better understand the individual and systemic factors that contribute to the prevalence of D&A during childbirth in Tanzania.

Yazidi Women and Sexual Violence in ISIS

We have, in collaboration with Hannah Bergbower, published a paper on the use of rape and sexual slavery of Yazidi women in the ISIS-controlled Northern region of Iraq.

Suicide as a Consequence of GBV

The aftermath of sexual assault can range from chronic physical pain, sexual dysfunction, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Suicide can be the tragic outcome for some survivors of sexual abuse. This study will address the following questions: Why do girls and women kill themselves after rape? What are the pressures that lead them to do that? Does the incidence of suicide vary by culture/religion/nationality?

Relationship of Structural Violence, GBV and Health Outcomes

Watch a recording of Dr. Annekathryn Goodman's webinar on this topic.

Listen to the pilot episode of the podcast ‘She Belongs’ featuring Dr. Annekathryn Goodman discussing GBV in disaster settings.

Documentation of Rape, GBV, and Human Trafficking: The Rohingya Experience

The current Rohingya refugee situation in Bangladesh has become one of the most protracted in the world. A significant number of Rohingya women and children fleeing Myanmar experienced sexual violence, and continue to face gender-based violence within the Bangladesh refugee camps. In collaboration with Iftkher Mahmood, we have published a commentary on what is known of the Rohingya experience and the humanitarian response.

Association between Intimate Partner Violence and Nutritional Status of Married Nepalese Women

The impact of IPV on nutritional status is not well-studied, and previous research has led to contradictory findings. Read our study exploring the association between IPV and the nutritional status of married Nepalese women.

Read our study (PDF)

Training Programs

Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking: Overview and Intersections with Gender-Based Violence

Take the "Human Trafficking" Training

Trauma-Informed Response to Gender-Based Violence

Toolkit for Providers: Understanding and Responding to Gender-Based Violence Through a Trauma-Informed Lens

Take the "Trauma-Informed Response to Gender-Based Violence" Training

Intersection of Housing Insecurity and Gender-Based Violence

Take the "Intersection of Housing Insecurity and Gender-Based Violence" Training

Gender-Based Violence in Disaster & Humanitarian Settings

Humanitarian interventions are designed to bring potentially life-saving support to vulnerable populations. To ensure that these interventions take into account gender dynamics, and do not neglect the needs of women and girls, humanitarian workers must be acutely aware of the importance of designing projects that specifically address those populations.

Strength and Serenity has created a training program for medical and public health professionals who participate in humanitarian missions and wish to approach field work with a gender-sensitive perspective. Our training program incorporates elements of implicit bias training and addresses underlying issues of gender and race discrimination as well as neglect in humanitarian work.

This training program is designed to bring a gender perspective to all types of humanitarian interventions, from setting up a latrine system in a refugee camp to screening for GBV in a typhoon-affected village. Using case studies, key concepts and talking points, the training encourages role-play and open discussion on how to best address different situations humanitarian workers may encounter.

More Information & Registration for Upcoming Trainings

No trainings currently scheduled. Please check back for updates.

Training Materials from Past Sessions

Session 1: GBV Screening
- PowerPoint presentation (PDF)
Seminar 2: GBV Interventions
- PowerPoint presentation (PDF)
Seminar 3: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
- PowerPoint Presentation (PDF)
Seminar 4: Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Aid-Workers
- PowerPoint Presentation (PDF)

Events

Annual MGH Ethics Forum

Strength and Serenity sponsors an annual ethics forum on topics relating to global and women's health. The ethics forum is open to the public, free of charge, and expected to take place virtually going forward. If you would like to receive more information about this annual event, please email us at globalobgynnews@partners.org.

Upcoming MGH Ethics Forum

Please check back for more information.

Past Ethics Forums

MGH Ethics Forum 2023

Young woman holding a baby Whose Body Is It? Global Reflections on Women's Autonomy to Make Reproductive Health Care Decisions.

Learn more | View a recording of the program

MGH Ethics Forum 2021

US Mexico map At the Crossroads of Ethics, Law, Medicine and Anthropology: How do we respond to those in need at the U.S. southern border?

Learn more | View a recording of the program

Other Ethics Events and Resources

Collaborations

MGH Center for Immigrant Health

While gender-based violence happens in all communities, it affects immigrant and refugee communities in distinct ways. Immigration status can heighten GBV survivors’ vulnerability to violence and exacerbate the nature of the violence they experience. In addition, there are multiple and intersecting barriers that can make it more difficult for immigrant GBV survivors to access the resources they need.

