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11. Working with Adolescents and Youths to Reduce Gender Based Violence

Author:
SVRI
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Abstract:
Identifying effective ways to prevent forms of gender-based violence (GBV) among adolescents and youths is vital to reduce rates of GBV. Adolescents are uniquely impacted by GBV: their young age and inexperience with relationships can heighten their risk for physical and sexual intimate partner violence. Being a victim of GBV during adolescence can lead to long-lasting negative mental and physical health outcomes, and can set young women on a trajectory for subsequent abuse.
Topic:
Health, Gender Based Violence, Youth, Sexual Violence, and Intimate Partner Violence
Political Geography:
Moldova, Colombia, Mexico, Honduras, and Swaziland

12. Breaking the Cycle of Shame in Iraq

Author:
Henrietta Johanssen
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Middle East Research Institute (MERI)
Abstract:
With Iraq’s displacement crisis, violence against women and girls has reached new levels of cruelty. However, with a forthcoming transition into stabilisation and the signed commitment to implement UNSCR 1325 for Women, Peace, and Security, both Iraq and Kurdistan Region now have the momentum to pave a new route to safeguarding and promoting women. This policy brief discusses the sexual and gender based violence in Iraq, and the centrality of ‘honour’ and ‘shame’, to tackling legal, structural, and communal barriers to women empowerment.
Topic:
United Nations, Women, Gender Based Violence, Feminism, and Sexual Violence
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

13. Intimate Partner Violence as Evidence of Widespread Gender-based Violence in the Arab Region

Author:
Lina Abirafeh
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The Arab region is a diverse grouping of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Despite a range of economic, political, and security configurations, the one commonality is the region’s poor standing in terms of gender equality, ranking lowest in the world on both the 2018 Global Gender Gap Report and the Women, Peace, and Security Index.1 The World Economic Forum (WEF) found that, despite progress in closing the gender gap across the region in 2018, it nonetheless remains the world’s least gender-equal region.2 It will take the Middle East and North African economies “153 years to close the gender gap at the current rate of change,” the report stated.3 While Tunisia topped the region for gender equality, ranking 119 globally; the UAE ranked 121 with the gender gap closed at 64.2 percent;4 Saudi Arabia ranked 141 with a 59 percent gender gap rate, showing “modest progress,” with improvement in wage equality and women’s labor force participation; and Lebanon ranks third to last in the region, ahead of only Syria and Yemen. As such, social indicators are not promising – and not progressing. Patriarchal societies, growing conservative movements, and lack of political will to advance and achieve gender equality together are building a foundation to foment a backlash against women’s rights and freedoms. Gender inequality exists in many forms and can be found in the realms of health, education, economics, and politics. However, gender-based violence remains the most egregious manifestation of inequality and entrenched patriarchy in the region. No country is immune to gender-based violence; one in three women and girls worldwide will experience some form of gender-based violence in their lifetime.5 The Arab region is no exception. Ending gender-based violence has proved to be an intractable human rights challenge partially due to its prevalence across all socio-economic and cultural groups. This violence takes many forms – sexual, physical, emotional and economic. Globally, intimate partner violence is the most common form of gender-based violence.6 Labeling gender-based violence when it occurs remains a challenge. An inability to identify it makes it extremely difficult to legislate against and eradicate. For instance, in many countries worldwide, sexual harassment, marital rape, and coerced sex are not considered violence. This is not to mention verbal harassment, which is also not considered a violation of women’s rights and bodily integrity.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Gender Based Violence, and Intimate Partner Violence
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arab Countries, and North Africa

14. The Roaring of the Alpha Males (and the Silence of the Lambs)

Author:
Mira Oklobdzija
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Foreign Policy In Focus
Abstract:
Self-restraint is one of the most important litmus tests for distinguishing between humans and other social animals. Major human leaders, both past and present, often fall short in this regard. Instead, particularly as they mobilize their countries for war, these leaders compete for the distinction of being the alpha male.
Topic:
Gender Issues and Gender Based Violence
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. How do global supply chains exacerbate gender-based violence against women in the global south?

Author:
Garcia Isabella
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Global Political Economy, University of Sussex
Abstract:
In 2018/2019 the CGPE launched an annual Gender & Global Political Economy Undergraduate Essay Prize competition, open to all undergraduate students within the School of Global Studies. The winner of the 2018/2019 competition is Isabella Garcia for the essay “How do global supply chains exacerbate gender-based violence against women in the Global South?” Isabella graduated with a BA in International Relations and Development in July and will join the MA cohort in our Global Political Economy programme for 2019/2020. Given the very strong field of submissions, the award committee further decided to award a second-place prize to Yume Tamiya for the essay “Does the rise of the middle class disguise existing inequalities in Brazil?”. Yume graduated with a BA in International Development with International Education and Development. We are delighted to publish both of these excellent essays in the CGPE Working Paper series.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Women, Gender Based Violence, and Global South
Political Geography:
Africa, Latin America, Mexico, and Democratic Republic of Congo

