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. 2025 Mar;31(3-4):789-812.
doi: 10.1177/10778012241230326. Epub 2024 Feb 23.

What Women Want: Mental Health in the Context of Violence Against Women in Sri Lanka-A Qualitative Study of Priorities and Capacities for Care

Alexis Palfreyman  1 , Kavitha Vijayaraj  2 , Safiya Riyaz  2 , Zahrah Rizwan  2 , Sambasivamoorthy Sivayokan  3 , T H Samanmalee Thenakoon  4 , Madhubashinee Dayabandara  4 , Raveen Hanwella  4 , Delan Devakumar  1
Affiliations

What Women Want: Mental Health in the Context of Violence Against Women in Sri Lanka-A Qualitative Study of Priorities and Capacities for Care

Alexis Palfreyman et al. Violence Against Women. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Insufficient evidence guides mental health service development for survivors of violence against women in Sri Lanka. Provider and survivor perspectives on (1) what constitutes mental health, (2) quality of care, and (3) priority areas and stakeholders for intervention were identified through framework analysis of 53 in-depth interviews. Desired care is chiefly psychosocial-not psychological-prioritizing socioeconomic, parenting, and safe environment needs in non-clinical community settings. Our evidence points strongly to the need to strengthen non-mental health community-based providers as "first contacts" and reassessment of health system-centric interventions which neglect preferred community responses and more holistic approaches accounting for women's full circumstances.

Keywords: Sri Lanka; intimate partner violence; mental health; psychosocial support; violence against women.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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