Top PDF Characteristics of sexual violence against adolescent girls and adult women

The inclusion criterion was the crime of sexual abuse presented by the patient or her legal representative con- sistent with the provisions of Articles 213 and 217-A of Brazilian criminal law. Article 213 criminalizes as rape any non-consensual sexual act committed with the use of physical force or serious threat. Article 217-A, dealing with rape of vulnerable individuals, covers sexual acts against children under 14 years or against those of any age who cannot offer resistance or give consent [13]. Police notification or the results of a forensic examin- ation were not preconditions for inclusion.

A web based survey in the Midwest, USA whose purpose was to study prevalence and characteristics of alcohol related sexual violence among middle and high school girls, showed that 20% of female victims had consumed alcohol prior to the violence. The figures of those females who were sexually violated under the influence of alcohol were particularly high (29%), for those violated in social parties and in friends’ houses. Those under alcohol influence and violated in their homes stood at 6% (Amy, et al., 2009). Findings of a 12-year longitudinal study of 237 females in junior and senior school from rural USA, showed that 73% of the girls who reported sexual violence during that period also indicated being under the influence of alcohol (Janine, et al, 2002). A survey in the USA of adolescent victims of sexual violence indicated that alcohol consumption and sexual violence co-occur. However in other cases sexual violence lead to the victims to consume alcohol (Abbey, et al., 2002) Adolescents worldwide report lower rates of alcohol consumption compared with older age groups and yet they report the highest rates of sexual violence (Rennison, 2002). This therefore questions the relationship between alcohol consumption and incidence of sexual violence. Studies on this relationship in Sub-Saharan Africa are generally lacking. This study will seek to establish if there is a relationship between the two variables.

Respondents described violence from at least three perpetrators: older man, his wife and a younger man. Describing an older man’s violence, a young woman stated, 'What happens mostly is that an older man does not want to know that you are dating another guy...Older men are very jealousy such that if he gets to know that you are "double crossing" him, he will beat you up because he will be giving you all that you ask for...' (urban 24 year-old). Respondents also mentioned possible violence from an older man’s wife after becoming aware of the relationship between the man and the AGYW. Finally, respondents noted the following about a younger man. 'If you are in a relationship with him and at the same time you have a sugar daddy, he will beat you up... If the younger guy finds out, he will be furious that he is planning for the future and you are busy with sugar daddies. He will definitely beat you up' (urban 23 year-old). Another stated '...Even if you report to the police, it can be taken as a love affair' (urban 18 year-old). Noticeable in this assertion is the reluctance to report some of the violence perpetrated by male partners, in part due to perceived poor enforcement of the law.

Dating violence, in any form, was not associated with HIV testing in the absence of STD testing. This may be because testing for HIV only is the least common form of testing (4% vs 10% for testing for STD only and 19% for testing for both STD/HIV; data not shown); additionally, as discussed above, girls that perceive risk for sexually transmitted infec- tions may seek testing for both HIV and other STDs. The present findings are best viewed in light of several limitations. Cross-sectional analyses, as well as measurement time-frame discrepancies (eg, life- time experience of dating violence and STD/HIV testing versus condom use at last intercourse) do not allow us to determine if there is a causal relationship between dating violence and STD/HIV testing and diagnosis. For example, there may be situations in which STD/HIV testing and diagnosis may increase adolescents’ vulnerability to dating violence given evidence indicating a high level of HIV-related part- ner violence among adult women recently diagnosed with HIV. 35 Single-item measures for dating violence

Violence against women is linked to their disadvantaged position in the society. It is rooted in unequal power relationships between men and women in society and is a global problem which is not limited to a speci Þ c group of women in society. An adolescent girl’s life is often accustomed to the likelihood of violence, and acts of vio- lence exert additional power over girls because the stigma of violence often attaches more to a girl than to the perpetrator. The experience of violence is distressing at the individual emotional and physical level. The Þ eld of research and programmes for adolescent girls have traditionally focused on sexuality, reproductive health, and behaviour, neglecting the broader social issues that underpin adolescent girls’ human rights, overall development, health, and well-being. This paper is an endeavour to address the understated or disguised form of violence which the adolescent girls experience within the social contexts. The parameters exposed under this research had been ignored to a large extent when it comes to studying the dimension of vio- lence under the social domain. Hence, the researchers attempted to explore this cam- ou ß aged form of violence and discovered some speci Þ c parameters such as: Dimin- ished Self Worth and Esteem, Verbal Abuse, Menstruation Taboo and Social Rigidity, Negligence of Medical and Health Facilities and Complexion- A Prime Parameter for Judging Beauty. The study was conducted in the districts of Haryana (India) where personal interviews were conducted from both urban and rural adolescent girls (aged 13 to 19 years) based on a structured interview schedule. The results revealed that the adolescent girls, both in urban and rural areas were quite affected with the above mentioned issues. In urban areas, however, due to the higher literacy rate, which resulted in more rational thinking, the magnitude was comparatively smaller, but the difference was still negligible.

