Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (University of Texas Digital Repository, viewed on Sept. 9, 2009). Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-163).

During the second-wave feminist movement, anti-rape activists sought to heighten cultural awareness about the pervasiveness of rape and instigate legal reforms that would increase the number of prosecutions and convictions of rapists. Despite resulting legal reforms that expanded the definition of "rape" and that eliminated resistance requirements and marital exemptions, reform efforts have been a failure in terms of increased reporting and achieving heightened response from the criminal justice system. I attribute the ineffectiveness of rape law reforms partially to the way in which the concept of rape was framed during the anti-rape movement. In particular, I argue that broadening the concept, detaching it from its sexual features, and paralleling the phenomenon to other violations such as property and assault have the effect of obscuring the unique indignity of rape. This, in turn, has inhibited the full legal recognition of the victim and her injury. I explore possibilities for an alternative conceptualization of rape that instead acknowledges and accommodates the distinctive features of the phenomenon in terms of sexuality, embodied differences of gender and race, subjective states of submission, and the encompassing nature of the injury as a violation of the integrity of self in both bodily and psychological dimensions. In order to enhance the recognition of the victim and her injury, I suggest that: a) legal discourse should be opened up to better account for concrete circumstances and embodied differences (as opposed to the reliance on abstract rights and principles and the generalized subject); b) victims should be allowed to provide an uninterrupted narrative of their rape experience and its consequences; and, c) "consent" as the predominant guiding legal standard should be reevaluated and replaced with an assessment of how force was subjectively experienced. / text

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-83).

Given feminists’ longstanding concerns about the ideological effects of media images, and prompted by the lack of, but continued need for, feminist activism today, some feminist scholars have become increasingly interested in how popular media shape public understandings of feminism, represent its issues, and define its history. Communication scholars also appreciate that both media texts and social movements are produced and received within particular historical contexts, and that controversies over either are discursive sites in which cultural and political values clash and their meanings are negotiated. During the 1970s, second-wave feminism, especially its radical wing, was a controversial movement which threatened to disrupt basic relations between women and men and, therefore, has been much maligned by men, women, anti-feminists, and a new generation of self-proclaimed feminists. Yet, the second wave is often portrayed inaccurately. This dissertation thus reviews key works, theories, and events associated with radical feminism as well as the debates between it and other schools of feminist thought–liberal, Marxist/socialist, psychoanalytic, cultural, and various ‘new’ feminisms. Then, employing a context-sensitive form of ideological criticism, I examine three films, their promotional strategies, their mainstream critical and scholarly receptions, and how these elements converged with particular feminist discourses within their shared historical contexts. Specifically, I investigate why the horror films Rosemary’s Baby (1968), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), and Snuff (1976)–which each featured an exposed, vulnerable, violated, or ‘monstrous’ female body–became objects of controversy when they tapped into the contemporaneous feminist issues of reproduction, rape, and pornography, respectively, and how the films’ receptions reveal ways in which people have made sense of feminism and its issues. I contend that these controversies, both individually and when viewed as a series, were symptomatic of the hegemonic negotiations of second-wave feminism and its attempts to publicize discourses about sex, violence, and the female body, negotiations which were occurring both inside and outside the women’s movement. Through these controversial cases, then, we can see feminism’s transformation–from an active movement which criticized the structures of women’s oppression to a discursive and primarily academic enterprise focused more on criticizing itself. / text

