Magister Legum - LLM / Refugee women experience the full spectrum of Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) throughout the refugee experience. SGBV is a global crisis that refugee women are subjected to daily. Refugee women face SGBV in their countries of origin, during the journey, in transit, and upon arrival within their country of asylum. The SGBV that refugee women experience is often not considered a priority and the physical consequences of SGBV such as sexually transmitted diseases, infertility, unwanted pregnancy, injury and vulnerability to disease is often overlooked or ignored. Although there are international laws and domestic laws which are drafted to prevent and protect refugee women against SGBV, refugee women are in reality not effectively protected and refugee women have remained extremely vulnerable to SGBV.

This study compares two groups of self-referred and court ordered male batterers: those who are depressed (n = 39), and those who are not depressed (n = 61). These two groups are compared along the following variables: alcohol use, anger, anxiety, beliefs about wife beating, jealousy, marital satisfaction, couple differentiation, psychological violence, and physical violence. Results indicate that the depressed male batterers differ significantly from the nondepressed male batterers. Depressed batterers had higher levels of anger, more anxiety, lower levels of marital satisfaction, were more physically violent toward their partner, and were more psychologically violent toward their partner. The depressed and nondepressed male batterers did not differ significantly on level of jealousy, couple differentiation, or their beliefs about the justification of wife beating. These results have implications for further understanding and treatment of depressed male batterers. / Master of Science

To understand the persistence of wartime rape that the DRC has experienced during the sixteen years old civil war, this study undertakes a critical analysis of the concept of ‘symbolic violence’ as proposed by Bourdieu. I have suggested that this concept [symbolic violence] as developed by Bourdieu needs other dimensions of definition in order to be applied to other social crises outside the western world. Shaping a link between wartime rape and its symbolic dimensions enables us to clearly articulate that the symbolic order brought through the practice of wartime rape by perpetrators does not remain unchallenged by the dominated who are direct and indirect victims of wartime rape. For this purpose, data were collected from ordinary community members, community leaders; a doctor and nurse form Panzi Hospital, an army General, a lawyer and some NGOs members working in the area of study (Kamanyola)through in-depth interviews. Observation and document analysis have also been used in the process of data collection. As a result the study found that wartime rape, at first, is a threat that perpetrators use to impose their own symbolic power upon males from the enemy groups through the rape of females from the same enemy groups. Therefore, this physical attack [war rape] against females impacts the victims as individuals, the community and the whole nation. This helps to suggest that physical violence is also symbolic violence. This is rendered possible through social and cultural patriarchal norms shared by both victims and perpetrators. As a result, family and community ties as well as marriage – as constitutive elements of the community’s symbolic order – are directly fractured by wartime rape. Forcing women to be economically unproductive was another strategy to undermine community ties which were built through community-based activities. Secondly, the strategic use of war rape comes to counter the idea of symbolic violence as being just soft or an invisible violence but under some circumstances a symbolic violence might produce physical harm.Thirdly, the study found that, patriarchy as the dominant social and cultural order is resisted by the dominated (women respondents in majority) now that it is associated to wartime rape. Because of this, I proposed that symbolic orders are not always taken for granted; they maybe resisted by the dominated. Based on the findings, this research report advocates for a more gender inclusive policy to encourage women to participate in the making of decisions which concern their lives as main victims of wartime rape in DRC generally and in Kamanyola in particular.

