Context Of Violence Research Articles

Fighting Intersectional Violence Against Roma Women and Girls – The Case of Croatia

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the complex challenges associated with intersectional discrimination experienced by Roma women and girls in Croatia, particularly within the context of gender-based violence. While Croatia ratified the Istanbul Convention and enacted various national strategies aimed at Roma inclusion, this paper argues that the detrimental effects of intersectional discrimination on gender-based violence remain insufficiently explored. Such detrimental effects can be identified in the J.I. v. Croatia case, despite the ECtHR’s hesitancy to legally recognize discrimination in the absence of clear statistical evidence. The notion of intersectional discrimination also reveals the failures of Croatian judicial authorities to address forced and early marriages among Roma girls effectively. This paper emphasizes the advantages of looking at discrimination of Roma women and girls through an intersectional lens. It advocates for a holistic approach in line with the requirements of the Istanbul Convention, including the training of legal professionals, stronger policies for prevention and protection, and improved data disaggregation. It underscores the need for policies that specifically address the obstacles Roma women face and, equally importantly, for their active involvement in policymaking.

Criminalising feminism: Feminist activists’ experiences and perceptions of state repression in China

State repression of women remains a pressing issue worldwide, yet it is seldom classified as a form of crime in criminological research. While feminist criminology and victimology have extensively explored the experiences of women victims within the context of violence against women, empirical research into women's perceptions and experiences of state repression remains limited in criminology. This article aims to broaden the scope of inquiry to encompass a wider array of victim experiences. This study applies the lens of political repression and state crime victimisation to the situation of feminist activists facing state repression in China, delving into the tactics, characteristics and repercussions of such repression. By conducting detailed interviews with feminist activists and analysing material from public sources, our data illustrates that state repression of feminist activists is perceived by victim-survivors as a form of state crime that harms women both physically and mentally and facilitates other forms of crime against women in society. We argue that victim-survivors’ experiences and perceptions underscore the critical importance of prioritising the act of listening to their voices in criminological discussions of state misconduct.

The Extremely High Risk Category Model for Nonfatal Strangulation.

This study investigates the risk factors and prevalence of nonfatal strangulation (NFS) within the contexts of intimate partner violence and sexual assault, with a particular focus on the demographic and relational dynamics that influence its occurrence. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative data from existing research on NFS. The Extremely High Risk Category Conceptual Model for NFS emerged as an innovative, investigator-developed framework that synthesizes the current literature on factors associated with NFS risk. Frameworks that integrate current evidence on NFS risk factors, such as the Extremely High Risk Category model, have the potential to inform the practices of healthcare, social services, and law enforcement professionals. By identifying higher risk individuals, these professionals can implement targeted safety planning and support services. There is an urgent need for focused research and intervention strategies to address the complexities of NFS within intimate partner violence and sexual assault contexts. Expanding research to include diverse populations across genders and ages is crucial for the development of comprehensive prevention and support measures.

Feminist pedagogy in the neoliberal university: on violence, vulnerability and radical care

ABSTRACT What tensions do feminist educators face whilst working within the neoliberal university? In this paper, I reflect on the difficulties of practicing feminist pedagogies within a context of systemic violence, asking what space there is to create transformative classrooms whilst working within a marketized higher education system which produces widespread mental distress, over-stretched support structures and spiralling workloads. I provide autoethnographic reflections on my experiences of teaching an undergraduate module on gender, sexuality and space, a course that sought to challenge gendered systems of domination, and where students often drew upon personal experiences of violence. I reflect upon how feminist pedagogies can often be troubling and discomforting, and how discomfort is always a risk in a system which treats students as consumers. Ultimately, I explore the limits and vulnerabilities that feminist educators can often encounter when attempting to create liberatory and radically caring classrooms.

Revisiting Goldstein’s Drugs-Violence Nexus: Expanding the Framework for the Globalized Era

In 1985, Goldstein developed a framework to capture the relationships between drugs and violence in the United States, laying a foundation for future research on drug-related violence. Since then, the rise of synthetic drugs, including in Europe, and the introduction of online drug transactions have drastically changed illicit drug markets and associated violence contexts. Technological innovations, increased globalization, and diversification of drug types call for an expansion of Goldstein’s framework, given the accompanying changes in violence. In this paper, we review the conceptual and empirical research on drugs and violence including contributions from Europe and propose refinements to the tripartite framework. This expanded framework specifies the context of the violence in terms of different stages of the drug route, and access- and consumption-related events at the individual level. This more fine-grained classification will be able to better capture the characteristics of drug-related violence in Europe and other world regions in a globalized era.

