Context Of Violence Research Articles

Between International Policy and Local Practice: Nepali Service Providers' Constructions of Domestic Violence in Context.

The conceptualization of social problems is an important site for examining the extent to which the knowledge and priorities of local practitioners are reflected in international policy. This study employed critical discourse analysis to examine the constructions of domestic violence (DV) used by service providers in Pokhara, Nepal, as compared with two major international women's human rights policy documents. Both constructed DV as a human rights issue that should be contextualized within patriarchal and intersecting oppressions. Service providers additionally emphasized the denial of rights and entitlements of family life as DV. This finding underscores the long-term risks that survivors navigate and suggests that international human rights policymakers should broaden conceptualizations of DV.

A feminist legal analysis of non-consensual sexualized deepfakes: contextualizing its impact as AI-generated image-based violence under EU law

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the legal contextualization of the generation of fake audiovisual sexual content based on replacing and shuffling facial or voice data using artificial intelligence (AI) technology without the previous consent, commonly known as ‘non-consensual sexualized deepfakes'. The legal analysis will be limited to examination of the impact of non-consensual sexualized deepfakes on the gender equality spectrum and gender-based violence context. For this reason, the analysis will be built upon the European AI Act – the applied legal framework when AI software is used – the European Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence (GBV Directive) – which criminalizes the generation of sexualized deepfakes – and the Digital Service Act (DSA) – the legislative framework regulating online platforms, where mostly sexualized deepfakes are distributed. To better understand how sexualized deepfakes are generated, we will examine their generation and detection techniques through a short overview from a technical lens. The methodology used is built on the feminist critical approach – based on the ‘King Kong’ theory and abolitionist feminism – to the doctrinal analysis of the relevant European legislation. After having captured the harms of deepfake technology, legal solutions will be provided through this cross-disciplinary perspective.

When Resisting Is Not Enough: The killing of Latin American Feminist Activists (2015–23)

ABSTRACT The article analyses an original database of 177 Latin American women activists killed that had some connection with feminist social movements from 2015 to 2023. A growing body of literature has focused on the killings of socio-environmental activists in Latin America and where they occurred. However, their activisms are under-researched, precisely because feminist social movements and activists have frequently been killed while advocating for women’s rights in the subcontinent. This article focuses on the circumstances, a few reasons portrayed in newspaper events, and the perpetrators of such violence. Based on a literature review, I argue that taking into account the recent narcodynamics of the region, it is possible to understand such violence within the context of drug-related violence, but also—and more likely—to consider those killings as political feminicides. Political feminicides are then examined largely through transfeminicides and peasant/communitarian activists.

The Context, Logic, and Perpetuation of Violence

Abstract This article attempts to explain why the current conflict in Gaza has happened through a brief history of conflicts in Gaza since 2005 and a discussion of more recent events, focusing on conditions such as inequality, dependency, political repression, ethnic divisions, and previous incidents of violence. The article also reflects on the US response to the situation, concluding that domestic political agendas and the influence of special interests have perpetuated the Gaza crisis.

"Resilience looks like me": Community stakeholder perspectives on resilience in Black boys and young men exposed to community violence.

Black boys and young men are disproportionately burdened with navigating contexts of community violence resulting from race-based structural inequities and concentrated disadvantage. Despite this chronic adversity, many Black boys and young men thrive; however, resilience research has traditionally focused on identifying individual- and family-level factors that support resilience. Research has yet to fully examine community-level resources that facilitate processes of resilience for Black boys and young men in the contexts of trauma, violence, and poverty. Guided by ecological frameworks and using the community-based participatory method of action-oriented community diagnosis, our qualitative study examines the perspectives of diverse community stakeholders (N = 29) whose roles and influence span systems levels and shape contexts of violence and healing for Black boys and young men in Greensboro, North Carolina. Findings point toward relationship (mentoring), community (safe spaces to heal), and societal (interventions to dismantle racism) level opportunities and barriers ("terroristic territorialism") to promote resilience in Black boys and young men. Implications for research and praxis that broadens the scope of resilience research from successful adaptation to conditions of community violence to community-level intervention to promote resilience and transformation are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Breaking the silence: exploring the sociocultural context of domestic violence for Chinese migrant women in Australia