There is a growing body of research on sexual citizenship that focuses attention on gender and which bridges the gap between public and private life in order to rethink citizenship from a feminist perspective. This is in contrast to understandings of citizenship that promote policies of sexual regulation and a heteronormative ideal of citizenship. My research takes the form of a qualitative case study. Using data from two focus group discussions, fifteen personal diaries, as well as social media posts, I analyse participation in the Silent Protest, an annual anti-rape protest, through the lens of sexual citizenship. I look at how participation in the protest promotes or inhibits inclusive and process-based understandings of sexual violence and sexualities issues. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and the results of the analysis are presented into two parts. The first part of the analysis discusses the politics of affect and witnessing as two processes through which allies’ understandings of sexual violence are shaped. The second part of analysis shows that the Silent Protest contributes to people’s knowledge and understandings of sexual violence in relation to sexualities in a range of ways. Examples of inclusive understandings are: (1) insights about rape in relation to gender and heteronormative inequalities, culture and patriarchal dominance; (2) understanding of critical sexual citizenship in relation to sexual violence; and (3) understanding of politics of recognition (the need for recognition of the importance of safe spaces for formal and informal support for victim-survivors and recognition of victim-survivors’ identities). However, some of the understandings are limited to emotion and affect dynamics. In some ways, therefore, the Silent Protest fails to promote understandings significant to inclusive citizenship, including understandings of entitlements to non-discriminatory sexual health care services and legal services.

Thesis (M. A. (Criminology and Criminal Justice)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This study was conducted to explore the perceptions of community members on contributing factors of rape in the selected Mankweng communities, namely: Mentz, Ga-Makanye and Ga-Thoka, following a qualitative research approach, with an exploratory research design. The non-probability sampling: Purposive sampling was adopted to sample 30 participants. Three Focus Groups Discussions (FGDs), consisting of 10 individuals formed part of this study and the Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used for analysis. The consulted seminal studies were reviewed and coupled with the Differential Risk Model as the adopted theoretical framework, in order to identify different categories that would explain the contributing factors of rape in the selected study locations. From the studies on this subject and information gathered from the selected participants; four (04) major contributing factors to rape in the Mankweng selected areas emerged, demarcated as follows; 1) Structural factors which include men that are raised in families with strong patriarchal structures which are more likely to become violent and force themselves on women because they feel superior to women, 2) Socio-cultural factors which entail the societies that normalise women being violated and rape because they believe that women are inferior to men and should be submissive, 3) Psychological factors consist of all the effects that both the victims and the community endure due to the crime committed; and lastly, 4) Economic factors explain how women are exposed to chances of being raped because of material gains in exchange for sexual favors. This study recommends that youth in the selected communities should be trained to become peer educators to learn more about rape, understand the associated effects/ impacts on society and potential victims, and programmes should be hosted within these communities to alert residents about the scourge of rape. The study further recommends that the police officials change their attitudes towards the community members and work with them in preventing rape from occurring.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Gender-based violence (GBV) has become a global epidemic and it affects those who are most vulnerable in society, predominantly women and children. Several causal factors have been identified, which include gender norms, socioeconomic inequalities, and South Africa’s violent history. There are many organisations (governmental and non-governmental) that are committed to reducing GBV. However, even with many interventions in place, the prevalence of GBV in South Africa keeps on rising. A qualitative approach was adopted to explore the perceptions of 3rd year psychology students at the University of Limpopo regarding the inclusion of men in GBV prevention campaigns. The study used two theoretical frameworks, namely, Social Learning Theory and Feminist Theory. Purposive sampling was used to draw a sample of 16 students (10 females, and 6 males), and the data was analysed using a Thematic Analysis (TA) approach. Three major themes and five subthemes emerged from the analysis, which was supported by existing findings. The themes were identified as GBV prevention campaigns, GBV and government interventions, and GBV knowledge and perceptions. The results of the study found that students had an adequate understanding of GBV prevention campaigns. Their understanding informed their perceptions, which leaned towards supporting the inclusion of men in GBV prevention campaigns. Their perceptions were geared towards a multi-gender approach aimed at increasing awareness, protecting the rights of GBV victims and demanding justice for them. Furthermore, a multi-gender approach was seen as a silver bullet to championing the fight against GBV and stressing the impact that the inclusion of men will have in lowering GBV cases. The current GBV prevention campaigns (both at government and non-governmental levels) were seen as not effective enough in the eradication of GBV. Therefore, a call for a multi-gender approach to GBV prevention campaigns at all societal levels was emphasised. Community-based initiatives (i.e., social organisations) in GBV prevention campaigns were also seen as crucial in the eradication of GBV. / HWSETA ( Health and welfare Sector for Education and Training Authority)