Women's Privacy Research Articles

Effective Privacy Protection Strategies for Pregnancy and Gestation Information From Electronic Medical Records: Retrospective Study in a National Health Care Data Network in China.

Pregnancy and gestation information is routinely recorded in electronic medical record (EMR) systems across China in various data sets. The combination of data on the number of pregnancies and gestations can imply occurrences of abortions and other pregnancy-related issues, which is important for clinical decision-making and personal privacy protection. However, the distribution of this information inside EMR is variable due to inconsistent IT structures across different EMR systems. A large-scale quantitative evaluation of the potential exposure of this sensitive information has not been previously performed, ensuring the protection of personal information is a priority, as emphasized in Chinese laws and regulations. This study aims to perform the first nationwide quantitative analysis of the identification sites and exposure frequency of sensitive pregnancy and gestation information. The goal is to propose strategies for effective information extraction and privacy protection related to women's health. This study was conducted in a national health care data network. Rule-based protocols for extracting pregnancy and gestation information were developed by a committee of experts. A total of 6 different sub-data sets of EMRs were used as schemas for data analysis and strategy proposal. The identification sites and frequencies of identification in different sub-data sets were calculated. Manual quality inspections of the extraction process were performed by 2 independent groups of reviewers on 1000 randomly selected records. Based on these statistics, strategies for effective information extraction and privacy protection were proposed. The data network covered hospitalized patients from 19 hospitals in 10 provinces of China, encompassing 15,245,055 patients over an 11-year period (January 1, 2010-December 12, 2020). Among women aged 14-50 years, 70% were randomly selected from each hospital, resulting in a total of 1,110,053 patients. Of these, 688,268 female patients with sensitive reproductive information were identified. The frequencies of identification were variable, with the marriage history in admission medical records being the most frequent at 63.24%. Notably, more than 50% of female patients were identified with pregnancy and gestation history in nursing records, which is not generally considered a sub-data set rich in reproductive information. During the manual curation and review process, 1000 cases were randomly selected, and the precision and recall rates of the information extraction method both exceeded 99.5%. The privacy-protection strategies were designed with clear technical directions. Significant amounts of critical information related to women's health are recorded in Chinese routine EMR systems and are distributed in various parts of the records with different frequencies. This requires a comprehensive protocol for extracting and protecting the information, which has been demonstrated to be technically feasible. Implementing a data-based strategy will enhance the protection of women's privacy and improve the accessibility of health care services.

CYBER INFRINGEMENTS: ANALYZING JUDICIAL AND LEGISLATIVE SAFEGUARDS FOR WOMEN'S PRIVACY RIGHTS IN INDIA

Privacy is one of the necessary requirements that cannot be arbitrarily implemented in any society. People in the same continent may understand privacy as an individual right to privacy in different ways. Appreciation of privacy at global level can be interpreted in Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a liberty right, which is an inherent part of the mankind. With that is evident that privacy violation is not limited to the physical spaces; rather, a person can be violated in all types of computer media. As dependency on internet grows and, therefore use of virtual modes, there are several considerations since people may not be prepared for new technologies I n performing everyday tasks. The matter becomes more complicated when privations are committed against the most helpless in the society. Women and sexual minorities take most of the heat of privacy violations since the society today is embedded in a patriarchal system. Women may face various other sub-violations on the internet which may be included under the title of Technology Facilitated gender-based violence (TFGV). Infringement of privacy is a violation of fundamental rights as recognized under the right to life and personal liberty but privacy violations that take place on digital platforms is not acknowledged and recognized yet. Women are vulnerable to a range of sub-violations, referred to as Technology Facilitated Gender-Based Violence while using the internet. Infringing on someone's privacy is a violation of their fundamental rights, such as the right to life and personal liberty. However, privacy violations that occur on digital platforms are yet to be fully recognized and acknowledged. It is imperative to address these issues to ensure that women are safe and secure while using digital platforms. In this paper, research examines the adequacy of current Indian legal frameworks in protecting women's privacy in digital spaces. Its purpose is to propose legal reforms that enhance the protection of women's digital privacy rights, taking into account global standards and best practices. The research objectives underscore the discrepancies between statutory provisions and their practical enforcement, offering a critical analysis of the existing legal framework and proposing enhancements to more effectively safeguard women against cybercrimes.

