This thesis elaborates on a complex, multilayered gender perspective of mineral exports in the conflict of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The focus lies on the Dodd-Frank Act and its implications for sexual gender-based violence, both conflict and non-conflict related, as well as socioeconomic dimensions. The in-depth analysis of these factors indicates, that after the initiation of the well-intended Act, the occurrence of sexual gender-based violence has increased and socioeconomic situation for women have worsened. Possible reasons can be found in the sole focus on Western narratives and the neglect of local perspectives.

Magister Legum - LLM / During armed conflicts, women experience more abuses than their male counterpart. Besides, the disruption of national security systems resulting form the social and political troubles, exposes women to more violation of their human rights in the postconflict setting. During the last decade, the international community has employed noteworthy efforts to protect women from the effects of armed conflicts, and to ensure the prosecution of violators of women’s rights in post-conflict situations. This included inter alia, the adoption of binding treaties calling for protection of women against sexual and gender based violence(GBV), and the creation of an international Criminal Court and International tribunals to prosecute persons for the most serious crimes of international concern, including sexual and gender violence. During the armed conflict that occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 1996 and 2003, a significant number of GBV acts were committed against women. Reports and statistical data from humanitarian organisations working in the DRC indicated an increase of GBV acts against women after the official cessation of the conflict. Moreover, reports indicated the emergence of GBV acts against women in areas that did not witness such acts during the conflict. The research paper interrogates, from a criminal justice angle, the response given to GBV acts perpetrated against women in the post-conflict setting. Furthermore, the research questions the access of women to justice and interrogates the challenges bedevilling this access at the national and international level. In addition, the research formulates recommendations aimed at enhancing the access of women survivor of GBV to justice, and for an effective prosecution of perpetrators of such acts.

The problem of cultural violence against girls in Nigeria has been discussed at length. A number of scholars have conducted empirical studies, others developed theories and tools to be used in measuring and monitoring improvement on eliminating specific cultural practices. This scholarship is vitally important. They launch feminist and other anthropological works into an arena of anti-violence work which without a doubt have a significant impact and far-reaching repercussions for girls who experience violence in Nigeria. Yet, despite the systemic change over the past years, the problem of violence against girls in Africa, more specifically Nigeria, is still persistent within cultural communities. Building on the important foundational works of these authors, my dissertation analyses this problem from a different perspective. This thesis identifies several governance gaps within the Nigerian legal framework that needs to be addressed before existing legal mechanisms can adequately address the problem of violence against girls. To ensure a proper examination of the different dimensions and changing patterns of cultural violence against girls, the dissertation focuses on the practice of child marriages within Muslim communities in Northern Nigeria. The complexity of the issues addressed in this dissertation required a variety of theoretical tools to unpack the different fields of inquiry. The dissertation uses a critical legal studies and feminist framework in studying the problem of cultural violence against girls in Nigeria. It also uses textuality, a method of inquiry within Dorothy Smith’s feminist socio-legal methodology, to investigate the text-based organization of social policy in Nigeria to ultimately reveal a legal and political system used as an instrument for consolidating power and legitimizing anti-women principles as traditional values. Using these tools, the thesis analyzed the complexity of the problem of cultural violence through a focus on co-existing institutional frameworks, that is, formal and informal legal structures and the roles they play in shaping the experiences of girls within cultural communities.

The main aim of this Degree Project was to investigate the role of social media for women’s rights movements in Ethiopia, specifically for the #MeTooEthiopia movement, and whether utilising social media in their operations and mobilisations has enhanced the movements’ ability to raise awareness and challenge traditional gender norms. The research was investigated through the lens of digital activism and via the logic of connective action, by utilising in-depth semi-structured interviews with women’s rights activists in Ethiopia and overseas and undertaking a review of the #MeTooEthiopia movement social media platforms. Through the interviews, it was possible to identify numerous benefits and challenges relating to the country-specific cultural, social and economic context that women’s rights movements in Ethiopia have to operate in. For the #MeTooEthiopia movement specifically, operating an international movement within this context has been challenging, however due to its ability to diversify and adopt to both new and traditional communication technologies, the movement has been able to sustain its momentum and remain active in their attempt to raise awareness and challenge traditional gender norms. The findings also demonstrate that for contemporary women’s rights movements in Ethiopia, raising awareness and bringing along attitudinal change cannot be accomplished by only utilising new technologies. Rather, it is necessary to combine activism via social media with traditional forms of communication, including face-to-face meetings, to be able to have a reach across the wider society.