Research examining the specificity of domestic violence (DV) for culturally and linguistically diverse women has grown considerably in Australia over the past several years, however, few studies have focused on the experiences of East Asian migrant victim-survivors of DV. This article reports on findings from an in-depth qualitative study and explores the perceptions of and responses to DV for Chinese migrant women from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The article shows that sociocultural and patriarchal values had an enduring impact on women’s experiences of and decision-making for DV. It also shows how cultural norms and practices connected to face (面子), family harmony (家庭和睦), family hierarchy (等級家庭制) and filial piety (孝) can be exploited by perpetrators and used against victim-survivors in the enactment of DV and coercive control. Findings highlight the importance of attending to the cultural specificity of DV for migrant women with a shared ethnicity with policy and practice implications for the provision of support from both mainstream and multicultural services.

Masculine Violence in Turkish Folk Dances

As a social issue, violence continues to manifest and remains a current topic of academic research. Scientific studies mostly focus on the individual and societal dimensions of violence; however, studies that address violence in the context of everyday life practices remain limited. This study argues that violence has a masculine character as a result of gender inequality and within the framework of the masculinity-power relationality. On the other hand, this study considers folk dances as a product of social culture and views them as an effective form of non-verbal communication within society. The study is based on the claim that, in folk dances observed in formal or informal ceremonial events, which are part of everyday life and contain elements of violence, violence is legitimized as a spectacle. In this context, local folk dances from different regions of Turkey, performed exclusively by male dancers and portraying themes of heroism, victory, bravery, and courage, have been selected as examples. These include Trabzon Bıçak Horonu, Bursa Kılıç-Kalkan, Manisa Seğmen Sekmesi, Balıkesir Bengi, Erzurum Köroğlu Barı, Giresun Tüfekli Çandır Karşılaması, and Diyarbakır Şur-u Mertal. The violent content of these dances has been analyzed through the method of semiotic analysis. Weapons used in these dances, fast and rhythmic tunes, and rigid movements have been considered as indicators of violence. It has been concluded that these dances, admired and enthusiastically applauded, normalize violence. This study makes a significant contribution by addressing folk dances within the context of violence and aims to fill the gap in the literature in this field.

The relationship between spousal violence, maternal functioning, depression, and anxiety among Iranian postpartum mothers: a prospective study

BackgroundViolence against women is a critical public health issue that adversely affects physical and mental health, contributing to injuries, chronic conditions, and mental health disorders. This study addresses the gap in understanding the relationship between spousal violence with maternal functioning and mental health in postpartum mothers.MethodsThis Prospective study was conducted on 316 postpartum women who gave birth in Al-Zahra and Taleghani Educational Treatment Centers in Tabriz, Iran, from June 2023 to October 2023. Participants were selected using convenience sampling and followed up for 6–8 weeks. The data were collected using the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS), and the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning (BIMF). A general linear model, adjusted for individual, social, and obstetric variables, was used to determine the relationship between domestic violence, maternal functioning, depression and anxiety.ResultsMost women (84%) experienced one or more types of intimate partner violence (IPV), including psychological, physical, or sexual abuse. About one-third (32.9%) reported psychological abuse, 21.2% physical violence, 49.4% sexual coercion, and 6.3% reported injuries. The adjusted general linear model showed that the mean depression score was lower in individuals without any experience of violence compared to those who had experienced any violence (β: -1.75; 95% CI: -3.40 to -0.10; p = 0.038). The mean depression score was significantly higher in homemakers compared to employed individuals (β = 3.53; 95% CI = 1.22 to 5.84, p = 0.003). The mean maternal functioning score was significantly higher in those who had not experienced mild physical violence compared to those who had (β = 2.94; 95% CI = 0.34 to 5.55, p = 0.027). The mean anxiety score was lower in individuals with high income (β: -3.38; 95% CI: -5.73 to -1.04; p = 0.005) and moderate income (β: -2.21; 95% CI: -4.35 to -0.07; p = 0.043) compared to those with low income.ConclusionThe findings reveal a high prevalence of violence, particularly sexual coercion, significantly affecting maternal functioning and mental health. Socioeconomic factors also play a crucial role in postpartum mental health. These results highlight the urgent need for enhanced prevention efforts and targeted interventions that consider the socio-economic context and specific forms of violence.

