D.Litt. et Phil. / Ewing (1997) states that battered women who kill intimate male partners have not been the subject of much systematic research. In fact, Wilbanks (in Adinkrah, 2000) laments the lack of a systematic description of the patterns and trends of homicide by women. Furthermore, as with most studies of crime, the majority of the emerging research on women and lethal crime has focused on the United States and Great Britain (Adinkrah, 2000). There has been relatively little research directed towards the study of female homicide in small, third world countries. Research on women and intimate partner homicide in developing countries is sorely needed if criminal justice professionals are to realise the quest to understand homicide more fully and to formulate a conceptually broad and cross culturally valid theory of female homicide (Adinkrah, 2000). Furthermore, violence against women is a devastating social problem which commonly occurs in developing societies where gender roles are strictly defined and enforced (Ogbuji, 2004). Domestic violence becomes even more of a social concern when it leads to intimate partner violence. Prior research conducted on homicide committed by women suggests that when a woman kills a male partner it is often in response to a pattern of physical abuse at the hands of their mates (Adinkrah, 2000). The purpose of this exploratory study was to add to the small but hopefully growing body of research on battered women incarcerated for killing a male intimate partner. The Department of Correctional Services indicates that there are currently 163 women imprisoned for killing a male intimate partner. Yet the psychological issues surrounding female murderers go largely unexplored (Dept. of Correctional Services, personal communication, September 6, 2002). The aims of the study were as follows: • To form a biographical profile of a typical woman who kills her male intimate partner in the context of an abusive relationship. • To form a personality profile of a typical literate woman who kills her male intimate partner in the context of an abusive relationship. • To form a literacy profile of the typical literate abused woman who kills an intimate male partner in the context of an abusive relationship. • To compare women who employ a third party to commit the murder with women who commit the murder themselves in order to identify any significant differences between the two groups on either a contextual or personality level. • To formulate possible guidelines for a rehabilitation program suited to this group of women. • Finally, to describe two participants’ unique narratives to informally highlight possible themes as well as add context and depth to the quantitative findings of the study.

M.A. / A sample population of nine men arrested in Johannesburg, for killing their female partners (former spouse or girlfriend) is analyzed in the context of their killings. The analysis approaches homicide as a Public Health problem and a preventable phenomenon. The analysis proceeds from Public Health and Bulhanian theoretical perspectives. These theories emphasize the relationship and interplay between the social, political, psychological and economic environments and the overall effect they have on individual processes. By contextualising the homicide event into pre-event, event and post-event categories, the study is able to identify risk factors which played a role in the homicide act. The tool of analysis employed in the service of this study is called the Haddon Matrix and is widely used in the Public Health domain as a means of identifying and considering, section by section, the risk factors associated with the injury, the relevant research and other knowledge available and what is needed for the future and the priorities for countermeasures. Analysis includes demographic and social characteristics of the perpetrator and the incident. The results indicate problems in education, communication and the concept of the nuclear family. In the Public Health-Bulhanian sense, the results indicate that the homicide incident originates and occurs within the context of the prevailing conditions of social structural constraint, in the experienced psychological strain of individuals and in the prevailing threshold of social tolerance. The lack of basic human needs, such as professional help, for example, is an indication of the impact that the cumulative effect of social structural constraint has on the family's health. The study also found that individuals experience trauma and pain in a context where objective social conditions affect the rights and privileges of individuals and there is a strain being created on the subjective world of perception, feeling and meaning. It is this wealth of information on the trauma points which presents opportunities for prevention. Among the proposed areas for interventions are: Change individual knowledge, skills or attitudes, such as conflict resolution education, for example. Change social environments, such as better housing, economic incentives for family stability and counselling centres. Change physical environments and agents of violence, such as the availability of dangerous weapons and the increased policing of high risk areas, for example. In conclusion, the study aspires to enrich existing debate in the area of homicide as a Public Health issue.

In this report I argue that the analytical unit of feminicide must be expanded beyond gender in order to assess the axis of inequality upon which gender violence in contemporary Guatemala is being waged. Intersectionality and a gendered racial formation theory provide a more nuanced basis from which to undertake an analysis of gender violence and feminicide, and the grounds for devising effective long-term strategies for ending violence in its myriad forms. Second, I argue that the increased visibility of feminicide of late in Guatemala, far from being evidence of gradual progress toward addressing the problem, should be read as a sign of the problem‘s deepening, in a new and perhaps exacerbated form. Using historical examples from the Guatemalan women‘s movement, I demonstrate that demands to end gender violence and increase the rights of women, when articulated by the state, have often led not to a diminishing, but a reshaping of patriarchy and other forms of oppression. The Guatemalan state‘s transition towards neoliberal governmentality, and the gendered subject formation that is a part of this process, raise additional contradictions that merit further attention. State-based approaches to women‘s rights and protection should be merely one element of a larger political strategy towards more radical transformations of the state and racial, social and economic inequalities that will end gender based violence in the long-term. / text

This archival and qualitative research adds insight into the psychosocial consequences females of sexual victimization incur. Sexual abuse is a pervasive, complex societal problem experienced by 30%-46% of American females. The psychosocial consequences are numerous, often severe, and can result in death. They include: anxiety, BPD, denial, dependence, despair, eating disorders, destructive relationships, fear, guilt, hallucinations, helplessness, hopelessness, hysteria, insecurity, isolation, MPD, nightmares, numbness, passivity, pessimism, phobias, PTSD, rage, self-loathing, sexual dysfunctions, shame, shock, sleeping disorders, stigmatization, stress-related disorders, substance abuse, and suicide. The severity of psychosocial consequences to female victims varies greatly depending upon the degree, duration, and emotion surrounding the abuse, the victim's health, and the health of the victim's social network. In conclusion, strategies suggested in the literature to combat female sexual victimization are outlined.