Concerning non-partner violence against women in SSA, the big issue is rape and forced sexual debut [4]-[6]. There are almost no reliable statistics readily available on rape within the continent. The one exception is South Africa, which records the highest incident of rape in the entire world. Thus, in a 2009 study on rape in South Africa by the Medical Research Council it was found that 1 in 4 men have perpetrated rape with more than half of those admitting to multiple offences [5]. South African statistics suggest that a woman is raped in South Africa every 17 seconds and that 50% of South African women are raped at least once in their lifetime [5]. It is reported that nearly a third of South African adolescents were forced into their first sexual encounter [5].

serious physical injuries and even death, when they had objects such as beer bottles inserted in their genitals (Burundi rape, 2004). Women who experience sexual violence during pregnancy have the high tendency of experiencing miscarriages and fetal loss. In cases where these children survive, they are born prematurely and/or underweight. It also leads to maternal mortality and it has been documented that children who lose their mothers do not develop well. There are also serious mental health problems including depression, anxiety, suicidal thought, illicit drug use and post-traumatic stress disorders (Bryant-Davis et al., 2010 and Sherpard, n.d.). Apart from the trauma of rape and gang rape, victims experience lifelong psychological damage which may result in eating disorders, sleep disorders as well long term anxiety. Feerick and Haugaard (1999) indicate that adults who witnessed marital violence in their childhood, report psychological distress, higher levels of aggression and partner violence than those who did not. Santaularia et al. (2014) adds that children who experience sexual violence are likely to engage in risky behavior such as alcohol, drug abuse and disorders in their adult lives and this leads to chronic diseases. These children are more likely to perpetrate or tolerate sexual violence as adult and this becomes a cycle of violence (Sherpard, n.d.).

forced marriages and sexual violence against Tutsi women were systematically incorporated into the widespread attacks against the Tutsi group.96 Human Rights Watch re[r]

Structural factors have been defined as “characteristics of the social, economic, legal, and cultural environment that act as determinants of HIV risk for whole populations and how risk is distributed within populations” (Hargreaves, 2013:3). Others define structural factors as all those conditions that are beyond the control of the individual but which have influence on the individual. Structural factors can be distinguished into social and structural factors. Social factors are those which include relationships and networks while structural factors are the institutional or patterned social arrangements (Auerbach et al. 2011; Parkhurst, 2012). There are many socio-structural factors but in this research, I consider the following social factors at the community level and defined as the proportion of individuals in a community: who are formerly married; who are in polygamous marriage; who use condoms during risky sex; who have multiple sexual partners; who have comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge; whose attitudes towards women’s sexuality is supportive of women demanding condom use from their spouses during risky sex, whose age of first sex is 17 years or lower, and whose age at first marriage is at least 20 years. For structural factors, community wealth/poverty, and community educational attainment are considered (Refer to Table 4.2 for definition of study variables). The three sections that follow elaborate on these factors and their relationship with HIV vulnerability.

The phenomenon of violence against women within the family in India is complex and deeply embedded. Women are subject to violence not only from husbands but also from members of both the natal and marital homes. Girls and women in India are usually less privileged than boys in terms of their position in the family and society and in terms of access to material resources. Marriage continues to be regarded as essential for a girl; control over a woman’s sexuality and its safe transfer into the hands of husbands who are assumed to own their wives is of primary importance. Systematic discrimination and neglect towards female children is evident in a declining sex ratio of 943 women to 1000 males (2011 census). Nevertheless, there are regional and community variations.

