Emerging groups such as the involuntary celibate (incel) subculture are finding new ways of reproducing real-world harm and violence against women making international headlines. Media portrayals of gender-based violence (GBV) are often problematic and at times inaccurate representations of the phenomenon. This qualitative content analysis of incel depictions in news articles published in Canada, the US, and the UK demonstrates that news media framing of the incel subculture is varied and multidimensional. The findings indicate four salient incel frames: "humanized" incels, "debilitated" incels, "sinister" incels, and "cyber" incels, each constructed using distinctive scripts that capture particular elements and describe both incel members and the subculture as a whole. More broadly, these frames can be organized into two distinct interpretations, the personalized and the politicized approach. The findings of this analysis reveal a tendency for the media to frame the incel subculture as a group of strange outcasts and 'weirdos', as well as potentially dangerous individuals. Pathologizing incel members as deviant others, distinct from ordinary men, can be problematic as it suggests that explicit sexism is confined to these small groups rather than being symbolic of wider societal perspectives and behaviours.

Yes / This training manual on gender-based violence is intended for use by all those who train the police and other actors in the local protection networks. It outlines the principles of effective training based on the integrated competencies of knowledge, attitudes and skills, and emphasises the use of appreciative inquiry, group learning and dynamic techniques such as dramatisation and case-based learning

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2013 / TITLE: Perceptions of participants and community members about research on gender-based violence The goal of this thesis was to explore ethical issues in conducting gender-based violence (GBV) research with human participants in South Africa. We study this question from the perspectives of both the researchers and the research participants. This thesis has two specific aims. First, to critically review the applicability and usefulness of the WHO 2001 guidelines in regulating community based research from the perspective of the researchers who do GBV work globally. Second, to explore peoples’ motivations for research participation, their perceptions of risks and benefits in participating in studies, the perceived psychological impact of answering sensitive questions, and adverse experiences of research participation. Three studies were conducted to meet the study aims, and were carried out using the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and techniques. In the first study, 12 in-depth Interviews were conducted with GBV researchers from various countries and a desk review was also conducted. Study two had two components. First, 26 in-depth interviews (adult 19 women and 07 men) were conducted, and data were also collected using participant observation over a period spanning three months. Additionally, a real life incident was analysed as a case study of ethical dilemmas faced by researchers when unsolicitated incriminating disclosures by participants occur during the course of data collection. Thereafter, 22 in-depth interviews were conducted with men and women (over 18) who had recently participated in a survey on gender-based violence. In study 3, data were collected from 1085 women and 985 men (between ages 15-26) using a structured questionnaire. The results revealed no empirical evidence from published literature and from the accounts provided by researchers to support the view that GBV research is exceptionally risky when ethical guidelines are adhered to or that is has greater risks than other community based studies. From the perspective of the research participants, findings show that breach of confidentiality was viewed as a major concern in participating in studies. This was reported by both men and women, with, gender-differences. Women were more likely to fear violent reaction from their male partners for participating in the studies without man’s approval, and some women were threatened by their partners, but this was not GBV specific. No man reported this fear or any adverse reaction by intimate partners or others. Men rather feared other negative ramifications like being shamed, stigmatized, humiliated, and embarrassed in the community if breach of confidentiality could occur. Findings of this thesis reveal a complexity of people’s reasons for participating in community based studies. Participants reported multiple and various, sometimes conflicting, reasons for participating in the studies. Most were motivated by self-interest to enroll while others reported reasons that were viewed as altruistic. For example, the chance to be tested for HIV, financial incentive for research participation (R20), hope for immediate financial assistance with municipal debts, assistance with their ill-health and intervention in abusive relationships, were some of the reasons given. Also, the desire to help advance knowledge, to contribute to society, to provide information that would help others suffering