Efforts to increase girls‘ access to quality education focus mostly on removing obstacles linked to poverty and discrimination, and often fail to acknowledge the violence many of them suffer in, around, and on the way to and from school. The objective of the present research is to examine the barriers to combating male sexual and gender-based violence in schools at the community level, and to consider community and expert-issued suggestions on removing these obstacles in the Ghanaian context. It does so through the lens of the Gender and Development approach and uses the Ecological Model of Gender-based Violence. Inspired by the standpoint feminist approach to research, data collection in Awaso and Accra involved classroom observation in four (4) Junior high school classes, 19 qualitative interviews with government and civil society personnel, and four (4) focus group discussions with parents, students and teachers. The findings show that barriers to eliminating male sexual and gender-based violence in Awaso include lack of knowledge of girls‘ rights to protection from violence, of consequences of violence against women and girls and of reporting mechanisms. Other barriers identified were lack of resources at the family and government levels, traditional values of family, community and religion, and social perceptions of both gender hierarchies and violence against women and girls. Gendered power dynamics underlie these barriers and hinder progress on the issue of girls‘ protection from violence, but groups of Ghanaian women, girls, men and boys are challenging these dynamics and finding ways to make schools safer for girls. Their strategies for change are also featured in the present research.

Le problème de ma recherche se pose ainsi : comment le droit pénal et lapolitique criminelle dans les sociétés multiculturelles et démocratiques doivent-ils réagirface aux délits culturellement motivés, commis par les immigrés -ou de leurs descendants?La dissertation analyse des réponses de la justice pénale des pays occidentaux déterminésface aux trois tipes soi-disant pratiques culturelles néfastes aux femmes qui constituent lesexemples des conflits des cultures.Tout d’abord j’analyse comment les pays européens ont réagi aux suivantes pratiquescontroverses : la violence liée a l’honneur, les mutilations sexuelles féminines et mariagesforcés. Ensuite, je présente le concept de la défense par la culture, caractéristique pour lesystème common law. C’est une stratégie de la défense pour les accusés des délitsculturellement motivés. Enfin, j’étudie les contextes et réponses différentes aux délitsculturellement motivés en l’Europe et aux Etats Unis et aussi la dimension internationale duproblème. Je finalise ma dissertation avec une conclusion que le système de droit pénal etla justice dans les pays démocratiques libéraux et multiculturels doivent être un garant de lavalidité de consensus de la protection égale et non-discriminatoire des valeursfondamentales pour tous les membres de la société sans égard a leur genre ou l’ethnicité. / The main research problem is how penal law and criminal policy inmulticultural and liberal states should react on culturally motivated crimes committed byimmigrants. The dissertation analyses the criminal justice responses of certain westerncountries to three types of so-called harmful traditional practices, which are fine examples ofconflict of cultures. Firstly, I analyse how European countries addressed following harmfultraditional practices: ‘honour’-related violence, female genital mutilation and forcedmarriages. Secondly, I present the concept of cultural defence, generic for common law,which is a strategy of defence for offenders for culturally motivated crimes. Thirdly, I studythe different contexts and responses to culturally motivated crimes in Europe and UnitedStates, so the international dimension of the problem. Finally, I culminate my dissertationwith the conclusion that criminal law and criminal justice in democratic liberal andmulticultural states should be a guarantor of the validity of consensus for equal and nondiscriminatoryprotection of basic values for all members of society regardless their ethnicorigin or gender.