In all the Black communities, women’s rights have always been taken for granted. Women have always been subordinate to the patriarchal system. The denial of domestic violence against rural women has its origin in the age long patriarchal society, deeply rooted in culture and tradition. The main aim of the patriarchal society is the control of women by men. The idea of protecting women abuse is not really new. It is a necessary component of long established and internationally recognized human rights. This includes the right to equality and freedom, liberty and personal security. The recognition could be traced to the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 (UDHR). However, women’s rights remain unrealized and are continuously violated despite the fact that these rights are well expressed in many international documents and national laws. The study examined the factors that conduce towards domestic violence against rural women in the Kwa Zulu Natal Province of South Africa. In this regard, the reasons why they support culture and traditional practices that are detrimental to their health were also explored. The small isolated area of Umzimkhulu was used. In-depth face to face interviews were employed to elicit information from the respondents and brief notes were written down to collect the data. The findings revealed that women are not aware of their human rights. This ignorance and negative attitude is influenced by the dependency of women to men, supremacy of the patriarchal system and the dominance of culture. Most disturbing is that these women don’t seem to see anything wrong with the situation. It is evidently clear therefore that women empowerment, through education, will not only affect women’s autonomy but will also increase their worth and make them understand the impact of traditional practices that they support. All these will have implications for policy and legislative interventions.

M.A. / This study is an attempt to investigate the way in which female survivors of childhood sexual abuse made sense of their experiences. Three participants were interviewed and the relevant themes that emerged from those interviews were coded and reported. The study was conducted from a qualitative perspective that was grounded in social construction methodology. The survivors' individual constructions of meaning at the time of their sexual abuse, their introduction to the social constructions of meaning about child sexual abuse and the double bind between these constructions are reported. The survivors' narratives are representations of the positive way they constructed meaning about their experiences as a way of coping. Their stories are also reflections of the confusion they experienced when introduced to the social constructions of child sexual abuse that differed from the meaning they attributed to their experiences. The study is a representation of the double bind that the difference between the individual and social constructions of their child sexual abuse created for them.

Vi alla känner igen ordspråket “Borta bra men hemma bäst” men hur sant är det egentligen?  Turism har alltid funnits i någon form och kommer alltid att finnas i någon form. Som en konsekvens av globaliseringen under de senaste decennierna har länder runt om i världen kommit närmare än någonsin. Gränser är mer öppna än någonsin och i stort sett alla får och kan resa. Vissa upplever dock vissa resmål som farliga och skrämmande. Speciellt kvinnor. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vilka faktorer som har störst påverkan när det kommer till vad som får kvinnor att känna sig trygga under sina resor. Vad har kvinnor för upplevelser av sina tidigare resor och vilka vanliga rädslor finns? Denna studie syftar till att söka svar på hur mycket kvinnors uppfattning om säkerhet väger upp i deras val av resmål, vilka faktorer som är viktigaste och vilka faktorer som gör att kvinnor avstår från en viss destination. Vidare är det av intresse för oss att i vår studie undersöka hur stor skillnad det är mellan äldre och yngre kvinnors val av resor. Studien bygger på ett frågeformulär samt litteraturanalys. Enkäten fick totalt 224 svar från svenska kvinnor i olika åldrar. Resultaten visar delade meningar om hur viktiga vissa faktorer är för säkerhetsuppfattning vid val av resmål. De tydligaste mönstren som resultaten tar fram är att kvinnor föredrar att resa i sällskap istället för ensamma. Dessutom är kvinnors största faktor när de väljer resmål bekvämlighet inte säkerhet, även om säkerhet fortfarande är en viktig faktor. Den mest påverkande faktorn som skapar den rädsla som kvinnor upplever är massmedier som tidningsartiklar och sociala medier. / There is a common Swedish saying that being abroad is good but at home is still always the best. Tourism has always existed in some form and is always going to exist in some form. As a consequence of the globalization of the last decades countries around the world have become closer than ever. Boarders are more open than ever before and pretty much everyone is allowed and capable to travel. However, some experience certain destinations as dangerous or scary. Especially females.  This study aims to research which factors have the biggest impact when it comes to what makes women feel safe during their travels. What do women have as an experience of their earlier travels and what common fears exist? This study aims to seek answers on how much women's perception of safety weighs up in their choice of destination, what factors are most important and what factors cause women to refrain from a particular destination. Furthermore it is of interest how big of a difference there is between older and younger women's choice of travel. The study is based on a questionnaire as well as literature analysis. The questionnaire got a total of 224 answers from Swedish women of different ages.  The results show divided opinions on just how important certain factors are for safety when choosing a destination. The most significant patterns that the results show is that women prefer to travel accompanied instead of alone. Furthermore, women's biggest factor when choosing a destination is comfort not safety, even though safety is still an important factor. The most influencing factor that creates the fear that women experience is mass media such as newspaper articles and social media.