from same illness or disease, or those in abusive relationships like them were also given as reasons by participants and in most cases, same individual participants gave reasons that overlapped or oscillated between altruistic and self-interest motives. Emotional distress as a result of being asked questions about interpersonal violence histories and other traumatic experiences is viewed as major risk in GBV studies, and data from interviews with researchers in this thesis confirm this. Data from interviews with participants revealed that being asked in research interviews about such histories made the participants to feel sad and some reported that reflecting on these experiences was painful. Yet, none described the impact as harmful, rather most stated that such emotions occurred for a very limited time and that they did not need professional support to deal with the emotions. Many, including those who had emotional reaction to some research questions or had regretted participating in the research, also viewed the experience of participating in research as beneficial. The findings in this thesis have implications for ethical and safety guidelines on GBV research and on future community based sensitive research in South Africa. Findings presented here provide support to the WHO 2001 guidelines that studies that are community based and researching sensitive issues with women, including partner violence, should keep secret the violence focus and other sensitive questions at community level, and such focus be divulged only to participating women. This thesis has shown that this recommendation may provide protection to a particularly vulnerable subgroup of women i.e. those in abusive or potentially abusive relationships from potential physical harm.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is particularly widespread in South Africa and it is reaching alarming proportions. Violence in South Africa is considered normative. Cognizance needs to be taken of the negative consequences thereof for the lives of men, women and children. Highly publicized acts of violence by men have captured the concern of the country, yet traditional intervention responses continue to focus more on women as victims. This research explored perceptions of non-perpetrating men involved in a GBV gender-based violence prevention programme at Sonke Gender Justice, Johannesburg. A qualitative research approach was used. Purposive sampling was applied when study participants were selected. Twelve participants were accessed from “One Man Can” – a prevention programme at Sonke Gender Justice. All the participants were male and had been involved in the prevention programme since its inception. Semi-structured interviews were used to conduct in-depth interviews. To enhance trustworthiness and rigour, data was triangulated, and in-depth interviews were also conducted with three key informants. The interviews were audio-recorded with the participants’ consent and transcribed verbatim. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze all data collected, resulting in the identification of themes, sub-themes and categories. The data was subjected to literature control against the existing body of knowledge. The research report indicated that there was awareness by participants in the GBV prevention programme of the multiple forms of GBV as well as the interrelatedness of the different forms. Substance abuse was found to both cause and exacerbate GBV. Prevention programmes were acknowledged to be beneficial to participants in terms of the knowledge and skills that were gained. The research study will make a valuable contribution to social work’s understanding of GBV and the positive role men can play in prevention interventions. Subsequently the recommendations indicate that men can be positively involved as partners in raising awareness and development of GBV programmes.

The United Nations Population Fund has identified gender inequality and gender-based violence as two of the main threats to women's reproductive health. In fact, researchers have estimated that between one quarter and one half of all women with sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, have abusive partners. Given the pervasiveness and far-reaching effects of these phenomena, it is essential to take steps to mitigate the possible negative consequences on women's reproductive health, including HIV status. This exploratory qualitative research study was designed to gain further insight into the contextual factors and personal experiences of HIV positive African immigrant women, with the goal of informing the development of contextually-tailored HIV risk reduction strategies. This study, guided by a theoretical framework based on Feminist Theory, Critical Race Theory and the Theory of Gender and Power, utilized in-depth interviews with six HIV positive African immigrant women. Narrative analysis was used to explore the women's narratives on the role of gender-based violence and inequality on their disease status. The main overarching theme revealed in the women's narratives was that marriage is a vulnerable status that can actually put women at risk for contracting HIV. This vulnerability is based on social norms that state