Women infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are at high risk of myriad conditions, especially gender-based violence (GBV). GBV can be a hindrance to treatment adherence, which is pertinent to improving the health of people living with HIV. The purpose of this longitudinal research study was to assess the effects of GBV on treatment adherence among HIV infected women, with specific focus on when the violence occurred (recent or lifetime) and the stratifying type of GBV (sexual, physical, and psychological). The health belief model (HBM) served as a theoretical groundwork. Participants were selected from secondary data, collected by the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), and divided into 2 groups: HIV-infected women who have experienced GBV and HIV-infected women who had not. Survival analysis, specifically the Cox proportional hazards model, was used to determine whether sexual, physical, or psychological GBV and recent or lifetime GBV influenced treatment adherence along with race, income, education, and substance use. Physical GBV was found to lower adherence, and childhood physical violence had a more significant effect on adherence than recent violence. Previous drug use, smoking, and missed doses in the past 30 days were strong predictors of non-adherence. Future research should explore barriers to adherence based on the type of abuser as well as comorbidity of other conditions. Identifying and addressing issues and conditions that impact women infected with HIV can improve their quality of life while providing help for other challenges these women face throughout their lives.

Researchers and practitioners have increasingly focused on institutional responses to campus gender-based violence/harassment, yet they have paid far less attention to graduate student experiences than to undergraduate student experiences. Graduate students operate in a different context from undergraduates, and therefore specific knowledge of gender-based violence/harassment in the lives of graduate students is needed. The purpose of this exploratory, nonexperimental study was to better understand the prevalence of adult gender-based violence/harassment and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among graduate students, as well as to understand the relationship between those experiences and participants’ mental health and academic functioning. The study’s theoretical framework combined critical adult learning theories with cognitive perspectives on adult learning, including the neurobiology of trauma. Data used in the current study were originally collected as part of an institutional campus climate survey on gender-based violence; responses from n = 684 of the randomly selected participants were used in the current study’s analyses. Participants commonly reported both adult gender-based violence/harassment experiences and ACEs. The results of two OLS regressions indicated that experiencing more types of adult gender-based violence/harassment or more types of ACEs was associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower levels of mindfulness. Among participants who experienced gender-based violence/harassment in graduate school, independent samples t-tests showed that individuals who reported at least occasional academic functioning difficulties had lower levels of mindfulness and higher levels of negative affect than those who did not experience difficulties. Overall, the findings suggest the need for trauma-informed policies and practices within graduate education and higher education in general.

The U.S. Selective Service System currently excludes women from the talent pool based upon the DoD's 1981 ban on women in direct combat. The DoD has removed the exclusion and has implemented a gender-neutral policy standard for assignments. However, there appears to be a misalignment of national security policy as it relates to gender fairness that impacts Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) participants in particular. Using Durkheim's functionalism theory as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine institutional differences in policies regarding justice and gender among ROTC participants who are between 18 and 26 years of age in a Middle Atlantic University. Data were acquired through 10 interviews with ROTC members. These data were inductively coded and then subjected to Moustakas and Van Kaam's thematic analysis procedure. Key results included evidence that current policy is misaligned with gender enfranchisement, effective social change requires inclusion of both genders in registration, and a standards-based approach to equality is important to both men and women. This group of future military leaders wants the repeal of male only registration and the inclusion of female citizens as an expression of full citizenship and increased social equity. Further research using this methodological framework in different geographical regions and among different generations could add depth to the current body of knowledge. The implications for positive social change with new Selective Service registration policy would change the process towards registering all young adult citizens in the event of a national emergency which would be the codification of fairness and value for all citizens in public policy.

This thesis examines the ways in which my artistic practice is creating a space for victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault to share, gain catharsis, and spark discussions. As a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault, I have often felt there was no space for me to voice the many emotions that come with my experience. After creating and sharing autobiographical work about my story, many women have shared their stories of survival with me. Through these many conversations, I knew that we needed to create a space to share these stories. I have created this space through the To(get)her project. To(get)her is a collaborative performance and installation in which women from a variety of backgrounds destroy and transform wax guns with kitchen and cosmetic tools such as waffle irons, hair dryers, high-heeled shoes, curling irons, and meat tenderizers. These wax guns act as a metaphor for the violence that happens to many women on a daily basis. One in three women will encounter domestic violence and one in five women will be raped in their lifetimes in the United States. Not only are many of our bodies attacked mentally, physically and sexually, but the government also stakes claims on our bodies. With 138 representatives and 22 senators voting against the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and many of those same politicians also voting against stricter gun regulations it is apparent that these politicians do not see it as problematic that women’s bodies are so often targets. Further, in the current political climate it is imperative that people in the United States understand the importance of VAWA, and that it is a necessary bill that will be up for reauthorization in 2018. There have been six iterations of the To(get)her project. Through these performances, over 75 self-identifying women have been a part of the project, sharing their stories and igniting discussion about violence against women. When women come together, their connections are empowering, fierce, sometimes gentle and always meaningful.

This study explored the effects of a gender-based violence prevention program called Owning Up on a group of middle school students in Tampa, Florida. The majority of participants were African-American at-risk youth who voluntarily participated in the intervention. This study is novel in that it is one of the first to empirically validate curricula that addresses an array of aggressive behaviors. A mixed methods design was used to gain insight into significant changes over time, as well as treatment integrity throughout the implementation. Findings from the study found females to be more aggressive than males on all forms of aggression across time. Additionally, results suggest that minimal gains were found between pre- and post-test administrations indicating that the intervention with this particular group may have not been effective. Cultural fit, systems-level issues, and problem-solving tactics are discussed to explain the findings.