Lagged and simultaneous effects of exposure to violence at home on child-to-parent violence: gender differences.

Numerous studies have found that exposure to violence at home is a risk factor for child-to-parent violence. However, most of the available studies do not delimit a time frame for exposure to violence. This aspect is fundamental to differentiating lagged effects (compensation) from simultaneous effects (reciprocal). The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between lagged (before the age of 10) and simultaneous (last year) exposure to violence at home (direct victimization: parent-to-child violence and vicarious victimization: exposure to violence between parents) and child-to-parent violence, the possible differential reactive or instrumental motivation of these relationships and whether they differ based on the gender of children and parents. The sample comprised 1,734 Spanish adolescents who lived with both parents (57.3% girls), aged between 13 and 17 years. The instruments used were the Child-to-Parent Violence Questionnaire and the Violence Exposure Scale. Positive and significant relationships were found between child-to-parent violence and exposure to violence at home both during childhood and during the last year; however, the relationships were stronger in the latter. The most important predictors were direct parental victimization during the last year. Boys exerted more reactive violence toward the father concerning exposure to violence by the father toward the mother during the last year. In the case of girls, violence toward both father and mother is more reactive to most victimization experiences. The findings highlight the need to intervene in family contexts of violence to prevent child-to-parent violence.

Understanding Trauma in IPV: Distinguishing Complex PTSD, PTSD, and BPD in Victims and Offenders.

This work aims to shed light on the differential diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and borderline personality disorder (BPD) within the context of intimate partner violence (IPV), which represents a highly innovative field of clinical research. To this end, a critical review of the literature was conducted to identify and compare the clinical patterns and symptomatic overlaps among cPTSD, PTSD, and BPD, with an emphasis on their manifestation in both IPV victims and offenders. The results show that despite some symptomatic similarities, cPTSD, PTSD, and BPD have distinct clinical patterns of interpersonal violence. Specifically, disturbances in self-organization (DSO) are more commonly found in offenders, while the diagnosis of cPTSD seems more aligned with the psychological functioning of victims. In addition, cPTSD and specific characteristics of BPD, such as fear of rejection and instability of identity, constitute risk factors for IPV victimization. cPTSD is shown as a predisposing factor not only for IPV victims but also for offenders, while PTSD emerges as a consequential factor. The specific pathways linking PTSD, cPTSD, and BPD with IPV have significant implications for clinical practice. Further research is needed to understand these profiles and the mechanisms linking trauma-related features to IPV, which is crucial for implementing effective violence prevention programs.

The Resilience Factor: Examining its Potential to Alleviate Shame and Guilt in School Bullying.

