Digitally supported public health interventions through the lens of structural injustice: The case of mobile apps responding to violence against women and girls

Mobile applications (apps) have gained significant popularity as a new intervention strategy responding to violence against women and girls. Despite their growing relevance, an assessment from the perspective of public health ethics is still lacking. Here, we base our discussion on the understanding...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioethics
Authors: Sauerborn, Ela (Author) ; Eisenhut, Katharina (Author) ; Ganguli-Mitra, Agomoni (Author) ; Wild, Verina (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2022
In: Bioethics
Year: 2022, Volume: 36, Issue: 1, Pages: 71-76
RelBib Classification:NCC Social ethics
NCH Medical ethics
ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies
Further subjects:B mobile health
B Epistemic injustice
B mobile applications
B structural injustice
B Gender inequality
B violence against women and girls
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Summary:Mobile applications (apps) have gained significant popularity as a new intervention strategy responding to violence against women and girls. Despite their growing relevance, an assessment from the perspective of public health ethics is still lacking. Here, we base our discussion on the understanding of violence against women and girls as a multidimensional, global public health issue on structural, societal and individual levels and situate it within the theoretical framework of structural injustice, including epistemic injustice. Based on a systematic app review we previously conducted, we evaluate the content and functions of apps through the lens of structural injustice. We argue that technological solutions such as apps may be a useful tool in the fight against violence against women and girls but have to be situated within the broader frame of public health that considers the structural dimensions of such violence. Ultimately, the concerns raised by structural injustice are—alongside key concerns of safety, data privacy, importance of human supportive contact, and so forth—crucial dimensions in the ethical assessment of such apps. However, research on the role and relevance of apps as strategies to address the structural and epistemic dimensions of violence remains scarce. This article aims to provide a foundation for further discussion in this area and could be applicable to other areas in public health policy and practice.
ISSN:1467-8519
Contains:Enthalten in: Bioethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/bioe.12965