The Privacy of Women in Islamic Penal Law: Practical Issues

Objectives: The research aims to demonstrate the philosophy of Islamic legislation in dealing with women in a special and exceptional way in the penal system. Additionally, it aims to offer a deep understanding of their nature and compassion, and how to contain them with compassion even when they are criminals, and deserve the most severe punishments. Methods: The research methodology was based on combining the inductive and analytical approaches by tracking and extrapolating issues and Fiqh opinions related to the Islamic penal system, analyzing and presenting them in a way that highlights the specificity of women in this divine system. Results: The research found several results that the Islamic penal system has treated women with mercy and compassion in a way that demonstrates a deep understanding of their physical and psychological nature. The legislation is keen to reduce the burden of costs, responsibilities, and obligations for her, and in advocating for her in all circumstances and ages since she was a child, and in the view of care, protection, and containment for her even after she committed a felony and deserved punishment. Conclusions: Taking care to address issues that embody the privacy of women in Islam in an abstract and completely objective manner so that sufficient community awareness is achieved regarding understanding the essence of these issues and their real dimensions.

Midwifery and nursing students’ perceptions of respectful maternity care and witnessing of disrespect and abuse: A comparative study from Nepal and Jordan

ObjectivesTo compare Nepalese and Jordanian midwifery and nursing students’ perceptions of respectful maternity care (RMC) and witnessing of disrespect and abuse; and determine factors that predict scores on a scale measuring perceptions of RMC. DesignA descriptive, comparative design was used. SettingRecruitment took place from two medical colleges in Nepal and one University in Jordan. MethodsA convenience sample of students (n = 276) enrolled in a Bachelor or Diploma level midwifery or nursing degree who were undertaking or had recently completed their midwifery clinical placement were recruited. The online or hard copy survey included the Students’ Perceptions of Respectful Maternity Care (SPRMC) Scale and nine questions on witnessing different types of disrespect and abuse. FindingsNepalese students were slightly older (mean = 23.68 years) than Jordanian students (mean = 21.36). Mean duration of clinical placement was longer for Jordanian students (11.24 compared to 6.28 weeks). However, mean number of births observed was higher among Nepalese students (19.6 compared to 18.62). Overall, perceptions of RMC were more positive among Jordanian students (t (199.97) = 6.68, p < 0.001). A multiple regression analysis found that duration of clinical placement (beta = 0.22, p < 0.001), witnessing disrespect and abuse (beta = 0.11, p = 0.08) and age (beta = -0.14, p = 0.03) explained 12.2% of variance in SPMRC scores. Compared to students in Nepal, all Jordanian students had observed non-consented care during their clinical practicum. However, Nepalese students were more likely to observe poor adherence to women's privacy and confidentiality. Key conclusion and implications for practiceThis is the first study to compare midwifery and nursing students’ perceptions of RMC across two middle-income countries. Although Jordanian students held more positive perceptions of RMC than those in Nepal, more had witnessed different forms of disrespect and abuse. Variations in students’ perceptions of RMC and witnessing of abuse across countries highlight the need for assessment of workplace cultures to inform the development of tailored education and practice interventions for students, clinicians, and managers. Future research needs to explore how to best support students to consistently offer RMC and how to improve the experiences of childbearing women.