once women are married, they: 1) should not say "No" to sex with their husbands, 2) should not ask their husbands to use a condom, and 3) should not divorce husbands for having concurrent sexual partners. The women's narratives showed how the gender norms and decision-making process they observed in their families of origin, and in the larger community, affect their sexual decision making in their intimate relationships. Their narratives also introduced us to their experiences of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, as well as physical and emotional neglect. Finally, listening to the narratives of HIV positive African immigrant women educated us on the stigma and silence around HIV in their community, in addition to paving the way for recommendations on preventing the spread of HIV in their communities in the United States, as well as abroad. Implications for social work practice and policy, as well as future research are discussed. / text

Digital storytelling uses technology in order to capture people’s stories digitally, weaving together images, music and narration to create a vivid, multi-media story in the form of a short movie. Story creators are taken through a workshop in order to equip them with the technical and other skills needed to create the stories themselves. In the case studied, a group of gender and HIV activists participated in intensive four-day workshops sponsored by a South African non-governmental organisation. Seven interviews were conducted with workshop participants to capture their experiences of the workshops. Following a grounded theory approach, the interview transcriptions were analysed using an open coding process, which lead to the emergence of a clear central story line. The conceptual framework or theory emerging from this qualitative case study is that in digital stories as tools for social change and activism, technology’s role can be understood through conceptualising it as a medium and a mediator, with its properties as a medium enabling it to play a mediating role in a number of different types of relationships. A potential gap in the literature was identified in the process of writing this dissertation, which is that most examinations of the use of technology in social change and activism concentrate on the Internet and email. Hence there is a need for further research into how a range of technologies are currently and can potentially be used in the services of social change. It is hoped that this dissertation will contribute to addressing that gap. / Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Informatics / unrestricted

Against the background of a history of apartheid and colonialism, high levels of unemployment, an established tradition of hegemonic masculinity, pervasive violence, especially gender-based violence, as well as some of the highest levels of inequality in the world, this mini-dissertation focuses on the accounts of a cross-class selection of African women who live in South Africa and who self-identify as being in a relationship with an abusive intimate partner. It is based on eight in depth interviews with women, many of whom are immigrants or migrants from elsewhere on the continent, and all of whom are either married or in long-term relationships with their partners and have children. The study focused on the factors that impacted on their decision to stay on in the abusive relationship as well as on their internal thoughts and how these illuminate their decision to stay. In particular, the study explores how to make sense of the notion of 'agency' when considering women who stay on in an abusive relationship, and draws on the work of Margaret Archer on reflexivity and internal thoughts, as distinct from and in addition to a Bourdieusian focus on habitus and a structural analysis of the social context in which the abuse takes place and of factors that impede participants’ ability to leave the abusive relationship. The study identifies the key factors women cite as playing a role in their decision to stay, namely fear of violence; a concern with providing a 'home' for children; cultural considerations and family pressures; and structural factors (finance, migration status, employment status and a lack of adequate support structures). In addition, one of the major contributions of this study is its focus on the participants' self-described internal thought processes to consider to what extent these processes could be described as demonstrative of or enabling 'agency' in difficult circumstances. / Mini-dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Sociology / MSocSci / Unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The traditional model of scholarly communication uses journals, databases, and conferences. With the onset of the digital age, there has been a change in the system of scholarly communication, creating new publishing models, such as open access and institutional repositories, which have emerged as important, scholarly communication models. The research questions addressed in this study investigated the value of using altmetrics, as opposed to traditional metrics for measuring the impact of publications by researchers into gender-based violence (GBV) within South Africa.