Turkey and its authoritarian policies are in the headlines: the topic of Syrian refugees and the EU – Turkey deal, gross human rights violations, repression against opposition parties, and last but not least the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention in March 2021. Heavy protests of feminist activist groups are demanding the end of gender-based violence and femicide.Against this background, the thesis investigates the reasons for the rapidly rising number of femicides in Turkey since 2008. It is argued that femicides are not isolated, individualized acts. Rather, they need to be grasped by the present social, political, and gendered context of Turkey. A contextual intersectional analysis is applied to examine the multifaceted and multilayered political phenomenon of femicides.The analysis reveals that femicides are not caused by single-issue factors, but rather by a variety of interlocking determinants such as deeply entrenched gender roles and patriarchal structures, gender-based violence, the regulatory landscape and the creation of political conditions that institutionalize gender hierarchy and violence.The unique contribution of this paper is the adoption of a decolonial view that incorporates a view to the resistance practices embedded into practices of repression and violence.

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication Science University of Zululand, 2003. / This thesis entails a literature survey of the forms of communication required for the successful management of primary schools and high schools by principals and their management teams, followed by an empirical survey of the management team communication practices of 367 principals in the northern section of the eThekwini Region (the area that until 2003 was known as the North Durban Region) in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, on the eastern seaboard of South Africa. In brief, my research shows that female principals predominate in primary schools and male principals in high schools. My research further shows a number of significant differences in the way that female and male principals communicate with parents.

We live in a world where slavery has taken on a new form. Even though the type of slavery we learn about in the history books has been abolished, slavery continues today through, among other things, the sex trade. This study is a qualitative informant study that aims to find out how Swedish non-profit organizations provide support and protection to women who have been subjected to human trafficking for sexual purposes, and what explanatory models exist for why human trafficking for sexual purposes takes place today. The study has also examined which areas for improvement can be identified in the work for support and protection of victims of human trafficking for sexual purposes. The study is based on semi-structured interviews from 4 different Swedish non-profit organizations that in various ways are active actors in the work with human trafficking for sexual purposes. The results shed light on the fact that there is a demand for sexual services that propel the industry of human trafficking for sexual purposes forward. This type of crime can also be explained as a type of gender-based violence that is rooted in a patriarchal and unequal society. Civil society has an important and crucial role to play in combating this type of crime and, not least, in providing support and protection to victims of trafficking. A human trafficking victim has both urgent and long-term needs that need to be met. The study describes civil society's support and protection efforts that human trafficking victims are offered and what conditions they have in Sweden to provide it.

Sexual violence against women is a broad and serious problem all over the world, but South Africa is one of the countries that stand out with their high statistics, where women are mostly targeted and exposed to this violation. At the same time, there are many women’s and human right’s organisations in South Africa working to address sexual violence and support survivors and fighting for equality between men and women. In this study, five organisations have been interviewed, whereof four of them are working with religious leaders as an approach to fights sexual violence. The result and analysis suggest the importance of both women’s and human rights organisations as norm entrepreneurs, as well as the importance of religious leaders as local actors to facilitate the work of internalizing gender equality and fight sexual violence. The mentoring and support from organisations and the work with religious leaders have shown positive progress in several areas of their work to localize and internalize gender equality. However, the organisations are facing limitations in their work with religious leaders which might limit the progress of localization and internalization.

Since the end of the 1990s, the number of forcibly displaced people has increased from 33 million to 80 million at the end of 2019. The living conditions within the refugee camps have progressed beyond emergency assistance, with the main objective being to provide short-term protection in refugee camps designed for short-term stays. However, the average time spent in a refugee camp is 20 years, and refugees often lack food security and power supply to meet basic needs such as cooking or lighting. Refugee settlements are stressful and unstable environments, especially for women and girls, who are vulnerable to various sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) forms. A systematic literature review of eight peer-reviewed articles and seven semi-structured interviews are used in this study to assess the effectiveness of humanitarian energy initiatives in reducing SGBV against women in refugee camps. In this thesis, a feminist lens is used to shed more light and unlock place-based challenges to sustainable energy solutions. Our study's findings indicate that establishing a link between sexual and gender-based violence and energy is difficult, and we cannot rule out the possibility of an existing link. We assert, however, that the most effective approach to reducing SGBV among refugee women is not through energy interventions but through a combination of mixed long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence.

The patriarchal societies in the MENA region have their entire social framework around the protection and regulation of female sexuality. The woman’s male relatives have to make sure that her honor is under their control and fulfills the patriarchal family demands. Women’s failure to stick to the code of honor may result in aggressive reactions that may mount to honor killings and this had happened in 2019 to Israa Gharyeb. The murder of the 21-year-old girl sent a shockwave of protests not just in the Palestinian society where the crime had happened but also across the Arab region. Activists on social media and the streets are sending a clear and strong message that murdering women will not be hidden anymore. Accordingly, this thesis sheds the light on the Twitter hashtag # كلنا_اسراء_غریب (we are all Israa) to reflect on the participants’ responses to both crime event and the traditional discourse on “Honor killings.” Theoretically, the paper offers a rereading of the theory of critical discourse analyses on the notions of ideology, power, and dominance. Empirically, this paper will analyze 460 tweets by conducting critical discourse analysis and qualitative content analysis.