School violence, in particular bullying by peers, has become a problem on the public agenda. In the context of bullying, children exposed report high levels of shame and guilt which increase victimization since involves a humiliating experience associated with the lack of acceptance by the peer group and can negatively affect mental health. Both emotions have been previously studied in peer violence context. Now we aim to examine resilience as a potential factor to alleviate shame and guilt in school bullying. We conducted a study to test if resilience mediates the feeling of shame and guilt effect of being exposed to bullying; that is, if resilience entails protective behaviors that favour the dissipation of the risk of feeling shame and guilt when exposed to direct violence in school. First, we adapted to Mexican Spanish the research instrument Short Version of the State Shame and Guilt Scale (SSGS-8, Cavalera et al., 2017)-; then we conducted a quantitative, explanatory, cross-sectional approach study; both were carried out in two different non-urban high schools near the city of Monterrey, Mexico, randomizing groups. We found through a moderated mediation analysis that resilience is a key piece to transform shame and practically alleviate negative school violence consequences the indirect effect of resilience on the relationship between direct violence in school and shame was moderated by gender, better for boys than for girls. As its presence restrain shame in those who have been exposed to direct violence in school, it is important to strengthen resilience in adolescents. Promoting the development of shame resilience in adolescents is crucial to prevent them from questioning whether something is wrong with them when exposed to violence. We must continue making efforts to eradicate violence in schools through prevention programs and public policies.

“Todos pagan” (Everybody pays): SMEs and urban violence in Medellín, Colombia

Medellín, a bustling city of 2.5 million, is marked by convivial relations between formal and informal economic activity, and between legal and criminal actors. This article examines what this context means for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and how they respond to it. In Medellín and elsewhere, SMEs are more numerous than large firms but operate at a smaller scale. They are organizationally more informal, less mobile (i.e., more dependent on specific contexts), more accountable to customers and legal authorities, and less prominent in public debate. Their need to act collectively to counter violence may be greater than that of larger companies, yet they may also find it more challenging to organize collective action. As a result, they face possibilities that are different from those of large companies in the context of violence. The article suggests that most SMEs in Medellín have adapted to, or navigate, the multiple, intersecting layers of legality and illegality, of formality and informality, and of actual or threatened violence. Only very few respond by deliberately seeking to change the external environment. Based on a review of official documents, academic literature, and our own observations during several field trips and 39 interviews, we develop a three-part typology of SME responses to violent actors: acquiescence, avoidance, and mitigation. The implications of our findings will be relevant to managers interested in understanding business conditions in the presence of organized criminal activity and the ways in which SMEs have adapted their own practices to those conditions. The findings suggest that some SME strategies are more effective than others in supporting the survival and growth of SMEs in violent contexts. But while cooperation with illegal actors for the purpose of safeguarding economic activities may be conducive to keeping the peace and ensuring enterprise viability in the short run, it also poses challenges to outcomes that would be more beneficial to communities in the long run: empowerment, institutional strengthening, and inclusive economic development.

SONIC VIOLENCE CONTINUUM IN CONTEMPORARY BELARUS

This article analyses the use of sound — music, noise, and vocalization — within the context of politically motivated violence in Belarus since 2020. The goal of this study is to analyze the sonic violence practices and map their range. The first part of the text reviews literature about the use of sound and music for public space control, political indoctrination and “re-education”, interrogations, tortures, and executions by various — not only authoritarian — political regimes. The concept of sonic violence used in the following analysis, allows studying the use of musical and non-musical sounds, and focusing not only on external sonic influence but also on victims’ own voices weaponized and used against them. Since 2020, Belarusian pro-democratic media and human rights initiatives have gathered hundreds of interviews with people who underwent harsh treatment and violence from “law enforcers”. Many witnesses mention experiencing forced listening, speaking, chanting, singing, and other kinds of sonic violence. The article’s second part presents a qualitative analysis of publications in independent and state-funded media (2020–2023), reports of human rights NGOs, as well as other empirical materials (audio recordings, participant observations) that identify situations where sound, music, and vocalization were used by various Belarusian state agents in a coercive or violent context. Coding and categorizing such cases allows creating a typology that can be mapped as a continuum — according to the character, intensity, duration, and impact of violent techniques and traumatic experiences caused by them. This is the first study of sonic violence in contemporary Belarus, that not only shows its widespread and systemic character, but also analyzes its forms and strategies used to counteract it. The study shows the place of the current Belarusian events in the history and genealogy of sonic violence, revealing parallels with similar practices of other political regimes, both contemporary and historical.

