Digital Commons Network^™

Framing Wrongs And Performing Rights In Northern Ireland: Towards A Butlerian Approach To Life In Abortion Strategising, Kathryn Mcneilly

Journal of International Women's Studies

Feminist strategising on abortion has been dominated by a “pro-choice” frame. Increasingly, however, pro-choice discourse is being viewed as inadequate to meet contemporary and complex feminist aims and analyses, in particular due to the individualising ontological framework upon which it appears to be based. The work of Judith Butler is one location where such concerns have been explored and an alternative approach based upon a renewed analysis of the concept of “life” has been asserted. Foregrounding the fundamental precariousness of intersubjective life and opening the socio-political conditions sustaining precarious life to democratic public engagement carries significant implications for feminist strategising …

Preliminary Exploration Of Bystander Intention To Stand Up For A Female-Peer Targeted In Sexual Harassment In Greek Academia, Stiliani “Ani” Chroni, Stefania Grigoriou, Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis, Yannis Theodorakis

Journal of International Women's Studies

University students’ intentions to stand up for a female-peer victimized in a sexual harassment incident by peer and/or professor as perpetrator were explored using the planned behavior theory. The participants were 296 Greek male and female undergraduate students. Using a standard planned behavior theory questionnaire, hypothetical scenarios of sexual harassment conveyed through (a) unwanted verbal comments of sexual content, (b) unwanted physical contact, and (c) gender based taunting, were presented to participants. In all scenarios, bystander intention to stand up was predicted. Specifically, we found that it is more likely for a student-bystander to intervene when perceiving a strong social …

Violence Between Female In-Laws In India, Martin Rew, Geetanjali Gangoli, Aisha K. Gill

Journal of International Women's Studies

Indian mothers-in law are consistently legally implicated in violence against their daughters-in-law, particularly in dowry-related cases. This paper explores whether current sociological, psycho-dynamic and feminist explanations are adequate, arguing that policy and research must incorporate deeper understandings of the relationship between violence, abuse and the continuum of everyday practices of power and control in middle-class Indian households if women are to be protected from abuse. Critically, policy and research must recognise the impact of the socio-cultural preference for sons. Daughters are viewed as inferior; however, mothers to sons enjoy a relatively elevated position within the family. Even leaving aside issues …

Seeking Transformative Justice For Women: Views From Canada, Karlene Faith

Journal of International Women's Studies

From the article:

My purpose here is to situate gender as a key factor in a historical movement toward prison abolition. A shift toward restorative or transformative justice, theoretically, is reintegrative in that it benefits the offender, the victim and the community. The first offenders to be diverted from prison to any new program are generally those with the least serious offences and/or those who pose no risk of committing violence; women commonly fall into this category, but, as discussed, very few community alternatives exist for them. The last section addresses some of the key issues facing women in prison, …

The Interrelationship Between Gender-Based Violence And Hiv/Aids In South Africa, Chineze J. Onyejekwe

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper focuses on how gender-based violence intersects with HIV/AIDS in ways too devastating to be ignored. Women’s subordinate position is linked to poverty, sexual abuse/rape, and the risk to women in long-term union. The country’s pioneering steps to establish legal and judicial frameworks for dealing with these problems are discussed.

Legal Injustices: The Zina Hudood Ordinance Of Pakistan And Its Implications For Women, Rahat Imran

Journal of International Women's Studies

During recent decades the women of Pakistan have been the most vulnerable and convenient targets of social, domestic and sexual violence. This paper will examine the trend of sexual violence against women that emerged in Pakistan with the introduction of the Islamization process through the implementation of the Sharia laws since1979. The paper’s main focus will be on rape and the state legislation that governs it, namely the Zina Hudood Ordinance of 1979 and the Law of Evidence of 1984, and how the gender-discriminatory nature of these laws serves as a powerful weapon in the hands of the patriarchal society …

Book Review: Sex Trafficking: The Global Market In Women And Children, Moshoula Capous Desyllas

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Sex trafficking: The global market in women and children by Kathryn Farr

Experiences Of Women War-Torture Survivors In Uganda: Implications For Health And Human Rights, Helen Liebling-Kalifani, Angela Marshall, Ruth Ojiambo-Ochieng, Nassozi Margaret Kakembo