Evidencing alethocide: Israel’s war on truth in Gaza

This paper examines Israel’s systematic deployment of disinformation during its war on Gaza since October 2023, introducing the concept of ‘alethocide’ – the systemic destruction of truth. Using a mixed-methods approach combining cross-media ethnography and open-source intelligence, this study analyzes key disinformation campaigns across digital platforms, including the widely circulated “40 beheaded babies” narrative, state-sponsored influence operations targeting African Americans, and coordinated attacks on UNRWA. The research proposes a novel framework for assessing disinformation campaigns based on dimensions including intensity, reach, depth, penetration, recidivism, hierarchy, harm, and longevity. Findings reveal Israel’s production of atrocity propaganda, systematic efforts to dehumanize Palestinians, and organized campaigns to undermine humanitarian organizations. The study demonstrates how disinformation is modulated by geopolitical actors, media outlets, and tech platforms, which act as selective amplifiers within the broader technopolitical landscape. The research situates this alethocide within the context of settler colonialism and epistemic violence, arguing that disinformation serves not just to mask violence but to actively construct alternative realities that legitimize genocide. By examining the intersection of disinformation with power structures and technology, this study advances beyond traditional episodic definitions of disinformation to demonstrate how it functions as a component of symbolic power that reinforces existing geopolitical hierarchies.

Exposure to Violence for Nurses Across Ethnic Groups: A Qualitative Study.

To explore the social context of violence for hospital-based and community nurses from different ethnic groups, the types of violence experienced or witnessed both in and outside the workplace, and its impact on mental and physical health. Cross-sectional, qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online with 12 hospital-based and community nurses recruited from London, England, between May and August 2021. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The sample comprised seven hospital nurses and five community nurses. Four themes were identified: (i) the social context in which nurses from different ethnic groups are exposed to community violence; (ii) types of workplace violence experienced or witnessed by hospital-based and community nurses from different ethnic groups; (iii) perceptions of the factors contributing to workplace violence; (iv) impacts of violence on mental and physical health outcomes. Using the social ecological framework and sociological theory of stress, these findings informed a conceptual stress process model of violence exposure for nurses. Nurses from different ethnic groups are exposed to violence both in and outside the workplace which negatively affects their mental and physical health. Effective violence prevention requires a multi-factorial approach that addresses the social and institutional factors contributing to violence, shifting the focus from individual measures to systemic organisational changes. The NHS workforce is currently more diverse than ever, and healthcare leaders must improve access to mental health and well-being resources for staff affected by workplace violence, particularly for those who hold multiple social identities at the intersection of ethnicity, gender and age. Prioritising this support is essential not only to safeguard against negative health outcomes but also to improve the recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals. No patient or public contribution.

Do I Have to Kill My Child? The Royal Commission on Human Relationships and feminist interpretations of child abuse as maternal violence in 1970s Australia

This article examines the 1977 film Do I Have to Kill My Child? to understand changing responses to child abuse and the cultural influence of second-wave feminism in 1970s Australia. The film emerged from Anne Deveson’s research into child abuse, which she conducted as part of her work as a Commissioner on the Royal Commission on Human Relationships (1974–77). While contemporary explanations of ‘baby battering’ focused on psychological rather than structural factors, the Royal Commission insisted that child abuse be understood within the larger context of family violence and rigid gender roles. Do I Have to Kill My Child? went further, suggesting that patriarchal conceptions of motherhood could drive women to harm their children. A close reading of Do I Have to Kill My Child? – and the convergence of government funding, official inquiries, activism and media-making that produced it – underscores the importance of film as a crucial aspect of feminist activism.

The Boy Who Looks: Previewing Masculinities and Violence Through Boyhoods on Screen

ABSTRACT This article examines the role of boy witnesses in screen representations of domestic and family violence. Australian cinema has frequently placed a speechless boy at a scene of men’s violence: he might bea figure of innocence against masculinities gone bad, or a proxy for the audience, simulating a point-of-view untroubled by contemporary debates around gender-based violence. This article argues that the figure of the boy who looks is invested with multiple competing meanings attached to masculinity, including idealisations of boyhood curiosity, celebrations of boys as figures of progress, and the racialisation of Australian boyhoods within the context of colonial violence and dispossession. Furthermore, by interrogating the trope of the boy who looks, this article considers the affordances and limitations of contemporary feminist approaches to violence in cinema, and argues for an understanding of domestic and family violence in cinema as inextricably linked to the ways that we think about masculinity, cultural identity, and youth.