Cyberspace and Women- Dimensions of Cybercrime against Women in India

The twenty-first century has been an era of inventions. Inventions that have greatly improved the quality of human life. Artificial intelligence's genesis and dominance have been witnessed. We have already entered the 5G era, which began with limited internet access. An alternate reality has emerged as a result of this unstoppable rise. An ethereal reality that promotes complete anonymity. With all of the benefits it provides, it has also proven to be lethal. With the rise of the online world came stalkers, hackers, scammers, and a slew of other miscreants and lawbreakers. As a result, society has become exposed to cybercrime. The researchers will focus on cybercrime perpetrated against women in this study. Women are easy prey for cybercriminals, and they are disproportionately victimized. Cyberbullying, voyeurism, sextortion, and stalking are all common online crimes against women. Women's privacy and security are in jeopardy as a result of the rise in cybercrime. The research's main goal is to examine the current state of cyber security in India and the need to enact specific legislation to protect women. The researchers would show how the laws are not being implemented throughout this study. The most important finding of this study is that more precise regulations and legislation against cybercrime are required. With the rise of social media networks and private websites, it is more important than ever for the government to enact special legislation for each type of crime perpetrated against women. Throughout the course of this study, an analysis of how many crimes is not reported due to traditional society and patriarchal attitudes will be offered. Researchers have also looked into the government's success in combating cybercrime and have come up with some useful suggestions for combating this threat. The researchers used a doctrinal research method and cited their sources using the bluebook method.

"She Lied": Relationship Between Gender Stereotypes and Beliefs and Perception of Rape Across Four Countries.

Research indicates that heuristic cues and stereotypical assumptions influence receivers' judgment about rape, although cross-cultural knowledge about the relationship remains elusive. Using a convenience sample of 699 respondents from the U.S., South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria, the present study examined the relationship between gender stereotypes and beliefs and believability of rape. Results suggested that being male and beliefs about sexual submissiveness of women were associated with endorsement of a "she lied" myth. Country moderated the relation between emotional and sexual stereotypes and believability of rape. For respondents in South Africa and Nigeria, high endorsement of emotional stereotypes about women was related to greater endorsement of the myth that the female victim lied about rape; however, for respondents in the U.S., there was a much smaller difference in endorsement of the myth between low and high endorsement of emotional stereotypes. Similarly, for respondents in Nigeria, high endorsement of sexual stereotypes about men was related to greater endorsement of the "she lied" myth; however, for respondents in the U.S. and South Africa, there was a much smaller difference in endorsement of the myth between low and high endorsement of sexual stereotypes. Findings highlight the effects of generalized view of women on judgment about rape and reinforce the realization that gender-sensitive policy and programs and cultural reorientation might help shift the focus from sexual superiority of men and male ownership of female sexuality to sexual rights and privacy of women. Implications of findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Affecting Factors of Parturient Women's Privacy Preservation in The Maternity Ward: A Qualitative Study.

Objective: Different factors have an important role in the positive and negative childbirth experiences of the mothers. The parturient mother’s privacy preservation is one of the factors for increasing the mothers’ satisfaction consistent with natural childbirth. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the parturient mother’s privacy preservation. Materials and methods: Content analysis was used in this qualitative study that is based on the semi structured individual interviews with women who had experienced natural vaginal delivery, midwives, and the specialist in a maternity ward from 2018 to 2021 in Shahroud, Iran. The collected data were analyzed simultaneously with the sampling procedure using a five-step qualitative content analysis method. To ensure the robustness of the data, Lincoln and Guba's four criteria (credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability) were used. Results: The findings of the study with 40 participants resulted in the extraction of 28 codes, 9 subcategories, and 2 main categories entitled extra-and intra personal factors affecting the mother’s privacy. Conclusion: To foster the mother’s awareness of her rights and privacy during pregnancy and delivery, continuous education, monitoring, and evaluating both the students and the staff to respect preserving the mother’s privacy is necessary to develop an instrument to measure the preservation of the mother’s privacy in the maternity ward.

