This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Co... more This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs upon request by the FEMM Committee, examined research on the effectiveness of self-defence and its place in policies at EU and Member State levels. It concludes that there is a growing evidence base that feminist self-defence can be effective in preventing violence. Whilst references to self-defence are present in the EU and Council of Europe policy documents, they are not substantial and yet to be developed into a coherent approach. Self-defence should be considered a promising practice and be better promoted and supported. More space should be made for it in policy, financing and research.
The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 2017
Sexual violence is defined as any unwanted sexual activity. Acts of sexual violence include, but ... more Sexual violence is defined as any unwanted sexual activity. Acts of sexual violence include, but are not limited to: rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, sexual harassment, rape within marriage or other relationships, forced marriage, so-called honor-based violence, female genital mutilation, trafficking, sexual exploitation, and ritual abuse. Sexual violence can be perpetrated by a stranger, but is most often perpetrated by someone known and even trusted, such as a friend, colleague, family member, partner, or ex-partner (Rape Crisis n.d). Rape has a worldwide prevalence rate of 21-25 percent in industrialized nations, increasing to 43-90 percent in nonindustrialized ones. Anyone can be raped but, globally, women and girls are raped disproportionately more frequently. There are no known risk factors for rape except the perpetrator being male (Koss, Heise, and Russo, 2006). Rape creates an enormous global health burden on societies in its aftermath in terms of the psychological, sociocultural, somatic, and reproductive health consequences. Legal definitions of rape vary country by country but most include the penetration by a penis of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person although many scholars constantly seek to widen these definitions to account for the chronic underreporting of rape frequently observed in many societies. Most laws also define rape in relation to consent and a belief in consent whereby a person consents to sex if she or he agrees by choice, and has the The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory. Edited by Bryan S. Turner.
t hiara and g ill, 2010). we celebrate and draw on this richness, while simultaneously seeking to... more t hiara and g ill, 2010). we celebrate and draw on this richness, while simultaneously seeking to extend our knowledge: both in terms of the minority communities addressed and the forms of violence covered. to an exten t we have succeeded, but there remain substantial gaps which future research and volumes will need to fill. In particular, childhood and adult sexual violence and sexual exploitation in minority women’s lives and the specificities of many communities remain in the shadows. t he focus of the book is minority women living in the u K, but not only do the issues explored traverse geographic borders, a number of authors make explicit links to the wider contexts and communities which form part of minority women’s lives. a ll of the editors have worked for nearly three decades or more across activism, specialised violence against women (
Contents: Moving in the shadows: Introduction, Liz Kelly Part I Perspectives: At the intersection... more Contents: Moving in the shadows: Introduction, Liz Kelly Part I Perspectives: At the intersection: Black and minority ethnic women and the criminal justice system, Sharon Smee Multi-faithism and the gender question: implications of government policy on the struggle for equality and rights for minority women in the UK, Pragna Patel Violent intersections: re-visiting the traffic in women and girls, Jackie Turner Sexuality and South Asian women: a taboo?, Shaminder Takhar. Part II Forms and Contexts of Violence: Two steps forward, one step back: the fight against female genital mutilation in the UK, Makeba Roach and Comfort Momoh a "Ita (TM)s all about stopping you from getting on with your lifea (TM): post-separation violence in the lives of Asian and African-Caribbean women, Ravi K. Thiara Criminal gangs, male-dominated services and the women and girls who fall through the gaps, Carlene Firmin Possession or oppression: witchcraft and spirit possession accusations as a form of ritual abuse of children and women, Emelie Secker and Yasmin Rehman Lost for words: difficulties naming and disclosing sexual violence in Hindi, Swati Pande a "True honoura (TM): domestic violence, forced marriage and honour crimes in the UK, Hannana Siddiqui a "It begins with Sistera (TM): polygyny and Muslims in Britain, Yasmin Rehman. Part III Interventions and Responses: Finding a voice - African and Caribbean heritage women help seeking, Ava Kanyeredzi Women seeking asylum - failed twice over, Debora Singer Working trans-culturally with domestically violent men, Phil Price Challenging domestic abuse in the Arabic speaking community: the experience of Al-Aman, Mohamed Abdalla Ballela A fuss about nothing? Delivering services to Black and minority ethnic survivors of gender violence - the role of the specialist Black and minority ethnic womena (TM)s sector, Marai Larasi Index.
The increased global concern about trafficking in women has resulted in many publications and con... more The increased global concern about trafficking in women has resulted in many publications and conferences, but limited action. Debate currently excludes some of the most critical questions, such as the impacts and meanings of being sexually exploited for women and why sex industries across continents are increasingly populated by women from other countries. Recent research on the scale and mechanisms of trafficking to the UK is presented, along with recommendations for more effective responses.