Sexual violence, secrets, and work: Ruling relations of campus sexual violence policy.

Campus sexual violence complaints involving students might seem easy to record and report, but university campuses in North America have a culture of secrecy and tend to focus on neoliberal approaches.In this paper, I trace the genealogy of a sexual violence policy from an unnamed university to argue that ruling relations make the current provincially mandated stand-alone sexual violence policies into a performative tool that silences expert knowledges, coordinates institutional practices towards a particular type of sexual violence prevention, and re-inforces a broader neoliberal logic in higher education. I explore my argument in the following three sections: the social organization of the policy and prevention campaign, the rules and regulations of the policy, and the neoliberalism of the current sexual violence discourse. As my analytical framework, I draw on Dorothy Smith's social ontology, which aims to investigate the practices and experiences of people by focusing on work and bodily existence as key points of reference. Drawing upon in-depth semi-structured interviews I conducted with fourteen participants (and one email exchange) at an unnamed Ontario university, I analyze how variously positioned people within an institutional structure negotiate relations of ruling in the specific context of campus sexual violence.

Medea as a rape narrative: Edward Bond’s Dea

In contemporary theatre, the abundance of rape references reflects an unprecedented interest in revealing its ubiquity throughout history. The most recent triggering point for this growing interest may have been the beginning of the #MeToo movement in 2017; however, rape narratives have been the subject of theatre even before. One illustrative example is Edward Bond’s play Dea, a radical adaptation of Euripides’ Medea. What renders this play remarkable is that, although rape is not a feature of the ancient story, Bond places rape at the core of his adaptation. Through Julie Sanders and Linda Hutcheon’s theories of adaptation, as well as Lisa Fitzpatrick’s critical approach to the representation of rape in theatre, this essay explores the possible reasons for this transformation and how rape is related to a broader context of violence in the play.

Virtual Violence and New Media Ethics: The Boundary between Legitimate and Harmful Expressions

This research delves into the complexity of virtual violence in the realm of New Media ethics, focusing on the blurred boundary between legitimate expression and harmful threats. Within the context of the rapid growth of digital platforms, issues pertaining to ethics in online discourse and behavior are gaining increasing attention. The objective of this study is to explore the dynamics of the transition between creative expression and aggressive online behavior, as well as to identify its implications for individuals and society. The research employs a descriptive-analytical approach through a literature review. The literature review is conducted to delve into the concept of virtual violence, New Media ethics, and debates surrounding the demarcation between expression and threats. The findings of the research reveal the complexity in distinguishing between expression and threats within the context of virtual violence. Factors such as intent, context, and the impact of digital content play a significant role in determining ethical boundaries. While certain content evidently constitutes genuine threats, many cases require careful analysis to differentiate legitimate expression from unethical aggressive behavior. This research provides a deeper understanding of the dynamics of virtual violence within the realm of New Media ethics. Emerging implications and recommendations include the role of online platforms in developing clearer guidelines and the necessity for enhanced digital literacy to aid individuals in comprehending the social and moral impacts of their online behavior. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse concerning ethics in the digital world.

From History to Headlines: Football Violence and Its Societal Impact in Croatia

This paper delves into the complex issue of football-related violence in Croatia, linking it to the country’s rich historical narrative and social dynamics. It seeks to understand the multifaceted factors contributing to violence within football culture, a phenomenon deeply tied to national identity. The research aims to analyze the interconnections between historical events, societal structures, and political influences that shape football-related violence, guided by the central question: “How do historical, social, and political contexts influence the occurrence of violence in football culture in Croatia?” Two key hypotheses underpin the study: first, that football violence has historical roots extending beyond recent decades, challenging the notion of it being a modern phenomenon; second, that media sensationalism plays a significant role in shaping public perception, often obscuring the historical context of such violence. By examining these dimensions, the paper aims to provide insights into the causes of football-related violence. It may serve as a foundation for potential solutions to at least part of the problem, contributing to the broader goal of reducing violence in football.