Investigar a questão da violência, particularizando para a chamada de violência doméstica contra a mulher, implica, inicialmente, em identificar como ela é definida e o que se observa, a começar pelo que traz o dicionário, que salienta três aspectos, falando da qualidade do que é violento, do ato violento em si, e do ato de violentar, que são muitos os ângulos pelos quais ela pode ser visualizada. É possível adotar como siginificado mais geral do termo que se trata de uma ação que evidencia brutalidade, abuso, agressão, constrangimento e desrespeito para com uma outra pessoa. De outro lado, por se ter um objetivo de pesquisa empírica, torna-se necessário que se contextualize e delimite a abordagem do estudo. A literatura tem mostrado que são muitas as transformações ocorridas na estrutura das relações familiares, no vínculo conjugal, nos padrões de comportamentos e relacionamento entre os sexos; contudo, essas mudanças parecem ter alterado pouco o problema da violência doméstica contra a mulher, que dispõe, na atualidade, de maior visibilidade, mas que ainda está longe de uma compreensão mais clara e aprofundada da questão, o que justifica sejam feitas novas investigações. Essa pesquisa tem, assim, como objetivo geral, analisar desde a frequência de ocorrência de denúncia de violência contra a mulher, em Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher (DDM), em dois anos seguidos, em cidade de grande porte, até as variáveis relacionadas ao perfil da vítima, do agressor, do relacionamento mantido pelos casais, razões do não seguimento do processo; esta é, portanto, quantitativa e de cunho descritivo, tem por base documentos em que está registrada a visão das mulheres que vivenciaram violência doméstica por parte de seu marido/companheiro e a registraram na DDM de Goiânia, noa anos de 1999 e 2000. Os dados mostram que é alta a frequência tanto da Lesão Corporal quanto da Ameaça (1999 = 885; 2000 = 1833), bem como que há um aumento siginificativo de um ano para outro, o que corrobora com o encontrado na literatura. Os resultados mostram que as vítimas têm idade que varia de 15 a 55 anos, estão em união consensual (57,6%) ou legal (42,4%), cerca de 60% exerce atividade remunerada e na maioria das vezes é ela própria quem faz a denúncia; por outro lado, há um número elevado de mulheres que relatam que a violência ocorre há bastante tempo, bem como de que já denunciaram em outros momentos, voltanto atrás por razões avariadas, que incluem até promessas de mudança de comportamento do marido/companheiro A discussão dos dados centra-se no levantamento de possíveis interpretações quer para o aumento da violência doméstica, salientando as questões ligadas à ampla distribuição etária das vítimas, indicando um fenômeno que perdura, às diferenças na educação do homem e da mulher e o poder que é, em geral, atribuído a ele, à escolaridade e à oportunidade de obtenção de trabalho para cada um dos sexos e finalmente, quais fatores poderiam ser os responsáveis pelo fato de que a grande maioria das mulheres vítimas de violência doméstica, que fazem a denúncia, logo a seguir desistem dela, retirando sua queixa, voltando para a casa e vendo, depois de algum tempo, a situação de violência ser reiniciada, o que levanta a pergunta sobre qual seria, em verdade, a sua expectativa em relação à atuação da DDM. / This research has as objectives investigate the issue of violence, specifically the domestic violence against women. This investigation implies in identifying how violence is defined and what is observed, beginning with what is mentioned in the dictionary, which emphasizes three aspects: the quality of what is violent, the violent act itself and the act of violating - many are the point of views it is possible to glance from. It is possible to adopt the more general meaning of this concept, which is about an action that makes visible brutality, abuse, aggression, constraint and disrespect to another person. On the other hand, by having an objective of empirical research, it becomes necessary to bring into context and delimit the approach of this study. Literature has shown that many are the transformations that took place in the structure of the relations inside the family, in the conjugal bound, in the patterns of behavior and relationship between the genders. Although, all this changes seem to have altered very little the problem of domestic violence against women - which has more visibility nowadays, but still far from a clearer and deeper comprehension of this issue - what justifies that more investigations to be done. This research has as general objective analyze since the frequency of denounces of violence against women registered in police station specialized in defense of women (DDM) in the period of two years in a city of big size, until the variables connected to the features of the victims, the aggressor, the relation kept between the couples, the reasons of not