We report on the development of, and findings from, two scales measuring coercive control and spa... more We report on the development of, and findings from, two scales measuring coercive control and space for action over a period of 3 years in a sample of 100 women who had accessed domestic violence services. We present statistical evidence to show a significant correlation between coercive control and space for action. However, dealing with violence is not a linear process, and support needs to extend beyond being enabled to separate. The scales advance measurement of women's experience of coercive control and, through the space for action scale, document their ability to restore agency and freedom in contexts of relative safety.
Liz Kelly: Let's begin with how the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition came into being. Monica Mc... more Liz Kelly: Let's begin with how the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition came into being. Monica McWilliams: It was around April of 1996. The government published a list of parties they had decided were going to stand in the elections for the peace talks and to a new body called The Forum. I and the women I know were furious when we saw this, because we had been engaged in a whole range of conferences with women's groups across Northern Ireland about increasing the participation of women in main stream decision making. One of these was in response to the framework document published by the British and Irish Governments. They hadn't mentioned women once in the entire document! It wasn't that we weren't political animals, we have been extremely active in grassroots politics, community politics, trade union politics and the various professional and voluntary sectors. Yet here was this opportunity that was being denied to us, to have a role in the new negotiating machinery. At the same time an organisation called the European Women's Platform had written to all the political parties asking them where they were putting women in their lists and whether they had given serious attention to the number of women that would be elected. The response to that was abysmal, with replies from only three small parties-the Communist Party, the Democratic Left, and the Workers Party. We fi gured that if we wrote to the government and demanded they change the legislation, then if they said no then we would publicly go to press on it, and if they said yes we would have to do something quickly. They responded by saying that they had taken on board our views and they had agreed to change it-and what was the name of the party! We called meetings of over 200 groups, faxed every group we could think of. We called meetings in Belfast and other areas. We still had not made a decision whether to stand but we were informing people that there was now an opportunity to create a women's party. There were different views at those meet ings. Against it was the view that this wasn't the election for us because the issues were constitutional; if we did stand and didn't do well we would be doing a disservice to the whole idea of women going into politics. The view for was that this was a unique election because it
This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Co... more This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs upon request by the FEMM Committee, examined research on the effectiveness of self-defence and its place in policies at EU and Member State levels. It concludes that there is a growing evidence base that feminist self-defence can be effective in preventing violence. Whilst references to self-defence are present in the EU and Council of Europe policy documents, they are not substantial and yet to be developed into a coherent approach. Self-defence should be considered a promising practice and be better promoted and supported. More space should be made for it in policy, financing and research.
This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Co... more This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs upon request by the FEMM Committee, examined research on the effectiveness of self-defence and its place in policies at EU and Member State levels. It concludes that there is a growing evidence base that feminist self-defence can be effective in preventing violence. Whilst references to self-defence are present in the EU and Council of Europe policy documents, they are not substantial and yet to be developed into a coherent approach. Self-defence should be considered a promising practice and be better promoted and supported. More space should be made for it in policy, financing and research.
The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 2017
Sexual violence is defined as any unwanted sexual activity. Acts of sexual violence include, but ... more Sexual violence is defined as any unwanted sexual activity. Acts of sexual violence include, but are not limited to: rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, sexual harassment, rape within marriage or other relationships, forced marriage, so-called honor-based violence, female genital mutilation, trafficking, sexual exploitation, and ritual abuse. Sexual violence can be perpetrated by a stranger, but is most often perpetrated by someone known and even trusted, such as a friend, colleague, family member, partner, or ex-partner (Rape Crisis n.d). Rape has a worldwide prevalence rate of 21-25 percent in industrialized nations, increasing to 43-90 percent in nonindustrialized ones. Anyone can be raped but, globally, women and girls are raped disproportionately more frequently. There are no known risk factors for rape except the perpetrator being male (Koss, Heise, and Russo, 2006). Rape creates an enormous global health burden on societies in its aftermath in terms of the psychological, sociocultural, somatic, and reproductive health consequences. Legal definitions of rape vary country by country but most include the penetration by a penis of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person although many scholars constantly seek to widen these definitions to account for the chronic underreporting of rape frequently observed in many societies. Most laws also define rape in relation to consent and a belief in consent whereby a person consents to sex if she or he agrees by choice, and has the The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory. Edited by Bryan S. Turner.