In conclusion it is argued that violence against women is a human right violation and not just a matter of inequality. Hence, it is suggested that violence against women should be a matter of serious concern in its own right, regardlessofdiscriminationstandard,andbeaddresseddirectlyasaviolationof women’s human rights rather than being viewed as an obstacle to the enjoy men of such rights. In urban area women are more conscious about their rights, education and they are more empowered both economically and socially as compared with rural women. There is urgent need to create awareness in rural areas about the rights, education and government services, and schemes for improvement of their status which is provided specially for women. There are various laws have been made by the legislature in the interests of women. Women are the present and the future of India. But today in the world of the 21st century, women have attained a remarkable position in every fields and their life style is improved, they are in no way inferior to men. Women have also started reaching out to state agencies for redressal and justice. India has a remarkable history with women from being the Prime Minister to the Governor and then to the President. Women are now able to doctors, lawyers, and top bureaucrats. Even in business they are occupying high positions. Women are in police force, air force and even scaling the Mount Everest is not beyond their capacity. The social change with the universal wisdom thoughts of great minds like Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi's thought on religion "... our innermost prayer should be a Hindu should be a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim, a Christian a better Christian" puts the religions in the right perspective in building character. High character and moral strength would make the society courageous and free from anti- social activities.

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains one of the most prevalent and persistent issues facing women and girls globally [1–4]. Conflict and other humanitarian emer- gencies place women and girls at increased risk of many forms of GBV [5–7]. The Inter-Agency Standing Com- mittee (IASC) 2015 Guidelines for Integrating GBV In- terventions in Humanitarian Action defines GBV as any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed (i.e., gender) differ- ences between females and males. It includes acts that inflict physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion, and other deprivations of liberty. These harmful acts can occur in public and in private [8]. There continues to be limited global infor- mation on the burden of GBV in humanitarian emergen- cies. One systematic review found that approximately one in five refugees or displaced women in complex hu- manitarian settings experienced sexual violence, though this is likely an underestimation of the true prevalence given the many barriers to survivors’ disclosure of GBV [9]. A recent population-based survey on GBV across the three regions of Somalia examined typology and scope of GBV victimization with 2376 women (15 years and older). The study found that among women, 35.6% (95% CI 33.4 to 37.9) reported lifetime experiences of physical or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) and 16.5% (95% CI 15.1 to 18.1) reported lifetime experience of physical or sexual non-partner violence (NPV) since the age of 15 years. Women at greatest risk of GBV (IPV and NPV) included membership in a minority clan, dis- placement from home because of conflict or natural dis- aster, husband/partner use of khat (e.g., leaves chewed or drunk as a stimulant), exposure to parental violence and violence during childhood. Women survivors of GBV consistently report negative impacts on physical, mental and reproductive health. Often negative health and social consequences are never addressed because women do not disclose GBV to providers or access health care or other services (e.g., protection, legal, trad- itional authorities) because of social norms that blame the woman for the assault (e.g., she was out alone after dark, she was not modestly dressed, she is working out- side the home), norms that prioritize protecting family honor over safety of the survivor, and institutional ac- ceptance of GBV as a normal and expected part of dis- placement and conflict [10–13].

Washington State’s experience has demonstrated that pharmacies are important providers of emergency contraception for all women, including rape survivors. After Washington State pharmacists established collaborative protocols that allowed certain trained pharmacists to dispense Plan B directly, without the need for a physician’s prescription, almost 12,000 women obtained the drug within the first sixteen months of the program. 97 While we cannot know how many sought Plan B after a rape or incident of reproductive coercion, it is statistically likely that many were, in fact, victims of these crimes; indeed, seven percent of pharmacists surveyed within the first four months of the project indicated referring patients for additional care because of rape. 98 For them, these pharmacies’ practices may have made a critical difference to their post-rape recovery; pharmacies that turn women away would, presumably, have the opposite effect, and deter rape survivors from receiving appropriate medical care.

tributable to reduced opportunity for such experi- ences among younger girls, because of their rela- tively lower rates of dating and/or sexual activity. No significant differences in rates of dating violence victimization among racial/ethnic groups or geo- graphic regions were found. This assessment might have been hindered by the grouping of diverse His- panic and Asian/Pacific Islander communities and by the relatively small number of Asian/Pacific Is- lander participants. However, girls from both urban and rural communities were found to suffer higher rates of violence from dating partners than did girls living in suburban communities. This is partially consistent with a previous study of state-level data indicating that rural adolescents are at greatest risk for dating violence. 30 Possible explanations for this

Family violence is becoming a very widespread phenomenon in Albania and the state is taking no preventive measures against such a phenomenon. The Declaration against violence; The Albanian context; The family violence as a criminal offence; Analysis related to family violence court judgments; Conclusions on family violence and Reactions of public authorities. Family violence is prevailing in Albania; yet, police officers, prosecutors, judges and lawyers have not been properly sensitized and trained on family violence issues. No sufficient evidence is being gathered in support of the victims and no psychological support is being given to violated women; furthermore, the extent of punishments is very small and they fail to consider the previous incidents and the continuity of family violence. In most of the cases family violence criminal proceeding depends entirely on women reports, which practically negates the possibility of a fair trial. The methodology, the theoretical and practical methods, the interview methods employed.