following the lawsuit. The present research has a qualitative and descriptive approach, is based documents in which is registered the point of view of women who have gone through domestic violence perpetrated by husband/mate and pressed charges in the DDM of Goiânia in the years of 1999 and 2000. Data show that the frequency is high both for Corporal Damage and Threaten (1999 - 885; 2000 - 1833) and that there is an expressive increase from the first year to the following - which corroborates what, was found in the literature. Results show that the victims has age from 15 to 55 years, being in non-legalized unions (57,6%) ou civil marriage (42,4%), nearly 60% work in paid activities, and in most of times it is the woman herself who makes the denounce. On the other hand, there are a high number of women who mention that the violence has been occurring for a long time, and the they had already denounced in the past, changing their minds for various reasons, including until promises of change of behavior made by the husband/mate. The discussion of the data collected focuses in the survey of possible interpretations for the increase of domestic violence, emphasizing the issues connected to the wide age distribution of the victims, pointing to a phenomena that remains, despite the differences in the education of man and woman and the power which is imputed to him, the scholarship and opportunity of getting a job for each gender and finally, which factors may be the reasons of the fact that most part of women, who are victim of domestic violence, that press charges, in little time give up and quit it, going back home and seeing, in little time, the situation of violence begin once again, what makes the question of what would be the true expectation towards the actuation of the DDM.

Šios problemos aktualumą lemia smurto prieš vaikus dažnumas, jis mokslinėse publikacijose pateikiamas įvairiu pavidalu: absoliučiais skaičiais, dažnumu vaikų populiacijoje, pagal kreipimosi į medicinos įstaigas dažnumą ir kt. (Jonikaitė-Kievišienė, Ivanauskienė, 2008). Nėra tikslios informacijos, kiek Lietuvoje yra vaikų, patyrusių prievartą ar smurtą. Dažnai oficiali statistika realios situacijos neatskleidžia. Prievartos prieš vaikus mastą nustatyti labai sunku, nes reikia tirti asmeninius vaikų ir suaugusiųjų santykius. O šiuos asmenis dažnai sieja giminystės ryšiai. (Vaškelienė, 2006). / The relevance of this problem is determined by the frequency of violence against children; in the scientific publications, it appears in various forms: absolute rating, frequency in children’ population, according to the frequency to have recurrence to medical facilities and others. (Jonikaitė - Kievišienė, Ivanauskienė, 2008). There is no exact information about how many children, who have experienced abuse or violence, are in Lithuania. The official statistics does not reveal the real situation. It is difficult to determine the extent of violence against children, because of the need to investigate individual relationships between children and adults. These people are often linked by family relationship. (Vaskelienė, 2006).

Investigar a questão da violência, particularizando para a chamada de violência doméstica contra a mulher, implica, inicialmente, em identificar como ela é definida e o que se observa, a começar pelo que traz o dicionário, que salienta três aspectos, falando da qualidade do que é violento, do ato violento em si, e do ato de violentar, que são muitos os ângulos pelos quais ela pode ser visualizada. É possível adotar como siginificado mais geral do termo que se trata de uma ação que evidencia brutalidade, abuso, agressão, constrangimento e desrespeito para com uma outra pessoa. De outro lado, por se ter um objetivo de pesquisa empírica, torna-se necessário que se contextualize e delimite a abordagem do estudo. A literatura tem mostrado que são muitas as transformações ocorridas na estrutura das relações familiares, no vínculo conjugal, nos padrões de comportamentos e relacionamento entre os sexos; contudo, essas mudanças parecem ter alterado pouco o problema da violência doméstica contra a mulher, que dispõe, na atualidade, de maior visibilidade, mas que ainda está longe de uma compreensão mais clara e aprofundada da questão, o que justifica sejam feitas novas investigações. Essa pesquisa tem, assim, como objetivo geral, analisar desde a frequência de ocorrência de denúncia de violência contra a mulher, em Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher (DDM), em dois anos seguidos, em cidade de grande porte, até as variáveis relacionadas ao perfil da vítima, do agressor, do relacionamento mantido pelos casais, razões do não seguimento do processo; esta é, portanto, quantitativa e de cunho descritivo, tem por base documentos em que está registrada a visão das mulheres que vivenciaram violência doméstica por parte de seu marido/companheiro e a registraram na DDM de