Kadınların Doğum Şekline Göre Mahremiyet ile İlgili Deneyimleri ve Beklentileri

Amaç: Kesitsel tipteki bu araştırmada, kadınların travay, doğum eylemi sırasında ve sonrasındaki mahremiyet deneyimlerini ve beklentilerini değerlendirmek amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Araştırma, Bornova Özgül Gündüz Halk Sağlığı Merkezinin evde bakım hizmeti yürüttüğü bölgede 27.2.2018 ve 27.2.2019 tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmanın evrenini, merkezin hizmet yürüttüğü bölgede yaşayan son 6 ayda doğum yapmış tüm kadınlar oluşturmuştur. Araştırmanın örneklemini, çalışmaya dâhil olma kriterlerini karşılayan, araştırmaya katılmayı kabul eden ve ulaşılabilen kadınlar oluşturmuştur (n=338). Araştırmanın verileri, kadınların sosyodemografik özelliklerini ve doğum hizmetlerindeki mahremiyet deneyimlerini ve beklentilerini değerlendiren 30 sorunun yer aldığı anket formu aracılığıyla yüz yüze görüşme tekniği kullanılarak elde edilmiştir. Verilerin analizinde, sayı-yüzde dağılımları ve ki-kare testi yapılmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmamıza katılan kadınların yaş ortalaması 28,74±4,96 (minimum=20, maksimum=43) idi. Kadınların %50,3'ü sezaryen, %49,7'si vajinal doğum yapmıştır. Vajinal doğum yapmış kadınların, doğum eylemi sırasında sağlık çalışanlarından utanma duygusunu daha yüksek oranda yaşadıkları belirlenmiştir (p<0,05). Doğum eylemi sırasında genital bölgenin açık kalması, erkek sağlık çalışanının muayene yapması, doğum salonunun kalabalık olması nedeniyle vajinal doğum yapan kadınlar, sezaryen doğum yapanlara göre daha yüksek oranda rahatsızlık yaşadıklarını ifade etmişlerdir (p<0,05). Sezaryen doğum yapan kadınların, vajinal doğum yapanlara göre nlamlı düzeyde travay ve doğum eylemi sürecinde mahremiyet beklentilerinin karşılandığı saptanmıştır (p<0,05). Sonuç: Çalışmada, kadınların mahremiyetlerinin korunması ile ilgili yetersizliklerin olduğu, vajinal doğum yapmış kadınların, travay ve doğum eylemi sürecinde daha fazla utanma duygusu yaşadığı ve beden mahremiyetinin korunmadığı belirlenmiştir. Doğum hizmetlerinde yer alan ebe/hekim/hemşirelerin, vajinal doğum yapan kadınların doğum sürecinde olumsuz mahremiyet eneyimlerini dikkate alarak kadınların beden mahremiyetini korumaları gerekmektedir.

Women’s satisfaction with existing labour and delivery services in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveTo estimate the pooled prevalence of women’s satisfaction with existing labour and delivery services in Ethiopia.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsMEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Hinari, Google Scholar and web of science electronic databases were...

Sexual Offences in the Cyber World: Emerging Technological Challenges

The aim of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of the protection provided for privacy and the related interests of women in cyberspace. This research provides a review and analysis of state changes, guidelines, etc. regulatory tools to protect women's privacy and related interests in cyberspace. These instruments constitute an area of law and politics that has reached considerable maturity, diffusion and normative importance over the decades. Awareness of the law and policies in this area is the main objective and will reflect the state of India. All about regulation is a large body of academic commentary that analyzes privacy issues in cyberspace from different angles. This research will present a predictive analysis of sexual and cybercrime crimes against women in India and the laws that prevent cyber victimization in general and women in particular

Women’s Views and Experience of Respectful Maternity Care While Delivering in Three Regional Referral Hospitals of Bhutan

