Perspectives on post-violence support-seeking and service provision among adolescent girls and young women: Insights from community conversations in Lusaka, Zambia

Journal article

Background: Adolescence is a pivotal time for growth and autonomy, with gender norms influencing how individuals experience this developmental transition. These norms become more complex in the context of gender-based violence (GBV), which is common across adolescent girls globally. Alongside societal and gender norms, systems governing health services, social care, and governmental resource allocation also significantly shape responses to GBV. To move toward healthier norms, it is critical to better disentangle how gender norms operate, especially in the context of experiences of violence, and how these norms shape post-violence support-seeking and service provision. Objectives: We set out to explore the factors that shape support- and service-seeking, and service provision, for adolescent girls and young women who experience violence. Design: An exploratory qualitative design was used for the research. Methods: We conducted a series of community conversations in peri-urban Lusaka, Zambia in October 2022. Purposively recruited participants included adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 (n = 12), healthcare professionals (n = 10), and community members (n = 8). Community conversations combined arts-based and participatory methods with group discussions, and were conducted by an experienced Zambian female researcher over 5 days. All necessary ethical approvals were obtained and key procedures followed. Results: Participants spoke about different motivations and drivers to seek support for GBV, revealing multiple layers of support-seeking, as well as stigmatization. Emerging narratives also spoke to the norms, practices, and resources that shape service provision. In sharing personal anecdotes and perceptions of available post-violence support, participants tapped into deeper underlying norms and expectations surrounding how violence against girls and women is managed—silence, secrecy, and acceptance among them—as well as actual narratives on service provision. Conclusion: Our study’s insights, while context-specific, also speak to broader considerations for norms shifting. Harnessing safer norms across generational and sectoral divides may reduce violence and improve service access among adolescent girls and young women.

Authors: Laurenzi, C; Busakhwe, C; Mwamba, C; Mutambo, C; Mupakile, E

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Journal: Women's Health
• Volume: 22
• Article number: 17455057261435814
• Publication date: 2026-04-03
• Acceptance date: 2026-03-08
• DOI: 10.1177/17455057261435814
• EISSN: 1745-5065
• ISSN: 1745-5057
• Language: English
• Keywords: post-violence service provision; community conversations; gender norms; help-seeking; adolescent girls and young women