Overview

The MEASURE DHS program is a major source of gender data, research and training for integrating gender into PHN and HIV/AIDS-related activities in the developing world.

Gender is a fundamental dimension of societal stratification. MEASURE DHS underscores the importance of providing accurate and useful data on gender and emphasizes the need to identify and develop meaningful indicators of gender relations and women's empowerment. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has also made it imperative that we understand and account for the role that gender inequalities in power, access, and resources play in the spread of infection and in attempts to contain it. As a result, questions on gender roles and empowerment are integrated into most DHS questionnaires. For countries interested in more in-depth data on gender, modules of questions are available on special topics such as status of women, domestic violence, and female genital cutting.

Gender Related Topics

• Women's Status and Empowerment
  Do women have equal access to information and resources? Are they empowered to make decisions for themselves and their children? The Demographic and Health Surveys data can answer these questions and provide information on several related women's status and empowerment indicators. Not all indicators are available for all countries.
• Domestic Violence
  Domestic violence poses a direct threat to women and places children at risk. It also has consequences, both direct and indirect, on women's health and well being. For example, women who experience domestic violence are less likely to receive early antenatal care and are more likely to experience pregnancy loss and their children are at greater risk of mortality.
• Female Genital Cutting
  Female genital cutting (FGC) also called female circumcision or female genital mutilation involves cutting or removing the external female genitalia for non-therapeutic reasons. FGC is a common practice among societies mainly located in a band of African countries north of the equator, from Mauritania and Guinea in the west to Somalia and Egypt in the east.