Background: Labour and childbirth represent one of the most vulnerable periods in women’s life and ensuring the quality of respectful maternity care during labour and childbirth still remains challenging. There are activities to promote respect for women’s right, including respect for their autonomy, dignity; feelings, choices and preference. However, little has been known about the elements of respectful maternity care provided to women during labour and childbirth in health facilities. Objectives: The purpose of the study is to explore the attitudes, views, behaviors and emotional experienced by women related to labour and childbirth and to describe women’s satisfaction with RMC in three regional hospitals of Bhutan. Method: Cross-sectional study with the sample size of 426 from JDWNRH in Thimphu, CRRH in Gelephu and ERRH in Mongar. All women who delivered in November - December 2018 were included in the study. The structured questionnaire was used, relevant literature sources were reviewed and finalized in our setting and was piloted in Bajo Hospital after approved by Research Ethics Board of Health (REBH). Descriptive analysis done and all the information gathered are presented in the form of frequencies, percentages and number for categorical variables. The scientific significance shows in foul language (0.033) and scolding (0.020). Results: Satisfaction rate ranged from excellent to unsatisfactory concerning the services, women stated excellent (37.10%), very good (31.20%), Good (20.20%), mixed feeling (9.20%), rather unsatisfactory (1.90%) and unsatisfactory (0.50%). Concerning the whole process of labour and childbirth, dreadful experiences was (41.8%). Conclusion: There is need to improve on communication for information, permission, policy for dignity and privacy for women. Need to include in the pre-service curriculum for nurses and health workers and to provide in-service education on RMC to all health personnel providing maternity services

Identifying disrespect and abuse in organisational culture: a study of two hospitals in Mumbai, India

This paper draws on findings from a qualitative study of two government hospitals in Mumbai, India, which aimed to provide a better understanding of the institutional drivers of disrespect and abuse (D&A) in childbirth. The paper describes the structural context, in which government hospital providers can exercise considerable power over patients, yet may be themselves vulnerable to violence and external influence. Decisions that affect care are made by a bureaucracy, which does not perceive problems with the same intensity as providers who are directly attending to patients. Within this context, while contrasting organisational cultures had evolved at the two hospitals, both were characterised by social/professional inequality and hierarchical functioning, and marginalising women. This context generates invisible pressures on subordinate staff, and creates interpersonal conflicts and ambiguity in the division of roles and responsibilities that manifest in individual actions of D&A. Services are organised around the internal logic of the institution, rather than being centred on women. This results in conditions that violate women's privacy, and disregards their choice and consent. The structural environment of resource constraints, poor management and bureaucratic decision-making leads to precarious situations, endangering women’s safety. With the institution's functioning based on hierarchies and authority, rather than adherence to universal standards or established protocols, irrational, harmful practices endorsed by senior staff are institutionalised and reproduced. A deeper focus on organisational culture, embedded in the discourse of D&A, would help to evolve effective strategies to address D&A as systemic problems.

Beyond Airspace Safety: A Feminist Perspective on Drone Privacy Regulation

The impact of drones on women’s privacy has recently garnered sensational attention in media and popular discussions. Media headlines splash stories about drones spying on sunbathing or naked women and girls, drones being used to stalk women through public spaces, and drones delivering abortion pills to women who might otherwise lack access. Yet despite this popular attention, and the immense literature that has emerged analyzing the privacy implications of drone technology, questions about how the drone might enhance or undermine women’s privacy in particular have not yet been the subject of significant academic analysis. This paper contributes to the growing drone privacy literature by examining how the technology can be especially apt to impact women’s privacy. In particular, various features of the technology allow it to take advantage of the ways in which privacy protection has traditionally been - and in many cases continues to be - gendered. While the analytical focus is on the gendered privacy impacts of drone technology, the article and its conclusions are about more than women's privacy. Examining some of the differential impacts of the technology, and the laws that guide its use, helps to reveal broader inequities that can go unseen when we think about technology without social context. The paper ultimately argues that drone regulators cannot continue to treat the technology as though it is value-neutral - impacting all individuals in the same manner. Going forward, the social context in which drone technology is emerging must inform both drone-specific regulations, and how we approach privacy generally. This paper is framed as a starting point for a further discussion about how this can be done within the Canadian context and elsewhere.

