Intersections of Sexual Health, Migration and Sexualised Violence: A Public Health and Rights-based Approach

This book provides a unique, interdisciplinary and rights-based perspective on sexual and reproductive health, sexualised violence and gender-based violence (GBV) among refugees, displaced persons and other migrants. Drawing on empirical research and case studies from diverse geographical settings, it explores the challenges migrants face in accessing care - including following experiences of sexualised and gender-based violence - adopting a holistic approach that integrates physical, psychological and social dimensions of health. Particular attention is paid to HIV and STIs, cervical cancer prevention, health barriers faced by sex workers, sexual health in conflict and displacement, and health consequences of violence across migration trajectories. This volume also examines the impacts of immigration detention, the wellbeing of healthcare and aid workers in humanitarian contexts, and the role of innovative strategies such as point-of-care testing in reaching underserved populations. Carefully curated by experts from multiple disciplines, Intersections of Sexual Health, Migration and Sexualised Violence: A Public Health and Rights-based Approach will be of interest to clinicians, public health professionals, researchers and policymakers committed to advancing health equity and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr Padovese is the leading clinician at the Genitourinary Clinic in Malta. Her primary clinical and research interests focus on skin and sexual health among migrants and other vulnerable populations. She contributed to numerous EU‑funded projects addressing skin and sexual health needs in key populations and collaborated with WHO on the implementation and evaluation of rapid diagnostic tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Dr Padovese serves as ILDS Special Advisor on migrants’ health, STIs and HIV, and as WHO Technical Advisor for Capacity Building on Health and Migration. She has extensive clinical experience gained through field work in low‑ and middle‑income countries, including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania, Djibouti, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Dr Padovese is Associate Editor for the Global Health and Equity section of the British Journal of Dermatology and Associate Editor of the BMJ‑STI journal. In 2023, they served as President of the IUSTI Europe Congress in Malta and co‑founded the international NGO Bridges2Health&Rights, which operates at the intersections of health, human rights, law and criminology. Dr Padovese is the author of more than 60 peer‑reviewed publications.

Dr. Isotta Rossoni is researcher at the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society at Leiden University. Her PhD study focuses on the intersections of sex work, migration and trafficking on the island of Malta. Isotta holds an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford and a BA in Russian and International Relations from Queen Mary University of London. In the past 7 years, she has worked on issues related to SGBV in migration and displacement as trainer, grant writer and research consultant for a number of international NGOs, including the International Rescue Committee, the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence (WWP EN), Transparency International Italy, Save the Children Italy and more. In the Maltese context, she has been actively involved in research on SGBV, trafficking and intersections with sexual health. In 2018, she worked on a qualitative research report on vulnerability to trafficking, which contributed to Malta's Action Plan against trafficking. For over 4 years now, she collaborates with the Genito-Urinary Clinic at Mater Dei Hospital to gather data and develop research publications on SGBV and sexual and skin health among migrants and third-country nationals living in Malta.