There are many facts, statistics and data provided by the MSF collection of essays. Along with data provided by these essays and other organizations such as WHO and other cited works, expert analysis is also used as a common method throughout this article to support the arguments.
"I argue that the shift to gender-based violence as the exemplary humanitarian problem could not have happened without the prior move to medicalise gender-based violence, and render it a medical condition like all others."
"Approaching gender-based violence as a medical or health issue alters how violence is both approached and understood; that is, rather than understanding gender violence in the context of gendered relations of power, or as part of larger histories and expressions of inequality which are inseparable from histories of class or race or colonialism, this type of medicalisation transforms gender-based violence into an emergency illness, requiring immediate intervention"
"Rape in armed conflicts played a central role in the recognition of the category of gender-based violence, putting it onto the human rights radar screen, first in the former Yugoslavia and later in Rwanda; human rights approaches forced the international humanitarian law system to understand rape as a particular form of violence"
"The role of humanitarian organisations was growing exponentially during this time: humanitarian intervention became increasingly important on the international scene after the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and humanitarian organisations took their place as autonomous interlocutors, as recognised by the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to MSF in 1999"
I further researched the history of sexual violence and its role in times of war, since its use as a weapon was mentioned. I also researched the background of sexual violence and stigmas that are associated with them in the countries mentioned in the article, in order to better understand underlying meanings and cultural struggles aside from the obvious atrocities of the violent act. Also since Medecins Sans Frontieres kept being cited, I did further research on them since much of the study was based off their findings, this lead me to further study Doctors Without Borders, which is what it is commonly known as in the US.
The argument is supported through an analysis of current subjects of humanitarian aid and how it effects them differently and now the principle of neutrality is not apparent and discrimination is seen based off type of suffering. The argument is also supported through numerous essays from Medecins Sans Frontieres, which provide background information as well as statistical data. Also the expert analysis of the author is used to support the article based on her interpretation and experiences of gender based violence being a humanitarian problem. There is also an ample amount of facts and statistics to support the argument.
Looking at the references, it is very clear that an extensive amount of work and research went into writing this article. Many of the references are from reputable books on sexual violence and gender based violence and its role in society. Many research articles and studies on gender persecution are cited, as well as works written by other experts in the field on human rights, women rights and sexuality and violence of women are cited. The citations also cover a broad range of time showing depth and span of the information that was used to produce this article.
This article focuses on gender based violence and its ties with medical humanitarianism. The effects humanitarianism has on other violent acts versus ones effecting gender based acts such as rape and assault. A main point made in this article is the fact that special humanitarian attention to gender based violence in fact has a negative effect on the overall addressing of the issue in its entirety. The reason behind this being cited is the fact that it depoliticizes the issue when unprecedented attention is given to gender based violent acts. The article then notes that by paying attention to why this is failing, we can think of new ways of addressing this issues and violence, making it more equal.
According to Wiley Online Library, this article has been cited by 5 other works, all related in terms of humanitarianism or sexual violence. The articles it has been cited in can be seen here:
Number of times cited: 5Miriam Ticktin is a professor of anthropology and co-director of Zolberg Institute for Migration and Mobility. She has a PhD in social sciences from Stanford and has many recent publications, all focused around immigration and humanitarianism, mainly overseas, as well as social research in these areas.
http://www.newschool.edu/nssr/faculty/?id=4d54-6379-4e44-4d35
Humanitarian aid is not directly a form of emergency response in a sense of EMS, but it does give help and attention to those in areas of need, and often times, forms of aid are medically related. Though emergency response isn't directly addressed in this paper, humanitarian aid is a form of a response to an emergency situation. This paper focuses more on the analysis of humanitarian efforts to those that at one time may have needed emergency response in the moment due to violent act. Yet the paper focuses on the social aspects of humanitarianism and its tie to gender based violence, not EMS or emergency response.