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper will describe the resulting long-term health needs of women war-torture survivors of the civil war years in Luwero District, Uganda. To do this sections of case studies from interviews carried out in Kikamulo Sub-County, Luwero, are utilised. The effects of gender-based violence and torture and its long term, severe and enduring impact on women’s health will be highlighted. In 1994, the Centre for Health and Human rights at Harvard University led the first international conference on health and human rights. This recognised that human rights are an essential pre-condition for physical and mental health. Women’s resulting health needs …

“Otro Mundo Es Posible”: Women Power In The Vi Caracas World Social Forum And The Bolivarian Revolution, Renée Kasinsky

Journal of International Women's Studies

This is an insider’s account of the participation of a Boston delegate at the World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuela in January 2006. She relates the stories of women who attended the WSF and those women who through their leadership in their communities create a new world order based on the major themes of the WSF. The health and welfare missions created by the Bolivarian revolution of Hugo Chávez are testimony to the theme of the forum that through the process of participatory democracy “Otro Mundo Es Posible”.

Book Review: Victims As Offenders: The Paradox Of Women’S Violence In Relationships, Rachel Kalish

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Victims as Offenders: The Paradox of Women’s Violence in Relationships by Susan L. Miller

Law, Women And Health In Nigeria, Philomena I. Ozo-Eson

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper attempts to analyse sexual inequality as it affects the health of women in Nigeria. Various theories that inform the study of women are briefly discussed along with specific areas of women’s health concerns. These include: female genital mutilation, violence against women, sexual harassment, and widowhood practices. Other areas of discourse involve women and law, and here, we emphasised the need to re-examine both the customary and statutory laws to reflect justice, dignity and fair play for all members of the society irrespective of their gender. Also, special attention should be paid to some laws that encourage the brutality …

Violence Against Women In Northern Uganda: The Neglected Health Consequences Of War, Helen Liebling-Kalifani, Ruth Ojiambo-Ochieng, Angela Marshall, Juliet Were-Oguttu, Seggane Musisi, Eugene Kinyanda

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article presents a summary of research intervention work carried out in war-affected Northern Uganda by Isis-WICCE, a women’s international non-government organisation, in conjunction with the Ugandan Medical Association and funded by Medica Mondiale, a German-based foundation. The findings of this research demonstrate the serious effects of sexual violence and torture experienced on women’s physical and psychological health. However, this paper also describes women’s key role in trying to bring peace to this region, as well as their resistance and survival strategies. It is recommended that funding is urgently required for the provision of sustainable, gender sensitive physical and psychological …

Deconstructing Islamization In Pakistan: Sabiha Sumar Wages Feminist Cinematic Jihad Through A Documentary Lens, Rahat Imran

Journal of International Women's Studies

Over half a billion Muslim women live in vastly different lands, cultures, societies, economies, and political systems. Yet, as Iranian scholar Mahnaz Afkhami points out, Muslim women’s oppressions are similar due to gender-discrimination under Islamic Sharia laws and patriarchal doctrines that are exercised in the name of religion and culture. Pakistan has been a prime example of how religious fundamentalism and politicization of religion can transform a secular society into one held hostage by Islamic extremist doctrines and gender-specific laws. It is a cause for hope and celebration then that its progressive and secular elements, particularly educated, urban women, have …

Organizational Role Stress Indices Affecting Burnout Among Nurses, Jinky Leilanie Lu

Journal of International Women's Studies

This was a cross sectional study, which aimed to determine the interaction between situational, factors, role stressors, hazard exposure and personal factors among 246 nurses consisting most of females (78.5%) from the different wards and units in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). The dominance of female sin the profession reinforce the prevailing notion that the caring professions such as nursing are relegated to women. This gives the study its gender perspective. Almost half (49.6%) of the respondents reported being ill due to work in the past year, and 56.1% missed work because of an illness. Correlation statistics using the Spearman’s …

Effects Of Protégé-Mentor Gender Mix On Organisational Commitment, David E. Okurame