This study showed that more than half of the sample was exposed to psychological violence; shouting is more frequently practiced against women. This result is inconsistent with what had been reported by Khairi, 2007 as criticizing constitute 95% of the psychological violent practice against women. This result probably related to either social and religious factors, or to the difficulties in living conditions, and/or in the work that might reflected negatively on the behavior of the man toward his family and in particular toward women.

As much as the sexual violation of women in Yugoslav wars of succession was acknowledged as prominently political, by feminist activists and scholars, as well as by the local and international political elites who were manipulating the victimised women and their supporters, the sexual victimisation of men was actively de-politicized. Research shows, for example, that the media coverage of sexually abused men was almost non-existent in the local media, and internationally not reported at all (Zarkov 2001, pp. 71–73). Although some may find this difficult to believe or explain, particularly in the light of the fact that the 1990s were characterised by the focus on sexual violence in war, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, this is not surprising if one takes into consideration the social and political connotations of this kind of sexual violence in war. Men are subjected to rape and sexual violence as a way of proving that they do not belong to the category of men in whose image nationhood and statehood is significantly constituted. As such, this type of victimisation is profoundly humiliating for the victimised men, their communities, and nation states. The de-politicisation, by both the local governments as well as by the international institutions, of male-on-male rape and other forms of sexual violence against men are centrally linked to hegemonic formulations of masculinity that inform dominant notions of nationhood and statehood. That is why local national papers during wars of Yugoslav succession, for example, avoided stating the ethnicity of sexually abused men, if they were ‘their’ men (Zarkov 2001, pp. 74–75). At the level of the international institutional system, the de-politicization manifests itself as non-recognition of sexual violence against men—as an atrocity and as a human right violation, Stemple (2009, p. 612) study points out, even when INGOs have inside knowledge of this type of violence occurring in wars.

In practical terms, this quest for freedom could lead to the implementation of specific measures in the educational system, but in a more open and flexible way than that currently promoted in the field: questioning the link between stereotypes and the lack of freedom or justification of inferiorities and disadvantages is one thing, promoting role reversals or a ‘gender free’ society is another. In that respect, perfectionist biases should be avoided: it is not up to public authorities to impose a specific vision of the good on individuals, whether through school curricula or other means. This objective does require forceful and constraining measures but not regarding representations: further measures – such as quotas, for instance, but not just them – should be implemented for women to reach the same positions as men in social, economic and political fields. This would suppose legislative and financial measures above and beyond what is being done at the moment, whether in the Member States directly or at the EU level.

emphatically claims (in relation to violence inflicted upon animals commercial practices) that ‘mass orchestrated violence against animals both maintains systems of human domination and… constructs epistemologically how we understand the “animals” as a discursive category that is opposed and subordinated to the “human”’ (ibid.: 9). In some sense then many nonhumans are already ‘marked’ or ‘inscribed’ (by a human-centred culture and by individuals) as objects, as consumables, even before they come into existence. Moreover, while many crime fiction narratives readily utilise abattoir imagery with male killers who perceive women as meat, nonhuman beings themselves are not ‘seen’ in the narratives. It is rather the women’s flesh as meat (and treated as meat, treated as poorly as animals used in modern farming), which is held in the male gaze.

I was a student in elementary school I wasn't a very good student. I had a terrible time with reading and math. As a matter of fact, I did not learn how to read until I was almost 14 years old. Can you imagine what it was like to see all my friends do so well in school and I wasn't! I thought I was dumb. I didn't like school because there was this boy that always teased me and made me feel even dumber. When I was fourteen, it was learned that I have a learning disability. It is called dyslexia. I felt trapped in a body that wouldn't do what everybody else could do. That was when one of my hero's, my teacher, found what was wrong with me and got me the help I needed to succeed in school. Of course, now that I am an adult, I realize that being learning disabled does not mean DUMB AT ALL! As a matter of fact, I have learned that being learning disabled only means that I cannot learn the way most of you do. As a matter of fact most learning disabled children are actually GENIUSES! Once I learned how to read and caught up with the rest of my fellow students, I did very well. (Polacco, retrieved 2010)