The Imagination of a Transoceanic Island: From Letter from Okinawa to Okinawa Spy

This study examines the methods and aspects of literary representation of the Japanese island Okinawa, focusing on the novels of authors Kim Jeong-han and Kim Soom. Okinawa is noted as a locale that shares a similar history with Korea, as both regions suffered under Japan’s colonial rule. Beyond this, however, Okinawa is also a place that invites broad reflection on the East Asian context of various themes, such as barbarism and violence, perpetration and victimization, and dominance and subjugation. In light of this, Kim Jeong-han and Kim Soom sought to portray Okinawa not merely as a place confined to historical memory, but as a symbolic space that reflects on the contemporary contexts of exclusion, violence, and hatred. This is accomplished by exploring such issues as state violence, gender oppression, and racial discrimination, which persist even in the 21st century. Through Okinawa, the authors aimed to uncover the overlapping structures existing between imperialism and colonialism. They also sought to suggest new possibilities for trans-locality by intersecting and expanding the historical experiences and events rooted in Okinawa into Korea, Japan, and the U.S. The reason Okinawa could serve as a hub of trans-locality lies in its geographical location at the southern tip of the Japanese archipelago and its experience of being an internal colony under Japanese rule. However, the manifold layers of differentiation and the presence of complex others within Okinawa also give it multiple identities, challenging the island to seek out new ways of thinking by constantly traversing, intersecting, and defying boundaries. Therefore, this study assesses how these various experiences, practices, and contemplations formed around Okinawa may offer points of academic inspiration and reflection for East Asia and the world in the future.

Hooligan gangs, sexism and drugs. Analyzing violence through soccer series (Puerta 7; Club de Cuervos; and Perros de Berlín)

The analysis of the series *Puerta 7* (Argentina), *Club de Cuervos* (Mexico) and *Perros de Berlín* (Germany) allowed us to examine the representation of violence and sexism in audiovisual productions. Based on Johan Galtung's Triangle of Violence, three types of violence were differentiated: direct, structural and cultural. In addition, approaches to cultural consumption and mediation were considered in the analysis of television narratives.Research on *Club de Cuervos* has highlighted how the series addressed sexism in sports administration, the representation of gender stereotypes and the influence of the media on the perception of soccer. Satire was identified as a tool for questioning the power dynamics in Mexican soccer and its link to politics and corruption.In *Puerta 7*, the relationship between soccer fan clubs and organized crime was explored, highlighting the participation of women in traditionally male spaces and the way in which violence affects vulnerable sectors.On the other hand, *Perros de Berlín* presented a context of discrimination and structural violence in Germany, with an emphasis on the marginalization of migrant communities and the presence of extremist groups.These studies have shown that football, beyond its role as a sport, has been used as a narrative resource to expose social problems linked to violence, exclusion and power hierarchies.

The ‘researcher’ versus the ‘political worker’: overlapping identities and their tensions in the field

ABSTRACT As a Pakistan-based Left political worker who has persistently struggled to reconcile with my identity as an academic, I use this article to explore the tension between the ‘researcher’ and the ‘political worker’ within me; a tension that came to a head during my PhD fieldwork in 2021, specifically from the moment when one of my field sites, the extremely poor G-11/4 basti (an Urdu term for ‘informal settlement’) was forcibly bulldozed by the Islamabad city administration. I use the tensions between the ‘political worker’ and the ‘researcher’ as an opportunity to explore questions of accountability, reciprocity, solidarity, and contribution in the realms of both political organizing and research/scholarship in structurally violent contexts. Employing autoethnographic methods, this article engages with and across my own writings from three different points in time and space over the course of the PhD and shares the learnings that emerge from an integration of these previously antagonistic identities. Calling attention to individual self-harm and compartmentalization of identities as forms of violence embedded in oppressive structural contexts, it argues that these forms of violence must be seen as connected to, interdependent with, and constitutive of collective struggles for social transformation.