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examined the interaction effects of protégé and mentor gender on organisational commitment in the Nigerian work setting. Data was collected from one hundred and sixty-one dyads in four gender combinations through a survey of a large government owned health institution. Results revealed that mean scores of all-male, all female, and the female protégé-male mentor dyads were comparable while that of male protégé-female mentor was significantly low. Whereas organisational commitment was better for male protégés when their mentors were males, it was better for females when mentors were females. The study narrows the gap created by the dearth of …

Violence In The Family: A Preliminary Investigation And Overview Of Wife Battering In Africa, Adewale Rotimi

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper examines wife battering in Africa although it is a world-wide phenomenon. Due to the hidden nature of the problem accurate statistics on it are hard to come by. In many parts of Africa, wife battering is accepted as a part of the culture. This is reinforced by the sex role socialization of women, which encourages and emphasizes submissiveness. The victims of wife battering don’t always leave the abusive environment because of lack of family and community support. Divorce is not always a viable alternative due to the stigma attached to it. Wife battering must be discouraged through legislation, …

Gender Discrimination: Beliefs And Experiences: A Comparative Perspective Of Women And Men In The Delhi Police, Punam Sahgal

Journal of International Women's Studies

Gender roles are learnt through the socialization process and subsequently extend to the work context where women and men are believed to have different characteristics and are therefore treated differently. The pervasiveness of workplace gender differences influence hiring practices, salaries and career growth opportunities for women. Gender-based work behavior differences are perceived to be much greater in male dominated professions like the police. While research suggests that there is no evidence that policewomen perform differently from their male counterparts in their day-to-day activities of police, negative male attitudes towards women in police significantly obstruct the advancement of policewomen. Induction of …

Book Review: War And Terror: Feminist Perspectives, Anjali Nath, Melissann Herron, Kirstin Oesterle, Esther Rothblum

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of War and Terror: Feminist Perspectives, edited by Karen Alexander and Mary E. Hawkesworth

What Remains Of Srebrenica? Motherhood, Transitional Justice And Yearning For The Truth, Olivera Simic

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article explores the role of the local non-governmental association ‘Mothers of Srebrenica’ in the complex transitional justice processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The association gathers women who survived the Srebrenica genocide in July 1995 and creates an important public space for the crying out of their grievances and lobbing for their goals. The ‘Mothers of Srebrenica’ also create a space for widows and displaced women to share their concerns and support each other. While the ‘Mothers of Srebrenica’ use the rhetoric of victimhood and motherhood whenever they speak out, I argue that they, in fact, challenge the notion of …

A Cross-Cultural, Comparative Analysis Of The Domestic Violence Policies Of Nicaragua And Russia, Jo-Ann Della Giustina

Journal of International Women's Studies

This is a cross-cultural comparative analysis of the domestic violence policies of Nicaragua and Russia. While these two countries have striking differences, they both had socialist revolutions that established workers and farmers governments. The Soviet Union was the main economic and political support for Nicaragua following the 1979 Frente Sandinista Para Liberación Nacional (FSLN - Sandinista Front for National Liberation) revolution.

This article examines the domestic violence policies of post-Soviet Russia and Nicaragua. While both countries have serious domestic violence problems, only Nicaragua is taking an aggressive stance to eradicate the problem. The Russian government barely even acknowledges that there …

Empowering, Degrading Or A ‘Mutually Exploitative’ Exchange For Women?: Characterising The Power Relations Of The Strip Club, Katy Pilcher

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper seeks to characterise the gendered and sexualised power relations of both female and male strip clubs, and to signal what this means for establishing positive definitions of female desire. It is argued that while it is not useful to present female strippers, or female patrons of male strip clubs as purely passive victims of male heterosexism within these venues, it is equally damaging to assume that these venues represent a whole-scale challenge to conventional oppressive gender and sexual relations for women. Some research has even suggested that both strippers and their patrons are engaged in a ‘mutually exploitative’ …

Nigeria: The Dominance Of Rape, Chineze J. Onyejekwe

Journal of International Women's Studies

Despite decades of feminist activism, men continue to rape women at appalling rates. This paper evaluates the failure of the Nigerian state to enforce laws to protect women against rape. Rape is also shown to be a global problem. The flaws in the Law’s definition of rape are examined. Women’s action-oriented responses and initiatives against these abuses are highlighted.