Gender-based violence (GBV) has been used as a tool of instilling fear, hatred and persecution during conflict situations. It is a fact that GBV takes place pre-conflict situations. Moreover, conflicts and wars only accelerate the rate at which GBV is committed. In the 1990s and early 2000s, there was conflict in the Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. These conflicts went down in history as conflicts where horrendous crimes were committed. As a result of the atrocities committed and the magnitude of victims, the international community with the assistance of the United Nations formed the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. These international tribunals were given the task of prosecuting the perpetrators of these crimes. Prior to the formation of these tribunals, the international community had experienced other wars whereby international tribunals were also formed to deal with the atrocities committed. However, this research only aims at comparatively analysing the ICTY, TCTR and the SCSL because these new tribunals were the first in experiencing the development of the prosecution of GBV. The former international tribunals did not effectively deal with gendered crimes therefore there was no precedent set in international law regarding the prosecutions of these crimes. The conflicts that occurred in the Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone also saw the introduction of more brutal forms of GBV. These forms of GBV that developed forced the tribunals to change the way they prosecuted gender-based crimes because the nature and the magnitude at which the crimes were committed was massive. Forms of GBV that were earlier recognised such as rape and sexual violence were now being used as a means through which the perpetrators committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The comparative analysis between the ICTR, the ICTY and the SCSL also aims at showing how the different challenges and hurdles that these courts faced when prosecuting these crimes. The pitfalls that the tribunals experienced at the pre-trial phase are also investigated and critically analysed with the aim of drawing lessons about mistakes that should not be repeated in newer international tribunals. A comparative analysis will also be done on the different precedents that were set by the cases that were heard in these tribunals with the aim of showing how these tribunals have indeed contributed to the development of the prosecution of these types of crimes. Finally, recommendations will be made regarding how future international tribunals better deal with these crimes. The research paper also aims at creating awareness that these types of crimes must be treated differently and with caution because the effects that the victims suffer from last way after the conflicts and trials are over. Lessons must be carried from past prosecutions in order to correct and better improve the way in which the prosecutions are carried out and also the way in which the different victims are treated even after the prosecutions have been completed. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Public Law / unrestricted

Gender-Based Violence (GBS) is one of the most important obstacles in theway to development. The model of communication for social change (C4SC),under an approach of civil rights, presents an unavoidable opportunity for communicators to take over the urgent ethical demand of placing their work atthe service of public politics in order to fulfill this goal; but mainly in order tostrengthen the women agency in order to promote their empowerment. Herethe model of C4SC is overlaid on the case of sexual harassment on the streets,in order to identify the strategic lines that can be used for addressing other casesof gender-based violence. / La violencia basada en género (VBG) es uno de los principales obstáculos aldesarrollo. El modelo de comunicación para el cambio social (C4SC) bajo unenfoque de derechos presenta una oportunidad insoslayable para que los comunicadores asumamos la urgencia ética de poner a la comunicación al serviciode políticas públicas que aborden este reto, pero sobre todo, para fortalecer lacapacidad de agencia de las mujeres con miras a su empoderamiento. Aquí sesuperpone el modelo de C4CS al caso del acoso sexual callejero a fin de identificarlíneas estratégicas que sirvan para el abordaje de otros casos de VBG desdela comunicación.

No description available.

The multiple components of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), promotes women’s wellbeing and rights to a life free from discrimination and violence. Gender-based violence (GBV) is a matter closely related to SRHR and affects women globally on daily basis. South Africa is estimated to score one of the highest rates of GBV in the world. This thesis aims to gain an understanding of how civil society organisations (CSOs) working with SRHR-related issues, approach South African state institutions with regard to strengthen strategies against GBV. A qualitative content analysis is adopted to analyse the CSO’s documents that frame their advocacy work against GBV and how they approach state institutions in South Africa. The results from the analysed documents are thereby examined through theoretical approaches, mainly targeting CSOs ability to translate universal human rights into local contexts, and contributions to social justice. The analysed documents reveal that the selected CSOs mobilise their advocacy against GBV through different media platforms. Moreover, the CSO’s advocacy is presented through evidence-based research, policy briefs, articles and campaigns. Through their approaches to state institutions, the CSOs demand the state to recognise that inequality and patriarchal structures cause GBV and negatively affect women’s wellbeing. Furthermore, the selected CSOs demand fair distribution of resources that ensures women’s safety in the public sphere. In addition, the CSOs demand implementation of educational programmes with gender perspectives in all aspects of society. Finally, the CSOs demand South African state institutions to include all sectors of society in decision-making processes of strategies against GBV. Thus, state institutions can unsure proper implementation of preventative methods against GBV.