In an effort to prevent, recognize, and respond to GBV within immigrant and refugee communities, Strength and Serenity is partnering with the MGH Center for Immigrant Health (CIH) to develop staff trainings, educational modules, and research projects on GBV in the immigration context. In undertaking this collaboration, Strength and Serenity joins CIH in its mission to ensure that all MGH staff are equipped with the knowledge and resources to meet the needs of immigrant patients, and that all immigrant patients — regardless of legal status — feel safe accessing care to optimize their health.

We are partnering with CIH to produce a literature review on intergenerational trauma and resilience among immigrant families. This review explores child psychosocial outcomes resulting from parental trauma and the mechanisms through which trauma and resilience is transmitted across generations. We will also be developing an education module on this topic.

Uganda

We are working with a university in Uganda to establish a research and training partnership. The Ugandan team is particularly interested in exploring gender-based violence in humanitarian and conflict settings in the country’s northern region, which hosts a significant population of refugees from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Our Team

Annekathryn Goodman, MD, MS, MA, MPH
Founding Member, Executive Director

Dr. Annekathryn Goodman is a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and a fellow of both the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Surgeons. She has a fulltime practice in gynecologic oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and is an affiliate of Mass General Global Disaster Response and Humanitarian Action and the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate of Mass General's Center for Global Health. She is the director of the Strength & Serenity Mass General Global Initiative to End Gender-Based Violence and co-director of Mass General Women’s Global Health.

She completed medical school and residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and her fellowship training in gynecologic oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to board certification in gynecologic oncology, she is certified in acupuncture and has completed training in both pastoral and palliative care. She received a certificate in Clinical Ethics and Health Policy from the Center for Practical Bioethics, University of Kansas Medical School. She received a certificate in Global health and MPH in Health Policy and Management from New York Medical College. She has undergone advanced training in humanitarian disaster relief work through the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Missioncraft in disaster relief operations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.

She was the director of the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1998 through 2017. She is the past president of The Obstetrical Society of Boston and of the New England Society of Gynecologic Oncologists. She is also a member of the Ethics Committee at Massachusetts General Hospital.

She is a member of the national Trauma and Critical Care Team, a branch of the US Department of Health and Human Services and has deployed to various international disasters. Since 2008, she has been consulting in Bangladesh on cervical cancer prevention and the development of medical infrastructure to care for women with gynecologic cancers. She has directed a two-month observership in gynecologic oncology at Mass General for physicians from resource-limited countries since 2016.

Mary Greenwald, JD
Program/Editorial Coordinator
mgreenwald@mgh.harvard.edu

Mary Greenwald has a background in clinical ethics, health law, and advocacy for survivors of gender-based violence. Before joining Strength and Serenity, she worked in the Office of Clinical Ethics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, developing ethics teaching materials and educational programs for the hospital community. Earlier in her career, Mary was a staff attorney at Mass General Brigham and a legal advocate at The Second Step, where she collaborated with survivors of domestic violence to help build a future free from abuse. She has served as a director of the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts and is a recipient of its Pro Bono Award for her legal work on behalf of incarcerated women.

Maggie Gillen headshot

Maggie Gillen, MA
Research Coordinator
msgillen@mgh.harvard.edu

Maggie Gillen most recently completed her master's degree in applied psychology at University College Cork in Cork, Ireland where her studies focused on the facilitation of psychosocial wellbeing and creative activism among a group of migrant women living in the Direct Provision system in Ireland. Maggie's areas of interest include community psychology where psychological principles and skills are utilized within community-based settings to reach groups with limited access to mental health resources and support. She is also passionate about using her knowledge in psychology to address systems that contribute to experiences of adversity and exacerbate comorbid mental health difficulties among groups who are socially and economically marginalized. Maggie is currently working as the research coordinator with the Strength and Serenity team in collaboration with the MGH Center for Immigrant Health, where she is excited to apply her experience with ethnographic research and trauma-informed principles to explore the intersection of gender-based violence among immigrant communities.

Katy Doughty headshot

Katy Doughty, MPH
Research Coordinator
kldoughty@mgh.harvard.edu

Katy Doughty is a public health professional with experience in women's health and a particular interest in reducing health inequities among marginalized populations. She is pursuing her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Boston University School of Public Health. Before joining Strength and Serenity, she worked at Boston Medical Center's Neonatal Quality Improvement Collaborative and at Boston Children's Hospital's Center for Young Women's Health.