Book Review: Law In The Service Of Legitimacy: Gender And Politics In Jordan, Stephanie Chaban

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Law in the Service of Legitimacy: Gender and Politics in Jordan by Catherine Warrick

Book Review: Islam, Women And Violence In Kashmir: Between India And Pakistan, Jaskiran Mathur

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Islam, Women and Violence in Kashmir: Between India and Pakistan by Nyla Ali Khan

Security Through Solidarity: Honduran Women’S Post-Coup Strategies Of Support And Survival, Christine Gervais, Betsy Estevez

Journal of International Women's Studies

As a follow up to the article “From Discovery to Dissidence: Honduran Women’s Conceptions and Claims of Human Rights,” published in this journal in May 2010 (Vol. 11, #4), this paper examines forty-eight Honduran women’s experiences of state-based insecurity and feminist-based solidarity following the June 2009 coup d’État. The authors reflect on the ethical implications of the participant-centered and solidarity-oriented qualitative methodological approaches constrained by state repression. The women’s testimonies shed light on the potential of a solidarity-security symbiosis.

Visual Violations: The Ban On Extreme Pornography, Politics Of Representation, And The Discursive Creation Of ‘Docile Bodies’, Mika Pasanen

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper focuses on a law that came into force in January 2009 in the United Kingdom prohibiting the viewing and possessing of ‘extreme pornography.’ This law will be approached through Foucaultian notions of discursive power and ‘docile body.’ This will be used to create a framework for understanding the production of sexuality in/through the family, and pornography’s relationship with the family. The paper then moves on to the problematic nature of the politics of representation and the realm of the imagination. The argument here suggests that the law aims to create ‘docile bodies’ through the control and regulation of …

Risk Factors For Homelessness And Sex Trade Among Incarcerated Women: A Structural Equation Model, Seijeoung Kim, Timothy P. Johnson, Samir Goswami, Michael Puisis

Journal of International Women's Studies

Incarcerated women are among the most vulnerable and perhaps the least studied populations in the US. Significant proportions of female inmates are substance users, and many living in unstable housing conditions or being homeless. Female inmates are often at high risk of engaging in sex exchange for drugs or housing needs. While a disproportionate number of incarcerated women have experienced childhood household adversities and maltreatments, the effects of these childhood experiences on psychosocial and behavioral outcomes of this population in later life. We apply a life course perspective to examine these pathways in a sample of incarcerated women in Cook …

Women Under Attack: Violence And Poverty In Guatemala, Corinne Ogrodnik, Silvia Borzutzky

Journal of International Women's Studies

In 2009 Guatemalan women experienced the highest level of violence in Latin America and one of the highest in the world, and death rates have continued to increase in 2010. At the core of the issue are two major problems: pervasive poverty and legal exclusion. In turn, these two issues are closely connected since legal/judicial exclusion is a consequence of poverty. This paper aims to analyze the question of violence against women in Guatemala, to discuss women’s limited political, legal and economic rights, as well as the policies pursued since the end of Guatemala’s civil war to deal with the …

“We All Like To Think We’Ve Saved Somebody:” Sex Trafficking In Literature, Donna M. Bickford

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay considers the potential impact of sex trafficking narratives and their relationship to public perception and social change efforts. It fuses literary criticism and cultural analysis to discuss multiple genres of texts, including mainstream news media reports and two categories of novels about sex trafficking. Finally, it argues for the power of narrative to catalyze and influence actions designed to eradicate sex trafficking.

Between Global Fears And Local Bodies: Toward A Transnational Feminist Analysis Of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, Susan Dewey, Tonia St. Germain

Journal of International Women's Studies

Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) knows no borders. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have witnessed historically unprecedented levels of violence against non-combatants as well as a concomitant rise in international and local efforts to assist survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Yet the diversity of cultural contexts in which SGBV occurs challenges us to ask a timely question: what might a transnational feminist analysis of conflict-related sexual violence look like? This is particularly salient because feminist scholar-activists increasingly help shape policy designed to both address sexual violence as a weapon or by-product of war and services to assist its survivors. This …