DOVE Scientist Wins International Award for Contributions to Women’s Health Researcher
DOVE Scientist Wins International Award for Contributions to Women’s Health Researcher
Carolina de Vargas Nunes Coll from the DOVE Research Centre received the honour of the 2023 Paula Kantor Award bestowed by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), a non-profit organisation based in the United States.
The ICRW presents this award annually in remembrance of gender specialist Paula Kantor, who perished in a terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, in May of 2015. This accolade provides exposure and enhances the visibility of research focusing on the rights of women, girls, and marginalised populations and fosters initiatives that aim at international development.
Leadership in Research
Carolina Coll has been leading studies on gender inequality and violence against women, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries. Her work is focused on monitoring violence in over 40 countries, with an emphasis on identifying the most vulnerable segments of the female population. She also examines the effects of domestic violence on women’s health and child development.
Coll’s studies have received financial backing from the British agency Wellcome Trust. She is currently serving as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Research in Human Development and Violence (DOVE) and the International Centre for Equity in Health (ICEH), both affiliated with the Postgraduate Programme in Epidemiology at UFPel, where she completed her Master’s and PhD in epidemiology.
Violence Against Women: A Global Problem
In 2019, the researcher published an article in the British Medical Journal Global Health pointing out that violence against women is a common phenomenon across all countries and social strata, with particularly high rates among poor and less educated women.
“It’s startling to see how widespread violence against women is. It affects 10 to 40% of the female population, and we know these statistics are likely underestimated due to the social barriers that prevent incidents of violence from being reported,” the researcher remarked.
Intergenerational Impact of Violence
Beyond mapping the prevalence of gender-based violence in over 40 countries, Coll also investigates the intergenerational effects of this issue. Her research has indicated how domestic violence and aggression experienced by women can impact their interactions with their children. In a recent article in The Lancet Global Health, the author demonstrates that women who are exposed to violence tend to adopt harsher attitudes towards their children. She emphasises the need for careful discussion of this fact to avoid stigmatising or condemning victims of domestic violence. In a podcast for The Lancet, the author explores the issue, highlighting the risks of stigmatisation of women who are victims of violence.
About the Paula Kantor Award
The ICRW grants the Paula Kantor Award to honour and give visibility to research on gender issues, with a special focus on women from lower- and middle-income countries. According to the organisers, the award is more than mere recognition: It’s an incentive for conducting further studies and realising social change.