Sahana Narayan, MS, MSPH
Research Assistant

Sahana Narayan is an award-winning researcher, evaluator, academic, and journalist with a specific research interest in maternal health, maternal mortality, obstetric violence, and neonatal/postpartum care. She has worked at Columbia University Medical Center, Harvard Medical School (HMS), and UMass Chan Medical School, conducting research on healthcare delivery and implementation science, maternal and infant health, and obstetrics and gynecology practices. Sahana holds a Master of Science from HMS and a Master of Science in Public Health from Columbia University. She founded The 11 Seconds Magazine, a women’s health-focused medical humanities magazine. Sahana hopes to further her mission through an eventual career in medicine as a maternal-fetal surgeon, through investigative health journalism, and through integrating public health and the humanities in medical education.

Marcella Regina Cardoso, MSc, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Marcella Cardoso is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital | Harvard Medical School, affiliated with the MGH Center for Global Health. Currently, Marcella is conducting research with the Strength and Serenity team, focusing on the reproductive and oncologic consequences of gender-based violence in the context of humanitarian disasters. Additionally, Marcella is a trainee in the Fostering Diversity in HIV Research Program, a collaboration between Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and MGH.

She earned her master’s in Obstetrics and Gynecology, specializing in Maternal and Perinatal Health at the University of Campinas – Brazil. Subsequently, she pursued the first phase of her PhD at the same university, specializing in Gynecologic Oncology and Breast Cancer. Marcella completed the second phase of her PhD and defended her thesis at Harvard Medical School | Massachusetts General Hospital. She then began a postdoctoral fellowship in Immuno-Oncology and Infectious Diseases at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, where she was a member of the leadership team of WISE (Women In STEM Empowerment).

Marcella has a vision to improve healthcare outcomes and advocate for gender equity in medicine and research while also addressing the intersectionality of race and class.

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Adeline Boatin, MD, MPH
Obstetrics and Gynecology Partner

Dr. Boatin is a clinician, researcher and educator at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She received her medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons University and her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health, and then completed a four-year obstetrics and gynecology residency at Harvard. Dr. Boatin is currently an Assistant Professor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School. She is affiliate faculty at the Program for Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School and the Center for Global Health at MGH.

In addition to clinical care and resident training at MGH, Dr. Boatin is an NIH-funded clinical researcher with a focus on reducing global reproductive health inequities, particularly around the provision of safe and quality surgery. Her current research focuses on using wireless monitoring technology to overcome human resource limitations in post-operative care and the spectrum of quality of care around obstetric surgery in low- and middle-income countries.

Thomas C. Randall, MD
Obstetrics and Gynecology Partner

Dr. Randall is a gynecologic oncologist on staff at Mass General and the Yawkey Cancer Center. He received his MD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and did his internship and residency in OB/GYN at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He did his fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and practiced gynecologic oncology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1999-2013, where he became known as an expert in minimally invasive gynecologic cancer surgery.

From 2013 to 2017 Dr. Randall worked as a consultant in HPV-related cancers and cervical cancer control for the National Cancer Institute. In this role he worked in low resource environments and international policy settings to facilitate cervical cancer treatment and prevention in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Randall continues to work actively to limit cervical cancer around the world. He works with the International Gynecologic Cancer Society to provide fellowship training in gynecologic oncology to physicians in low resource countries. He is also actively studying and supporting capacity building in cervical cancer prevention and women’s health care in Uganda and Rwanda.

As a member of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Dr. Randall actively participates in multidisciplinary care of women with gynecologic cancers through surgery, chemotherapy and collaboration with the radiotherapy team. Dr. Randall is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at the Harvard Medical School and affiliate faculty for the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine and the MGH Center for Global Health. He works as an advisor for Partners in Health with a focus on cervical cancer control treatment of gynecologic cancers.

Research

Arun Chaudhary, MPH
Research Consultant

Arun Chaudhary is a social epidemiologist and an advocate of socio-economic development for health equity. He is specifically interested in gender equality and poverty eradication. He completed his Master's in Public Health (epidemiology and global health) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2018. He is a co-founder and a board member of Abiral Foundation and volunteers with Health Foundation Nepal, non-profit organizations that work to promote health and development in Nepal. Currently, he is pursuing a MicroMasters in Data, Economics and Development Policy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working with Health Foundation Nepal to expand a maternal mental health program in Dang, Nepal, and exploring a collaboration with a mothers’ group cooperative to distribute microcredit loans in Birgunj, Nepal.