The submitted thesis entitled Framing of the Istanbul Convention in Selected Czech Media examines the way in which this particular topic was presented in printed and online media in the year 2018. The Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, is a document, in which Czech Republic, by accepting it, has to commit to the a necessary steps to fight against gender based violence in our country. The aim of this work is to identify and present the specific media frames that have been used in the connection with the discussions surrounding the Istanbul Convention and to describe the construction of the actors around this document. The research sample consists of four printed pieces of media, namely Hospodářské noviny, Lidové noviny, Mladá fronta DNES and Právo and eight online journals aktualne.cz, blesk.cz, denik.cz, eurozpravy.cz, novinky.cz, parlamentnilisty.cz, reflex.cz and seznamzpravy.cz. Qualitative methods based on grounded theory techniques were used for the research. The result of open and axial coding is in total nine media frames about the way in which the Istanbul Convention is framed in Czech media.

Female genital cutting is a problem that has taken several dimensions and continues to be practiced despite enormous efforts and resources invested by governments,non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders to ensure that the practice is discontinued worldwide. This study was conducted with the primary objective of assessing the views and perceptions of NGOs on the practice of female genital cutting in Nigeria. The study also examines efforts by civil society and the Nigerian government towards combating and eliminating the practice of FMC in Nigeria. Aside from the systematic literature review, a case study of ten NGOs were interviewed on the telephone. Findings indicate that girls being kept pure as virgins, protection of girls' reproductive potential, increase in fertility, aiding marriageability, traditional practice, and keeping with lineage practice are responsibile for the practice in Nigeria. Few theories were reviewed, and research questions were designed in line with the theories. The approaches include the Functionalist theory, cultural relativism, social theory and Feminism.

The starting point of this study is the common assumption that the Italian society is based on a patriarchal ideological system in which racism is often normalized. The binary distinction between women and men in Italian society has evolved into discussions and awareness raising on genderbased violence or violence against women. As intersectionality has become a central point in Italian contemporary feminism, this study uses the analysis of topics related to the historical creation of the idea of Italian-ness, migration and the influence of right-wing politics in current gender related issues as the basis of a feminist Critical Discourse Analysis. With this in mind, using intersectional theory, postcolonial feminism, and studies of whiteness, the study aims at exploring as to which extent the discourses of three white Italian women, who identify as feminist activists, influence the presence of racialized Italian women in their work. This study should create academic data and contribute to a research that is extremely limited on these topics.

Recent statistics have shown that Violence Against Women (VAW) affects one in three women worldwide. Not only is the issue prevalent at a global scale, it is embedded in the societal fabric of South Africa. Women and girls disproportionately experience public and private environments as unsafe due to the fear or threat of violence against them. Thus, limiting their movement, use and occupation of space. In essence, such instances of violence infringe upon a women’s human rights. In 1996, two years after South Africa became a democracy, it was necessary to manifest physically through architecture the symbolic significance of South Africa’s Constitution. An opportunity for architectural intervention is identified at the Constitution Hill Precinct. The aim is to make more visible and practical advocacy of women’s rights through establishing an association of the Precinct as a safe space for women. The study, through mixed qualitative methods, explores the feminist notion of safe space to understand safety, as both a practical and social construct, is integral to reflect the lived experiences of women. Design principles to guide the architectural intervention are subsequently synthetized from primarily theoretical informants, followed by conceptual, contextual and programmatic informants. The result is the translation of safe space into an architecture of lived experience; where the threat of fear or violence does not intimidate nor limit the occupation and use of space by women; but fosters spaces of empowerment, healing and upliftment. By programming underutilized in-between spaces along the East-West thoroughfare of the Precinct, through a transformative approach towards heritage, the advocacy for women’s rights is made visible and attains an association as a place where women are received and celebrated. Focus is placed on the Western edge of the Precinct to explore social and public programmes in support of women and the community at large. The existing parking lot structures, identified as lost space, are adapted to reflect an architectural intent of safe space and become spaces of meaning and contribution towards the Precinct. Finally, technical resolution of the project stems from the conceptual intentions of the design intervention; expressing a transformative approach between old and new. / Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Architecture / MArch (Prof) / Unrestricted