Associations between violence in childhood, depression and suicide attempts in adolescence: evidence from a cohort study in Luwero district, Uganda

BackgroundMany studies have documented an association between violence victimisation and poor mental health. However, few studies use longitudinal data from low- and middle-income countries with attention to how associations differ by experiencing specific types of violence or alongside different contexts of peer and family support. In this study, we quantify the association between experiences of violence in early adolescence and depression and suicide attempts in late adolescence and explore whether this association is modified by family and peer connectedness.MethodsData came from the Contexts of Violence Against Children (CoVAC) cohort study in Luwero District, Uganda, involving 2773 participants aged 11–14 years at Wave 1 (2014) and 15–18 years at Wave 2 (2018). Physical, sexual, and emotional violence were measured at Wave 1. Mental health outcomes, depression symptoms in the past two weeks, and lifetime suicide attempts were measured at Wave (2) We used logistic regression models, stratified by sex, to estimate adjusted odds ratios with an interaction term to test for effect modification by peer and family connectedness at Wave 1.FindingsAt Wave 1, the prevalence of any violence from any perpetrator was 90% (physical violence: 87%, physical violence excluding caning: 68%, sexual violence: 6.3%, emotional violence: 56.8%). At Wave 2, 13.3% of participants had scores indicative of depression and 4.3% reported ever attempting suicide. Physical violence excluding caning, emotional violence, and sexual violence during early adolescence increased the odds of depression and attempting suicide in late adolescence for both boys and girls. Experiencing any violence (including caning) in early adolescence was not associated with depression in late adolescence, including in sex-stratified models. Childhood experience of any violence was associated with a suicide attempt violence in early adolescence (aOR: 2.60; 95%CI: 1.08, 6.27). High peer support mitigated the effect of any violence and physical violence on depression.ConclusionsFindings highlight the importance of efforts to prevent violence and improve access to response and support services for violence and mental health for young people. Findings also underscore the important role friends and peer networks can play in mitigating the effects of violence as young people grow up.

Dual pathways of concealed gun carrying and use from adolescence to adulthood over a 25-year era of change.

Most homicides in the United States are committed using a handgun, but little research examines gun carrying over critical stages of the life course and changing contexts of violence. Notably, although most of the handgun homicides are committed by adults, most research on concealed gun carrying focuses on adolescents in single cohort studies. Using more than 25 years of longitudinal multicohort data from Chicago, 1994-2021, we show that pathways of concealed gun carrying are distinct between adolescence and adulthood. Adolescent carrying is often age-limited and responsive to direct exposure to gun violence (witnessing and victimization), while adult carrying is a persistent behavior that is less tied to direct exposure. The onset of concealed carry is also a strong predictor of later gun use (shooting or brandishing), and we find distinct patterns of gun use between individuals who first carry in adolescence versus adulthood. We discuss the implications of these dual pathways for research and policies on firearm use.

“You just feel re-violated”: coercive sexual control in juvenile detention

Abstract Despite political calls on the state to “protect the children” from sexual violence, feminist scholars argue the state itself reproduces routine gender-based violence toward incarcerated communities, including youth. Building upon this work, I draw from twenty-three life history interviews with formerly incarcerated cis- and transgender men and women survivors to show how carceral norms facilitate a system of coercive sexual control. I define coercive sexual control as the policies, practices, and social relations that create the context for routine sexual violence and institutional harm toward youth. Coercive sexual control includes the sexual degradation of youth bodies, the underground economy of sexual favors, and the institutional denial of sexual harm. A theory of coercive sexual control shifts attention from sexual violence as solely interpersonal and episodic to the broader institutional mechanisms of power and social control that produce sexual exploitation against youth under the carceral state. Centering carceral institutions as sites of endemic sexual violence further unearths crucial discrepancies between institutional claims of prioritizing children’s sexual safety “on the books” and gaslighting youth claims of sexual misconduct in everyday practice.

Shaping the peaceful city: (post)colonial and transnational entanglements of security governance and spatial economic restructuring in urban Colombia

ABSTRACT This contribution examines the impact of transnational actors, policies, and discourses on the dynamics of urban renewal and governance in Colombia’s conflict-ridden cities. Emphasizing local and global encounters in policymaking, we understand initiatives of spatial economic restructuring as central components of a larger project oriented towards cities’ adjustment to the requirements of global markets. Frequently, the rationality of such policies, based on a liberal approach that conceives of peace and development in terms of pacification and economic liberalisation rather than democratic transformation, has been successful in accommodating a violent context instead of confronting it. Based on an analysis of the Colombian towns of Pereira and Santa Marta and of national and municipal planning documents, we disentangle the ways such policies are embedded in as well as contribute to the perpetuation of historical, (post)colonial hierarchies traversing the spatiality and exclusionary urban politics in cities affected by conflict. These hierarchies in urban governance, as well as their transnational linkages, are a largely overlooked aspect in the literature on the Colombian conflict.