Training

Lynn Black, MD, MPH
Founding Member, Co-Director, GBV Training

Dr. Black’s career has been broadly engaged in global and public health, clinical medicine, disaster and humanitarian assistance, along with hospital administration. While Dr. Black’s clinical experience has been in both Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, her work is highlighted by leadership and clinical roles in clinician and patient resiliency, disaster relief, access to care, maternal-child health, and gender-based violence in regions around the world, including Africa, Haiti, Central America, Micronesia and the United States. Through the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and MISSIONCRAFT in Disaster Relief Organizations, she has participated in advanced training in humanitarian disaster relief work. Dr. Black has served as the Chief Medical Officer for the Trauma and Critical Care Team for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

She is a certified health and wellness coach, working with clinicians to address trauma and resiliency. She has participated in a trauma mitigation master program and Realizing Resilience Coaching Masterclass©.

Dr. Black has been a subject matter expert on emergency medical teams and palliative care in disaster settings for the World Health Organization and as a technical liaison to the Disaster Medical Coordination International Society. She has served on the Massachusetts General Hospital Ethics Committee and as a clinical evaluator for asylum seekers with Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Black has been the Chair of the Public Health Committee for the Massachusetts Medical Society and was award the Henry Ingersoll Bowditch award for her contributions to public health. She received a B.S. in nursing from the University of Vermont and subsequently, completed her master’s degree in Public Health Policy and her medical education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her residency was in Internal Medicine at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.

Kristen Giambusso, MPH
Co-Director, GBV Training

Kristen is Deputy Director of Global Disaster Response and Humanitarian Action at MGH Global Health. She began her career at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and went on to obtain her Master of Public Health degree from Boston University School of Public Health focusing on International Health. Prior to joining MGH Global Health, Kristen worked overseas in Zimbabwe and Peru and spent several years working in research within the University of California system in both Oakland and San Francisco. Kristen received a Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) certificate from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has several years of volunteer experience with International Rescue Committee and the American Red Cross.

Lindsey Martin, NP
Co-Director, GBV Training

Lindsey is director of Global Disaster Response and Humanitarian Action at Mass General. She is trained as a critical care nurse practitioner with a focus on surgical critical care and trauma. After starting her NP career at University of Maryland Medical Center-Shock Trauma, in 2015 she joined the Blake 12 surgical ICU at Mass General and started volunteering on the Global Disaster Response Team. Her deployments have included the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, 2016 Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, 2017 Hurricane Harvey in Houston and Maria in Puerto Rico. She has assumed the role of team leader on multiple deployments, most recently leading a 26-member medical EMAC to Ponce, Puerto Rico. In addition she has participated in multiple training exercises and disaster simulations with MGH and its partner organizations.

Lindsey also has worked as public health clinical faculty at Northeastern University and has training in wilderness medicine and pre-hospital care as an EMT. Other international work includes volunteering with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa. She will be starting her Masters in Global Public Health this year at Brown University.

The Mass General Difference

Conditions & Treatments

Patients & Visitors

Research & Innovation

Global Initiative Against Gender-Based Violence

Strength and Serenity Global Initiative Against Gender-Based Violence

Explore This Initiative

Mission Statement

About Us

MGH Global OB-GYN Newsletter

Resources

Academic Bibliography

Gendered Impacts of COVID Bibliography

Obstetric Violence Bibliography

Grants and Funding

Micro-Grants for Artists

Changing the Narrative on Gender-Based Violence Through Art

Grant Amount

Grant Uses

How to Apply

Award Terms

Research

Obstetric Violence

Yazidi Women and Sexual Violence in ISIS

Suicide as a Consequence of GBV

Relationship of Structural Violence, GBV and Health Outcomes

Documentation of Rape, GBV, and Human Trafficking: The Rohingya Experience

Association between Intimate Partner Violence and Nutritional Status of Married Nepalese Women

Training Programs

Human Trafficking

Trauma-Informed Response to Gender-Based Violence

Intersection of Housing Insecurity and Gender-Based Violence

Gender-Based Violence in Disaster & Humanitarian Settings

Events

Annual MGH Ethics Forum

MGH Ethics Forum 2023

MGH Ethics Forum 2021

Collaborations

MGH Center for Immigrant Health

Uganda

Our Team

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Research

Training