Effective gender-based violence screening tools for use in primary health care settings in Afghanistan and Pakistan: a systematic review

Health care providers have an important role to play in the prevention and response to violence against women. However, the existing tools for screening for gender-based violence have been mostly formulated in the context of developed countries. This paper assesses which violence screening tools designed for use as the primary health care level would be feasible for use in Afghanistan and Pakistan, countries characterized by limited resources, unsupportive institutional frameworks and gender and social norms that reinforce domestic violence. A systematic review was made of the literature to evaluate the different screening instruments. The Women’s Experience with Battering Scale (short version) and the Ongoing Violence Assessment Tool were judged to be the most useful tools for screening for violence against women in Afghanistan and Pakistan because they are short, easy to administer and to score and respond to health care provider identified barriers of time and knowledge constraints for conducting screening for intimate partner violence.