Abstract:

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a significant public health and human rights challenge globally, with sex workers disproportionately affected due to criminalization, stigma, economic vulnerability, and social exclusion. This study assessed access to support services and the mental health consequences of GBV among sex workers in Abuja, Nigeria. A mixed-methods comparative cross-sectional study involving 455 sex workers was conducted across Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, and Gwagwalada. Quantitative data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires, while qualitative insights were obtained through focus group discussions. Findings revealed that although awareness of healthcare and legal support services was relatively high, actual utilization remained poor due to fear of arrest, stigma, discrimination, financial barriers, lack of confidentiality, and mistrust of law enforcement agencies. Respondents reported high levels of anxiety, depression, emotional trauma, fear, and post-traumatic stress disorder associated with repeated exposure to violence. Qualitative findings highlighted persistent psychological distress, social isolation, and discrimination within healthcare institutions. Criminalization of sex work and structural inequalities significantly contributed to poor mental health outcomes and limited healthcare utilization. The study concludes that GBV among sex workers in Abuja has profound psychosocial consequences and that existing support systems remain inadequate. Comprehensive interventions including trauma-informed mental health services, stigma reduction, legal reforms, and survivor-centered healthcare approaches are urgently needed.

References:

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Abstract:

Psychological biases affecting investor behaviour in financial markets have gained traction over the years but little has been published about their interactions when uncertainties arise. This paper proposes a theoretical Behavioral Systems Theory (BST) of investor behaviour as a complex system defined by the cognitive, emotional and social behavioral finance biases, particularly loss aversion, overconfidence effect, anchoring bias, herd behaviour and systems theory is employed to understand cognitive dissonance and bias during economic turmoil. Qualitative narrative methodology is used to study the outcomes of investor behavior during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, COVID19-induced market crash and speculative post-pandemic growth (2021-2025). Combination theory provides the basis for hypothesizing the numerous structural interaction possibilities for the bias system: at most six for two-way, four for three-way interactions and one for four-way interactions. Investor irrationality as revealed by the interactions functions as a feedback-loop system exhibiting recurring cognitive dissonance, emotional and social bias. Its effects are observable in the forms of speculative bubbles, panic-selling, procrastinating recovery, volatility expansion, clustering of trading activity and financial contagion. BST yields new contribution to behavioral finance as a system theory and a discovery of the dynamics that govern investor behavior during uncertainties. This theory also has practical implications for investors allocating to different asset classes, financial institutions, regulators and policymakers in maintaining order in the financial system, professional financial advisers to their clients. Quantitative and mixed-method research design is prescribed for future testing of the BST theory.

References:

Abstract:

Evidence on the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) workforce in refugee settings remains limited due to workforce diversity, staff mobility, multiple organizations, geographically dispersed services, and incomplete personnel records. This study developed and implemented a rigorous mixed-methods sampling protocol to assess the MHPSS-related workforce in Ethiopia's Gambella Region. A convergent mixed-methods design combined multistage stratified probability sampling for the quantitative component with purposive sampling for the qualitative inquiry. The sampling frame was developed using the June 2026 5Ws matrix and organizational staffing records, then verified with focal persons. Sample size was calculated using Cochran's formula with finite population correction, plus 10% for non-response. Proportional allocation across organizations was used with intentional oversampling of smaller professional cadres. The verified sampling frame included 1,336 eligible personnel from 12 organizations. After finite population correction, the required sample was 299 participants, with a final target of 332 after accounting for non-response. Systematic random sampling was conducted within final strata, supported by reserve lists and replacement procedures. Sampling weights were specified to account for unequal selection probabilities. This protocol provides a transparent, reproducible, and practical approach for studying heterogeneous humanitarian MHPSS workforces, informing workforce planning, capacity development, and service improvement in refugee-hosting settings.

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