"If you don't stop the cycle somewhere, it just keeps going":  Resilience in the context of structural violence and gender-based violence in rural Ontario.

• Main Authors: Tara Mantler (Author), Julia Yates (Author), Katie J Shillington (Author), Panagiota Tryphonopoulos (Author), Kimberley T Jackson (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2767-3375; 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002775
• Keywords: Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: PLOS Global Public Health, Vol 4, Iss 1, p e0002775 (2024)

Bolstering women's resilience in the context of gender-based violence (GBV) requires attention to structural conditions needed to support women to thrive, particularly in rural communities. This cross-sectional study explored how resilience was influenced by structural violence in rural Ontario among women experiencing GBV (n = 14) and service providers in the GBV sector (n = 12). Interviews were conducted and revealed forms of structural violence that undermine resilience for women experiencing GBV in rural communities, including 1) housing- gentrification, short-term rentals of residential properties, and long waitlists, 2) income- fighting for enough money to survive, 3) safety- abusers gaming the system, and 4) access- successes and new barriers. Structural conditions must be attended to as they are prerequisites required to build resilience.