Group Psychotherapy Effective for Treating Depression of Displaced African Girls
Group psychotherapy was effective in reducing depression among displaced adolescent girls who are survivors of war in northern Uganda, though the intervention was not effective for adolescent boys, according to a study in the August 1 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.
“Over 1.8 million individuals, mainly ethnic Acholi, have been internally displaced during 20 years of conflict between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army. The Lord’s Resistance Army has been accused of human rights abuses including mass violence, rape, and the abduction of more than 25,000 children.
Sex-Trafficked Girls and Women From South Asia Have High Prevalence of HIV Infection
Nearly 40 percent of repatriated Nepalese sex-trafficked girls and women tested were positive for HIV infection, with girls trafficked before age 15 having higher rates of infection, according to a study in the August 1 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.
“Trafficking across or within national borders for purposes of sexual exploitation including forced prostitution, i.e., sex trafficking, is recognized as a major gender-based human rights violation with significant individual and public health consequences and is increasingly discussed as a potentially critical mechanism in the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) across developing nations,” the authors write.