Researchers’ perspectives of self-agency within a context of violence and harm in maternity care

ProblemThere is an increasing awareness of the prevalence of obstetric violence within maternity care and that some women and birthing people are at greater risk of experiencing violence and harm. BackgroundSupporting self-agency for women and birthing people in maternity care may be a way of addressing the disparities in vulnerability to violence and harm. AimTo explore researchers’ perspectives of self-agency for women from different backgrounds, what inhibits and prevents self-agency, and how self-agency can be enabled. MethodsA qualitative research design was undertaken underpinned by a reproductive justice framework. Group interviews were held with researchers working with perinatal women/birthing people with histories and experiences of violence and abuse. Reflexive thematic analysis using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory was undertaken. Findings12 participants took part in two group interviews. Two themes were developed: ‘defining self-agency’ and ‘ecological influences on self-agency’. DiscussionThe findings identify how self-agency should not be perceived as an intrinsic attribute, but rather is underpinned by exogenous and endogenous influences. Whether and how self-agency is enacted is determined by interacting factors that operate on a micro, meso and macro level perspective. Self-agency is undermined by factors including immigration policies and sociocultural perspectives that can lead to under-resourced and judgemental care, other intersectional factors can also lead to some individuals being more vulnerable to violence and harm. ConclusionImplications from this work include strategies that emphasise woman-centred care, staff training and meaningful organisational change to optimise positive health and wellbeing.

Making Space for Peace in Contexts of ‘Non-war’ Violence: Challenging War-Peace Binaries Through Feminist, Spatio-Temporal, and Decolonial Approaches

ABSTRACT Peace is often represented as a matter of time, as a political state that happens after war. This special issue contests this linear and binary view by giving an account of being and thinking between the boundaries of peace and war. It challenges mainstream ideas, political discourses, and collective imaginaries about the location of violence, peace, and peacebuilding. It does so by providing empirical and theoretical arguments as to why Peace and Conflict Studies and Geographies of Peace should widen their scope of empirical sites to include contexts of non-war violence, such as military urbanism, counterterrorism, police violence, migration, environmental struggles, and continued everyday violence and peacebuilding in different locations such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Lebanon, and Northern Ireland. To do so, the special issue presents four theoretical lines of inquiry: 1) spatiality; 2) temporality; 3) feminist phenomenology and; 4) decolonial thought. Collectively, the articles make a strong case, epistemologically, theoretically, and methodologically, about peace as a complex embodied experience that should be analysed in time and space. The special issue concludes by calling for ‘making space for peace’ through in-betweenness, care, and non-violent resistance.

A Four-Wave Cross-Lagged Study of Exposure to Violent Contexts, Cognitive Distortions, and School Bullying during Adolescence.

School bullying represents a widespread expression of violence in the peer context. Guided by the social-ecological model, this study investigated the longitudinal and transactional pathways linking domestic and neighborhood/community violence exposure (through direct victimization and witnessing), self-serving cognitive distortions (CDs), and school bullying perpetration. Furthermore, consistent with the previous literature, we tested the cognitive desensitization process that could develop in response to chronically violent contexts. Two four-wave cross-lagged panel mediation models were tested in a sample of 778 high school students (28.1% males; Mage [Time 1; T1] = 14.20, SD = 0.58). The results showed differential effects of multiple contexts and forms of violence exposure, with domestic violence victimization and community violence witnessing being associated with self-serving CDs and bullying perpetration over time. Moreover, significant associations between CDs and bullying perpetration over time were found, with bidirectional effects for each of these longitudinal patterns. Finally, self-serving CDs significantly mediated the relationships between both domestic violence victimization and community violence witnessing and school bullying perpetration. These findings highlight the need to consider school bullying as a social phenomenon stemming from a complex and bidirectional interplay between individuals and the environments they inhabit, confirming a basic postulate that "violence breeds violence".