Gender-based Violence has a considerable prevalence globally, but it is South Africa that has recorded the highest femicide rate in the world. Prehospital Emergency Care providers appear to be well positioned (as first responders) to respond to abuse early. The aim was to understand and strengthen current/potential practice of domestic violence intervention by prehospital emergency medical systems in the context of global health-sector responses. The paradigm was critical theory and the methodology was exploratory sequential mixed methods. Interviews with managers/policy-makers, focus group discussions of clinician-educators and non-participant observation of simulated practice resulted in hypothesis generation. The quantitative phase involved a survey and cohort study with a screening intervention in a public emergency service. The qualitative phase found challenges and threats to responses require organisational/ideological change as paradoxical practice exists relative to the domestic violence behavioural pathology. Further, role-definition, identity and violence re-contextualisation is needed amidst ambivalent and contradictory positions. Emergent theoretical propositions include: typologies of victims, perpetrators and stakeholder responses; an eco-systemic relationship of state/societal expectations; and a 'conceptual compass' for preventing systemic research bias. The cohort study found bio-psycho-social responses and prehospital screening for domestic violence effective and that the evaluation of prehospital met/unmet need was prudent. The historical domestic violence detection rate was found to be 5,1/1000. A nine-fold increase in detection following the screening training and implementation translated to 47,9/1000 emergency care patients, with no adverse events. These rates are unprecedented for South African emergency care and support screening-policy implementation. The difference in domestic violence detection, quantifies the extent of the practice gap, with an alarming missed case detection of 42,8 per 1000 patients (females, 14 years plus). Conceptualisation of the emergency care burden of domestic violence and an awakening to the unacceptability of current practice is warranted. There is a risk of regulatory and organisational 'capture' mediated by masculine hegemony and resuscitation bias. Professionalization should enable a community of practice approach to violence prevention. Recommendations include the national implementation of screening policy; mitigation of regulatory capture risk and professionalising responses through curriculum-reform. The proposed Risk-Need-Responsivity practice-model promotes clinical coherence in Emergency Care. This elevation of the emergency care discourse is likely to benefit the victim and emergency medicine community. Research is warranted in the evolving epidemiology of domestic violence, the acute/clinical needs of victims/perpetrators and the role of emergency medical systems and surveillance, in promoting health and preventing the associated morbidity/mortality, both as a forensic emergency care burden and as a social determinant of health.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a widespread international public health and human rights issue that disproportionately affects women and girls. In humanitarian crises all forms of GBV are exacerbated, and especially during conflict where GBV in some settings affects 70 per cent of women. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the most complex and protracted humanitarian crises in the world, facing armed conflict and natural disasters with following massive population movements, as well as acute food insecurity, acute malnutrition, and epidemics. In this context, GBV remains pervasive and is identified as one of the main protection risks. The duty-bearer government affected by humanitarian crises and humanitarian actors with limited resources face the challenge of ensuring that GBV services are provided to respond to the needs of GBV survivors, as well as taking action to prevent GBV from occurring in the first place. According to international standards, one of the key strategies to prevent GBV from happening in the first place is through the economic, social, psychological, and political empowerment of women and girls. However, various conceptual frameworks for measuring empowerment are being adopted globally, posing obstacles for objective measurement, and understanding of what types of interventions contribute to women’s empowerment. Furthermore, the complexity of the concept of empowerment and its application in humanitarian settings is further exemplified through the fact that gender transformative interventions intended to contribute to the empowerment of women can have unintended negative consequences, sometimes leading to disempowerment of women. To this background, this paper seeks to critically analyse how interventions to prevent GBV implemented in DRC can be understood contributing to the individual empowerment of women according to the theoretical Empowerment Process Model. This will be done through analysing results deriving from an initial categorization of undertaken interventions presented in peer-reviewed articles, as well as synthesis of quantitative evidence of the impact of the interventions. The results showed that a wide variety of strategies to prevent GBV in DRC are taking place on different levels; individual, relationship, community, and societal. The limited available quantitative data showed evidence for reduction of GBV risks in all five evaluated interventions. The results also showed that different aspects of the Empowerment Process Model were incorporated in the interventions, addressing individual capabilities through contributing to increased self-efficacy, knowledge, and competence of women and girls, at the same time as addressing the social context to contribute to an environment in which women and girls’ empowerment processes are facilitated. This could be through aims to change social norms in the community, or address caregivers' attitudes towards adolescent girls. However, whether this actually supported the empowerment process depends on the personally defined goals by women and girls. The interventions and corresponding analysis revealed a fine line in which service provision may be disempowering or empowering. Service provision aligned with personally meaningful goals may be contributing to the empowerment of women, while misaligned goals may even lead to the opposite. The findings highlight that empowerment cannot be simply claimed to have taken place without considering the desires and goals of the individual women and girls that the interventions aim to serve.