Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), in its various forms, is endemic in communities around the world, cutting across class, race, age, religion and national boundaries. Exposure to gender-based violence and sexual coercion significantly increases girls', and women's risk of early sexual debut, experiencing forced sex, engaging in transactional sex, and unprotected sex. The impact of sexual and gender-based violence resonates in all areas of health and social programming: survivors of sexual violence experience increased rates of morbidity and mortality, and violence has been shown to exacerbate HIV transmission, among other health conditions. While women are the most visible survivors of sexual violence, they are far from being the only ones who suffer from the consequences: children of both sexes constitute the majority of abuse survivors reporting for medical and police services, and adult men and the handicapped are groups who are often neglected in research and interventions.

This brochure summarizes the key points from a literature review on SGBV designed to inform partners across Africa. The review is a resource for developing a comprehensive model of care, support and prevention that partner countries can adapt, as a whole or in part. It is structured around a set of components that are collectively designed to meet the full range of survivors' medical, psychological and justice needs in an integrated manner, while contributing to community level prevention efforts.