Death at Butterabby: the case of Belo and Mumbleby and Aboriginal women’s place in the nineteenth-century criminal justice system

The Butterabbey gravesite is significant for its evidence of Aboriginal peoples’ resistance to colonial pastoral expansion and the dispossession of land and water sources in Western Australia. It is also significant to the case of R v Mumbleby and Belo (1865) which exemplifies the experiences of Aboriginal women defendants in nineteenth-century Western Australia whose experiences in the criminal justice system were different to both non-Indigenous women and Indigenous men. This paper analyses the case of R v Mumbleby and Belo within its historical context of frontier violence to reveal the treatment of Aboriginal women accused of homicide, and determine the power struggles at play.

Spielen für den Frieden: ein Scoping-Review über Sportprogramme als Botschafter des Friedensvermittler

AbstractThe quest for peace and stability in contemporary society, particularly in conflict-affected regions, is of vital importance. In the 21st century, sport has evolved beyond its traditional role of entertainment and competition to become a powerful force for change. Its ability to bring people together, overcome cultural barriers and promote universal values makes it an effective vehicle for promoting peace and coexistence. Despite the undeniable potential of sport as a social bridge between divided communities, previous studies have not specifically addressed the concept of peace. In addition, researchers may need information on existing programs for study, replication or improvement. This study aims to provide an overview of programs that use sport to promote peace. Following the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute and PRISMA, databases such as Scopus, PubMed, SciELO and EBSCO were searched. Two reviewers independently performed a thorough selection, including 17 manuscripts. The predominant methodology in these studies was qualitative. Within this context, most of the experiences recovered took place in Colombia, with soccer being the most used sport modality in such programs. These programs are presented as a tool to promote peace in diverse contexts of conflict, violence and community division, and their capacity to be instrumentalized for peaceful purposes is remarkable, even surpassing the capacity of States to regulate and resolve conflicts.

CHILD VIOLENCE: FROM PSYCHOANALYSIS TO THE REALITY OF PROTECTING CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN BRAZIL

The purpose of the presented material is to summarize the basic psychoanalytic positions on the analysis of human aggressiveness and violent impulses, as well as to analyze the work of South American educators on the problem of violence within the recognition of human rights to a safe life. Methods. The defined theoretical and methodological direction of the analysis of child violence consists of research procedures, bibliographic review, psychoanalytic and socio-pedagogical research. Results. Psychoanalytic positions of interpretation of the phenomenon of violence are represented by Freud's classic generalizations about aggression, sadism and repression of libido. The conceptual understanding of the intrapsychic aspects of the child's violence is supplemented by the provisions of the theories of object relations through various forms of self-destruction of the individual. The socio-historical context of violence is revealed and it is emphasized that violence always contains the fact of violation by one person of the rights and freedoms of another person. The analysis of the works of Brazilian psychoanalysts reveals the specifics of experiencing the "feeling of colonization" in unconscious forms of repressed tension, confrontation and guilt. It is emphasized that various conflict traumas and states of social disintegration should begin with the awareness of just solidarity and human rights. It is also important to be aware of the rights of the child, which is in line with the doctrine of integral protection. The scientific achievements of the scientific school of Professor A.M. Eyng on the study of the problems of violence and children's rights are revealed. The basic positions of cooperation between Ukrainian and Brazilian scientists on the study of psychological norms of quality of life, mental health and well-being of children in humanitarian situations (poverty, wars, environmental disasters, forced displacement, etc.) are outlined. Conclusions. The scientific synthesis of psychoanalysis of child violence and socio-pedagogical generalizations about the child's rights to a safe existence is a new form of practical solution to the problem of protecting the quality of life of the child.

Book Review: High-risk Feminism in Colombia: Women’s Mobilization in Violent Contexts

Book Review: High-risk Feminism in Colombia: Women’s Mobilization in Violent Contexts