16. “We Have Captured Your Women”: Explaining Jihadist Norm Change

Author:
Aisha Ahmad
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Security
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
In recent years, jihadists across the world have transformed their gendered violence, shocking the world by breaking from prior taboos and even celebrating abuses that they had previously prohibited. This behavior is surprising because jihadists represent a class of insurgents that are deeply bound by rules and norms. For jihadists, deviating from established Islamist doctrines is no easy feat. What then explains these sudden transformations in the rules and norms governing jihadist violence? An inductive investigation of contemporary jihadist violence in Pakistan and Nigeria reveals a new theory of jihadist normative evolution. Data from these cases show that dramatic changes in jihadist violence occur when an external trigger creates an expanded political space for jihadist entrepreneurs to do away with normative constraints on socially prohibited types of violence. As these jihadist leaders capitalize on the triggers, they are able to encourage a re-socialization process within their ranks, resulting in the erosion of previously held taboos, the adoption of proscribed behaviors, and the emergence of toxic new norms.
Topic:
Political Violence, Gender Issues, Islam, Terrorism, Women, and Gender Based Violence
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Middle East, and West Asia

17. Women of the Alt-Right: An Intersectional Study of Far-Right Extremism, Gender, & Identity in the United States

Author:
Sarah Kenny
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Women In International Security (WIIS)
Abstract:
The alt-right, an expression of far-right violent extremism, presents a security risk to citizens in the United States and around the world. As globalization, mass immigration, and multiculturalism flourish, various collectives of fearful individuals and populist politicians will continue to embrace ethnonationalist worldviews and employ violent means to enforce them. To combat this security risk, it is essential to acknowledge that women make significant contributions to the altright and violent extremism. Women can no longer be misrepresented and excluded from efforts to prevent and counter this form of violent extremism. Exclusion has proven both disingenuous and dangerous along the road to realizing a comprehensive threat analysis and strategy.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Terrorism, Women, Domestic politics, Gender Based Violence, and Far Right
Political Geography:
United States

18. Honour Killings of Women in Punjab: A Socio-Political Context

Author:
Afshan Kiran Imtiaz, Farah Malik, and Raana Malik
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
This study examined the relationship between the violent practice of honour killing and the role of the socio-cultural institution, such as, the law-makers, i.e., politicians about the reinforcement of this customary practice. The qualitative method has been used to get the in-depth information about the subjective experiences and perceptions of various politicians. By employing purposive sampling comprising of five representatives from the law-makers, i.e., politicians who were working with the cases of the honour killings of women, data were taken from the largest province of Punjab. The Interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA) was used to analyze the semi-structured interviews of various participants. This study discussed the collusion of politicians with other functionaries, lack of effective law enforcement by the police force and the failure of the criminal justice system in combating the honour violence committed against women in Punjab. The resolution of the problem involves the change of mindset of all the associated stakeholders. Various measures have been advocated to address the honour crime through the execution of the relevant policy strategies and pertinent legislation.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Law Enforcement, Women, Gender Based Violence, and Legislation
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, and Punjab

19. The Socio-political Construction of 'Honor' in the Patriarchal Society of Pakistan

Author:
Farwa Qazalbash, Muhammad Islam, and Irshad Ullah
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
This study aims to analyze how the notion of „honor‟ is usually constructed in Pakistani society. Using the script of an Oscar-winning documentary by Sharemeen Obaid Chinoy, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, the researchers have investigated how various socio-political norms, linguistic tools, and strategies have been used to construct the issue of honor killing in a typical Pakistani patriarchal society. A set of tools offered by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) practitioners (e.g. Fairclough, 1992, Van Dijk, 2006, Gee, 2011 and Reisigl and Wodak, 2000) helped the researchers to find that the concept of „honor‟, as social actors of the documentary view it, does not seem to be rooted in moral or religious codes rather it is a metaphor for political and social approval. Interestingly, only women are objectified as the carriers of this concept. They are conceived as the agents of disrespect or the violators of „honor‟ if an untoward incident happens. These attitudes clearly comment on the political power struggle between genders, which need in-depth investigations in Pakistani society. The analytical framework of this study may be used to analyze media discourse and discriminatory socio-political norms/attitudes in South Asian societies.
Topic:
Women, Media, Gender Based Violence, and Violence
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, and Punjab

20. New Assessment on Violence Against Women in Elections in Papua New Guinea

Author:
Gabrielle Bardall and Terry Ann Rogers
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Abstract:
iolence against women in politics is a substantial threat to the integrity of the electoral process, affecting women’s participation as voters, candidates, election officials, activists and political party leaders and undermining free, fair and inclusive democratic processes. Elections in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are characterized by violence and tribal politics that contribute to a high prevalence of violence against women in elections (VAWE). A new report from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) assesses VAWE in PNG following the 2017 national elections, drawing on fieldwork, research and IFES’ experiences operating in PNG. The analysis is organized into three key factors that influence the incidence and impact of VAWE
Topic:
Gender Issues, Elections, Women, and Gender Based Violence
Political Geography:
Papua New Guinea and Oceania