Esta dissertação se propõe a analisar as significações atribuídas ao conceito \"violência de gênero\" nas decisões de 2ª Instância do Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo, em casos de violência doméstica e intrafamiliar contra as mulheres, no âmbito da Lei Maria da Penha. Utilizando o conceito de enquadramento de Judith Butler, propomos a existência de um enquadramento de subordinação de gênero que significa as mulheres como mais vulneráveis à violência doméstica e menos passíveis de proteção. Apresentamos as teorias de Silvia Federici e Carole Pateman para fundamentar esta afirmação. Analisamos as teorias de Alda Facio, Carol Smart Rebecca Cook e Simone Cusack para compreender o poder do Direito em institucionalizar enquadramentos e disputar a produção de significados. Com isso, analisamos a metodologia de Facio para compreender como disputar os significados dentro do Direito pensando em propor enquadramentos de emancipação feminina. Realizamos uma análise de conteúdo das decisões selecionadas e identificamos duas principais significações relacionadas à \"violência de gênero\": uma delas afirma que a esta violência se dá em relação a mulheres especificamente vulneráveis em relação a seus agressores, e a outra presume que todas as mulheres são vulneráveis à violência de gênero. Utilizando as teorias e a metodologia antes estudadas, analisamos tais significações tendo em vista sua possibilidade de produzir um enquadramento de emancipação feminina. / This dissertation proposes to analyze the meanings attributed to the concept of \"gender violence\" in the decisions of the Second Instance of the Court of Justice of São Paulo, in cases of domestic and intrafamily violence against women, under the Maria da Penha Law. Using the \"framework\" concept of Judith Butler, we propose the existence of a framework of gender subordination that means women as more vulnerable to domestic violence and less amenable to protection. We present the theories of Silvia Federici and Carole Pateman to support this statement. We analyze the theories of Alda Facio, Carol Smart Rebecca Cook and Simone Cusack to understand the power of Law in institutionalizing frameworks and disputing the production of meanings. With this, we analyze the methodology of Facio to understand how to dispute the meanings within the Law thinking of proposing frameworks of feminine emancipation. We perform a content analysis of the selected decisions and identify two main meanings related to \"gender violence\": one of them states that this violence is in relation to women specifically vulnerable to their aggressors, and the other assumes that all women are vulnerable to gender-based violence. Using the theories and methodology previously studied, we analyze these meanings in view of their possibility of producing a framework of feminine emancipation.

<p>Although gender-based violence has been identified as highly problematic in South Africa, it has not been given much scholarly attention in relation to refugee women. This study focuses on the experience of some of these women who have resettled in Cape Town. The main focus is on gender-based violence and the linkages between conflicts at home, fleeing from it, as well as the problems faced by women when they reach the &lsquo / new&rsquo / country where they are suppose to be safe, but yet continue to experience gender violence. By referring to my own empirical research I try to tease out the many instances of violence and abuse such women face, how they understand and try to make sense of it and how they try to take up their lives in Cape Town. I utilized the much used ecological framework to analyze gender-based violence and argue that, while this &lsquo / model&rsquo / is dynamic and allows one to make analytical linkages across different &lsquo / levels&rsquo / of violence, it nevertheless does not adequately provide for understanding the relationship between larger global and international processes, the connection that women may still have with their countries of origin and the impact of being a refugee or unwanted &lsquo / immigrant&rsquo / in South Africa</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Economics, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study explores eight young people’s perception of the gender roles in Zambia, Lusaka. In this study I have asked the informants to define the genders and the result were that the genders are defined based on the biological sexes. The genders therefore become homogenous based on the male and female sex. The regulations of the genders were traditionally also based on assumed ‘biologically natural characteristics’. As I argue in this study that gender roles are social constructed I also present the socialization processes in the Zambian culture regarding initiation ceremonies and premarital ceremonies, which visualizes the regulations of the gender roles and the importance of marriages as it implies social status and identity. The young informants’ perception of the gender roles was based on a complex intermixture between the cultural norms, the Western influences and their own life experiences. This means that Zambian society is changing in response to external as well as internal influences and that globalization both facilitates change and may create problems, as different values and norms collide. The informants recognized a need of change in the perception of the gender roles due to the issues that the gender hierarchy contributes to. This study also discusses the fact that cultural norms causes lack of knowledge about sexual issues, which have devastating consequences. The informants argued that the cultural perception of a man as superior and the woman as inferior caused gender based violence, domestic violence and the HIV-epidemic to continue. Based on the informants awareness that many of the social challenges exist because of the patriarchal norms in society I argue that this awareness indicates that a change is in progress.

<p>Although gender-based violence has been identified as highly problematic in South Africa, it has not been given much scholarly attention in relation to refugee women. This study focuses on the experience of some of these women who have resettled in Cape Town. The main focus is on gender-based violence and the linkages between conflicts at home, fleeing from it, as well as the problems faced by women when they reach the &lsquo / new&rsquo / country where they are suppose to be safe, but yet continue to experience gender violence. By referring to my own empirical research I try to tease out the many instances of violence and abuse such women face, how they understand and try to make sense of it and how they try to take up their lives in Cape Town. I utilized the much used ecological framework to analyze gender-based violence and argue that, while this &lsquo / model&rsquo / is dynamic and allows one to make analytical linkages across different &lsquo / levels&rsquo / of violence, it nevertheless does not adequately provide for understanding the relationship between larger global and international processes, the connection that women may still have with their countries of origin and the impact of being a refugee or unwanted &lsquo / immigrant&rsquo / in South Africa</p>