Internet and female victimization

The subject of this paper is a gender analysis of female victimization in the cyberspace. Since the Internet appears as a global network, it gives a global dimension to the virtual space, connecting any two points on the planet through a cyberspace. From this dimension, the cyberspace is also perceived as a social space. Namely, the Internet and social networks provide a continuous and unlimited place for users? gathering and contact, indicating that, potentially, each user is a potential victim. When analyzing victimization in the cyberspace it is important to notice that anonymity encourages perpetrators and increases insecurity of the victim. Research findings indicate that sexist and misogynistic attitudes towards women on social networks result in their exclusion, marginalization and/or victimization on the internet. The feminist criticism also points out that not only matters whether something is considered to be legal or illegal behaviour, but that cyber victimization is a continuous manifestation of misogynistic attitudes that are part of the dominant gender and cultural ideologies. The aim of this paper is to present the basic phenomenological and etiological characteristics of gender dimensions of the use/misuse of information technologies and to show that virtual communication, according to its social consequences, is not gender neutral and that cyber violence has its own gender implications. The data indicates that in the digital world, the privacy of women is significantly compromised and associated with new and terrifying forms of on-line violence. Feminist researchers warn that ?the Internet is only the culture accelerator, to which we are all accustomed, and its name is the patriarchate.? From this cognitive perspective, victimization of women on social networks mainly depends on the level of the patriarchal ideology of gender in a society, the influence of the media and the protection of women? s rights. Women can experience various forms of violence and privacy violations on the social networks, such as hate speech, spreading lies, stalking, photo montage, creating of false user profiles, the continuation of family violence, threats and blackmail, etc. The main topics discussed in this paper relate to general approach to the phenomenon of cyberspace and cyber violence; various types of cyber violence; cultural context and gender dimension of on-line victimization; various forms of cyber violence against women; specific characteristics of female victimization in on-line communication and the perception of preventing female victimization on the Internet, in the context of spreading gender- sensitive social norms and values through legal standardization and socialization of women? s rights.

Watching Women: Past and Present Legal Responses to the Unauthorised Circulation of Personal Images

The unauthorised circulation of personal images is one of the most pressing issues concerning the surveillance and privacy of women. Women’s bodies are being filmed and watched, without their consent, at an ever increasing pace. However, while this problem has intensified in recent years due to technological developments, particularly the ubiquity of smart phones and social media, it is also as old as photography itself. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, legal cases and commentary about the circulation of images of private persons without consent led to the establishment of a right to privacy in the United States (the first in the common law world). Women brought these cases to resist having their images exploited, possessed and objectified by men. This article will examine the rising trend of ‘revenge porn’ and associated image-based harms within the context of their gendered legal history and analyses the current and proposed legal mechanisms for addressing it in Australia.

The right to privacy for women in detention: Contestations of power in South Africa's penal systems

abstractLimitations on the right to privacy for women in detention must be consistent with conditions of human dignity, specifically in relation to women's health and reproductive capacity. Although departures from the norm are important in this context, this article aims to challenge contemporary conceptualisations of women's privacy rights to advance a deeper appreciation of the connection between privacy and human dignity. Hence, this article begins by tracing the jurisprudential history of the right to privacy in South Africa and critiquing its gendered implications within the prisoner rights discourse, specifically in relation to feminine modesty. It then moves on to explore power dynamics in South Africa's penal systems, specifically in relation to the sexualisation and racialisation of power, to shed light on the limitations of framing women's privacy rights in terms of their reproductive capacities and physical vulnerabilities. To illuminate the significance of this right for women in prison, the third section of the article advocates for privacy to be perceived as an instrument of human dignity. It concludes by motivating for a dignity-based approach and application of the right to privacy for women in detention.1