Goiânia, noa anos de 1999 e 2000. Os dados mostram que é alta a frequência tanto da Lesão Corporal quanto da Ameaça (1999 = 885; 2000 = 1833), bem como que há um aumento siginificativo de um ano para outro, o que corrobora com o encontrado na literatura. Os resultados mostram que as vítimas têm idade que varia de 15 a 55 anos, estão em união consensual (57,6%) ou legal (42,4%), cerca de 60% exerce atividade remunerada e na maioria das vezes é ela própria quem faz a denúncia; por outro lado, há um número elevado de mulheres que relatam que a violência ocorre há bastante tempo, bem como de que já denunciaram em outros momentos, voltanto atrás por razões avariadas, que incluem até promessas de mudança de comportamento do marido/companheiro A discussão dos dados centra-se no levantamento de possíveis interpretações quer para o aumento da violência doméstica, salientando as questões ligadas à ampla distribuição etária das vítimas, indicando um fenômeno que perdura, às diferenças na educação do homem e da mulher e o poder que é, em geral, atribuído a ele, à escolaridade e à oportunidade de obtenção de trabalho para cada um dos sexos e finalmente, quais fatores poderiam ser os responsáveis pelo fato de que a grande maioria das mulheres vítimas de violência doméstica, que fazem a denúncia, logo a seguir desistem dela, retirando sua queixa, voltando para a casa e vendo, depois de algum tempo, a situação de violência ser reiniciada, o que levanta a pergunta sobre qual seria, em verdade, a sua expectativa em relação à atuação da DDM. / This research has as objectives investigate the issue of violence, specifically the domestic violence against women. This investigation implies in identifying how violence is defined and what is observed, beginning with what is mentioned in the dictionary, which emphasizes three aspects: the quality of what is violent, the violent act itself and the act of violating - many are the point of views it is possible to glance from. It is possible to adopt the more general meaning of this concept, which is about an action that makes visible brutality, abuse, aggression, constraint and disrespect to another person. On the other hand, by having an objective of empirical research, it becomes necessary to bring into context and delimit the approach of this study. Literature has shown that many are the transformations that took place in the structure of the relations inside the family, in the conjugal bound, in the patterns of behavior and relationship between the genders. Although, all this changes seem to have altered very little the problem of domestic violence against women - which has more visibility nowadays, but still far from a clearer and deeper comprehension of this issue - what justifies that more investigations to be done. This research has as general objective analyze since the frequency of denounces of violence against women registered in police station specialized in defense of women (DDM) in the period of two years in a city of big size, until the variables connected to the features of the victims, the aggressor, the relation kept between the couples, the reasons of not following the lawsuit. The present research has a qualitative and descriptive approach, is based documents in which is registered the point of view of women who have gone through domestic violence perpetrated by husband/mate and pressed charges in the DDM of Goiânia in the years of 1999 and 2000. Data show that the frequency is high both for Corporal Damage and Threaten (1999 - 885; 2000 - 1833) and that there is an expressive increase from the first year to the following - which corroborates what, was found in the literature. Results show that the victims has age from 15 to 55 years, being in non-legalized unions (57,6%) ou civil marriage (42,4%), nearly 60% work in paid activities, and in most of times it is the woman herself who makes the denounce. On the other hand, there are a high number of women who mention that the violence has been occurring for a long time, and the they had already denounced in the past, changing their minds for various reasons, including until promises of change of behavior made by the husband/mate. The discussion of the data collected focuses in the survey of possible interpretations for the increase of domestic violence, emphasizing the issues connected to the wide age distribution of the victims, pointing to a phenomena that remains, despite the differences in the education of man and woman and the power which is imputed to him, the scholarship and opportunity of getting a job for each gender and finally, which factors may be the reasons of the fact that most part of women, who are victim of domestic violence, that press charges, in little time give up and quit it, going back home and seeing, in little time, the situation of violence begin once again, what makes the question of what would be the true expectation towards the actuation of the DDM.