t hiara and g ill, 2010). we celebrate and draw on this richness, while simultaneously seeking to... more t hiara and g ill, 2010). we celebrate and draw on this richness, while simultaneously seeking to extend our knowledge: both in terms of the minority communities addressed and the forms of violence covered. to an exten t we have succeeded, but there remain substantial gaps which future research and volumes will need to fill. In particular, childhood and adult sexual violence and sexual exploitation in minority women’s lives and the specificities of many communities remain in the shadows. t he focus of the book is minority women living in the u K, but not only do the issues explored traverse geographic borders, a number of authors make explicit links to the wider contexts and communities which form part of minority women’s lives. a ll of the editors have worked for nearly three decades or more across activism, specialised violence against women (
Contents: Moving in the shadows: Introduction, Liz Kelly Part I Perspectives: At the intersection... more Contents: Moving in the shadows: Introduction, Liz Kelly Part I Perspectives: At the intersection: Black and minority ethnic women and the criminal justice system, Sharon Smee Multi-faithism and the gender question: implications of government policy on the struggle for equality and rights for minority women in the UK, Pragna Patel Violent intersections: re-visiting the traffic in women and girls, Jackie Turner Sexuality and South Asian women: a taboo?, Shaminder Takhar. Part II Forms and Contexts of Violence: Two steps forward, one step back: the fight against female genital mutilation in the UK, Makeba Roach and Comfort Momoh a "Ita (TM)s all about stopping you from getting on with your lifea (TM): post-separation violence in the lives of Asian and African-Caribbean women, Ravi K. Thiara Criminal gangs, male-dominated services and the women and girls who fall through the gaps, Carlene Firmin Possession or oppression: witchcraft and spirit possession accusations as a form of ritual abuse of children and women, Emelie Secker and Yasmin Rehman Lost for words: difficulties naming and disclosing sexual violence in Hindi, Swati Pande a "True honoura (TM): domestic violence, forced marriage and honour crimes in the UK, Hannana Siddiqui a "It begins with Sistera (TM): polygyny and Muslims in Britain, Yasmin Rehman. Part III Interventions and Responses: Finding a voice - African and Caribbean heritage women help seeking, Ava Kanyeredzi Women seeking asylum - failed twice over, Debora Singer Working trans-culturally with domestically violent men, Phil Price Challenging domestic abuse in the Arabic speaking community: the experience of Al-Aman, Mohamed Abdalla Ballela A fuss about nothing? Delivering services to Black and minority ethnic survivors of gender violence - the role of the specialist Black and minority ethnic womena (TM)s sector, Marai Larasi Index.
The increased global concern about trafficking in women has resulted in many publications and con... more The increased global concern about trafficking in women has resulted in many publications and conferences, but limited action. Debate currently excludes some of the most critical questions, such as the impacts and meanings of being sexually exploited for women and why sex industries across continents are increasingly populated by women from other countries. Recent research on the scale and mechanisms of trafficking to the UK is presented, along with recommendations for more effective responses.
We report on the development of, and findings from, two scales measuring coercive control and spa... more We report on the development of, and findings from, two scales measuring coercive control and space for action over a period of 3 years in a sample of 100 women who had accessed domestic violence services. We present statistical evidence to show a significant correlation between coercive control and space for action. However, dealing with violence is not a linear process, and support needs to extend beyond being enabled to separate. The scales advance measurement of women's experience of coercive control and, through the space for action scale, document their ability to restore agency and freedom in contexts of relative safety.
Liz Kelly: Let's begin with how the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition came into being. Monica Mc... more Liz Kelly: Let's begin with how the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition came into being. Monica McWilliams: It was around April of 1996. The government published a list of parties they had decided were going to stand in the elections for the peace talks and to a new body called The Forum. I and the women I know were furious when we saw this, because we had been engaged in a whole range of conferences with women's groups across Northern Ireland about increasing the participation of women in main stream decision making. One of these was in response to the framework document published by the British and Irish Governments. They hadn't mentioned women once in the entire document! It wasn't that we weren't political animals, we have been extremely active in grassroots politics, community politics, trade union politics and the various professional and voluntary sectors. Yet here was this opportunity that was being denied to us, to have a role in the new negotiating machinery. At the same time an organisation called the European Women's Platform had written to all the political parties asking them where they were putting women in their lists and whether they had given serious attention to the number of women that would be elected. The response to that was abysmal, with replies from only three small parties-the Communist Party, the Democratic Left, and the Workers Party. We fi gured that if we wrote to the government and demanded they change the legislation, then if they said no then we would publicly go to press on it, and if they said yes we would have to do something quickly. They responded by saying that they had taken on board our views and they had agreed to change it-and what was the name of the party! We called meetings of over 200 groups, faxed every group we could think of. We called meetings in Belfast and other areas. We still had not made a decision whether to stand but we were informing people that there was now an opportunity to create a women's party. There were different views at those meet ings. Against it was the view that this wasn't the election for us because the issues were constitutional; if we did stand and didn't do well we would be doing a disservice to the whole idea of women going into politics. The view for was that this was a unique election because it
This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Co... more This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs upon request by the FEMM Committee, examined research on the effectiveness of self-defence and its place in policies at EU and Member State levels. It concludes that there is a growing evidence base that feminist self-defence can be effective in preventing violence. Whilst references to self-defence are present in the EU and Council of Europe policy documents, they are not substantial and yet to be developed into a coherent approach. Self-defence should be considered a promising practice and be better promoted and supported. More space should be made for it in policy, financing and research.
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