Fetal Protection Laws: Moral Panic and the New Constitutional Battlefront

This Article shines a probing light on the escalation of women's reproduction serving as a site for state regulation, monitoring, and criminal policing. Professor Goodwin exposes the ways in which women's pregnancies serve as an expedient space for tough on crime criminal policing and prosecutions, including targeting women for refusing c-sections, falling down steps, and attempting suicide. She queries the constitutional legitimacy of such prosecutions and reveals the myriad ways in which women's reproduction now serves as a political battleground. As such, this contemporary battleground shows a hostility toward women's historic reproductive rights by states: ensnaring doctors as modern-day police informants of their pregnant patients; overriding medical directives of pregnant patients; criminalizing miscarriages and still births; stigmatizing poor women's reproduction; and instantiating rights in embryos and fetuses that carry greater legitimacy and protection than that of pregnant women. This article argues that the platform for recognizing women's Fourteenth Amendment rights is undermined by states' disparate treatment of women's privacy, autonomy, and equality.

Women behind Bars a Sociological exploration in Orissa

The present paper attempts an understanding of women criminals and their situation. The study is based on women prisoners in Orissa. The State of Orissa has 68 prisons that consist of 4 circle jails, 9 district jails, 46 central, special and subsidiary jails, and one Nari Bandi Niketan. A total of 277 women prisoners were selected from among these jails through census method which included convicts as well as under trials. The study is directed along the following four lines, namely social and demographic background, level of security and privacy for women in prisons, prison facilities and problems for women prisoners, and extent of human right awareness among the women prisoners. The study findings reveal that most of the women prisoners come from mariginalised socio-economic background. They are invariably poor and illiterate. Prison environment is severely gender insensitive. There is widespread sense of insecurity among women prisoners and they are not entitled to any kind of privacy. There is abysmal lack of awareness about human rights among women prisoners. It is very striking to note that 70% women prisoners even do not know the consequences of their criminal activities, e.g., a jail sentence. The study has relevance for understanding women criminals and has important policy implications.

A qualitative study of physical experiences associated with cervical screenings

Papnicolauo (Pap) smear screening is an invasive examination that intrudes upon women's privacy, forcing them to physically perceive both inner and external worlds. This subjective physical experience has rarely been explored in the literature. This article explores the subjective physical experiences of patients undergoing cervical screening. This phenomenological study employed purposive sampling; five females were recruited. All provided informed consent and were enrolled as participants. The content analysis method analyzed and categorized interview content. The 3 main themes associated with participant experiences were: Loss of physical control (e. g., negative feelings, body unresponsive to mental commands); interaction between the subjective and objective body (e.g., objectification of the body, subjectification of gender); experiencing the spatial dimensions of the body (e.g., bodily exposure, protection). Findings recommend healthcare providers help pap smear recipients strengthen "inter-subjectivity" and focus on "body space" to enhance patients' "physical consciousness" and "physical emotions."

CONCEALED BIRTHS, ADOPTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: BEING WARY OF SEEKING TO OPEN WINDOWS INTO PEOPLE'S SOULS

AbstractAlthough rare, giving birth in secret or in concealed circumstances still happens in the United Kingdom. The new born child's existence is unknown to his or her biological ‘father’ and or to the wider biological family of the birth giver who wishes to place the child for adoption without his or her existence being revealed to them. Legal decisions need to be made judicially when a local authority seeks orders as to whether it is required to make further inquiries to identify and notify the biological father and or wider biological family as to any forthcoming adoption proceedings. Developments in European human rights law's protection of a right to respect one's private life provided by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) towards a right to personal autonomy, identity and integrity can be interpreted in different ways. However, three positions are argued here to guard against an erosion of women's confidentiality and privacy in these circumstances. First, women's choices of concealment should be accepted with respect rather than perceived as inauthentic and therefore impermissible; this is in keeping with Article 2's right to life and Article 8's right to personal autonomy and integrity. Second, the right to family life protected by Article 8 of any wider biological family and father is not contravened by allowing women to give birth discreetly. Third, openness and transparency, when it comes to exact knowledge of one's parents in this context is not necessary for a child's identity rights, which are also protected by Article 8's right to personal identity, to be legally protected.