Domestic violence is now better be addressed as a global issue rather than just a family or regional problem. This research study has focused on highlighting the factors that contribute to the ceaseless occurrence of domestic violence. Besides, it concentrates on the consequences that might take place due to the various forms of domestic violence. As domestic violence has exceeded the boundary of just being an indoor personal matter, it must be dealt with precise assistance provided by the law and judicial authorities. Women should be respected and valued by all means as well as their choices and decisions have to be prioritized by men. Even if the acts of vicious domestic violence can't be eliminated overnight, the measures aiding abolition of domestic violence ought to be taken inevitably. As a whole, we must not forget that a healthy moralistic surrounding or environment can also play a significant role to combat domestic violence.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine and compare physically and sexually violent juvenile offenders (PVJOs and SVJOs) to determine whether specific factors in their abuse histories, if present, tend to be associated with-the type of violent offense pattern they exhibit. The Youth Experiences and Behaviors Structured Interview (YEBSI)--an instrument which assesses for primary (victimization), secondary (witnessing), and perpetrated abuse of an emotional, physical, and sexual nature, by and/or toward family members, acquaintances, strangers, and animals--was developed by the primary researcher for use in this study. Thirty-six PVJOs and 30 SVJOs were interviewed. Results indicated that the YEBSI demonstrated high levels of internal consistency reliability and a very high level of interrater reliability. Various descriptive statistical, scale, and subscale correlations for the YEBSI were provided. Very high percentages of both groups reported experiencing and witnessing all types of abuse. In all cases, a similar or larger percentage of SVJOs reported histories of primary and secondary abuse. SVJOs reported more severe levels of emotional abuse, similar severity levels of physical abuse, and less extremely severe levels of sexual abuse than did PVJOs. Family members and acquaintances (as compared to strangers) tended to be far more frequently reported as perpetrators by respondents. Composite primary and secondary abuse scores were moderately correlated with abuse perpetration scores for SVJOs and strongly correlated with abuse perpetration scores for PVJOs. For emotional, family, acquaintance, and stranger abuse, reported primary-secondary abuse scores were found to be most highly correlated with abuse perpetration scores of the same nature (e.g., emotional abuse history-witness scores best correlated with physical abuse perpetration scores and family abuse history-witness scores best correlated with perpetration scores against family members) Finally, the classification variables correctly predicted 75% of those in the physically violent group and 67% of those in the sexually violent group, with an overall "hit" rate of 71%. Examination of the discriminant function-variable correlations in this study indicates that it was primarily the emotional, family-perpetrated, and sexual abuse subscales that defined the function. Theoretical interpretations and implications for these results are provided.

No description available.

This exploratory study examined risk factors for sexual coercion using data provided by 87 couples that were screened to participate in a couples treatment program for domestic violence. Risk factors examined included: level of alcohol use, anger, beliefs about wife beating, jealousy, dominance, depression, physical and psychological violence. Overall, 46.9% of the women reported that their partners were sexually coercive. Slightly over 46% of the women whose partners were severely violent reported that they also were sexually coercive and slightly less than 46% of the women whose partners engaged in minor aggression reported that their partners were sexually coercive. Almost 23% of the female participants reported that their partners raped them during the past year. Furthermore, results from correlational analyses indicate that level of male physical violence and male beliefs about wife beating are risk factors for sexual coercion within the context of a violent relationship. Level of alcohol use, anger, male depression, jealousy, dominance and psychological violence do not appear to be risk factors. These results have implications for further understanding and treatment of sexually coercive male batterers. / Master of Science