scholarly journals Street gangs and coercive control: The gendered exploitation of young women and girls in county lines

2021 ◽  
pp. 174889582110515
Author(s):  
Tirion Elizabeth Havard ◽  
James A Densley ◽  
Andrew Whittaker ◽  
Jane Wills

This article explores young women and girls’ participation in gangs and ‘county lines’ drug sales. Qualitative interviews and focus groups with criminal justice and social service professionals found that women and girls in gangs often are judged according to androcentric, stereotypical norms that deny gender-specific risks of exploitation. Gangs capitalise on the relative ‘invisibility’ of young women to advance their economic interests in county lines and stay below police radar. The research shows gangs maintain control over women and girls in both physical and digital spaces via a combination of threatened and actual (sexual) violence and a form of economic abuse known as debt bondage – tactics readily documented in the field of domestic abuse. This article argues that coercive control offers a new way of understanding and responding to these gendered experiences of gang life, with important implications for policy and practice.

1970 ◽  
pp. 50-55
Author(s):  
Mary Kawar

There is an increasing visibility of young urban working women in Amman, Jordan. As compared to previous generations, this group is experiencing a new life cycle trajectory of single employed adulthood. Based on qualitative interviews with young women, this paper will reflect on their experiences and perceptions regarding work, social status and marriage.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aparna Jain ◽  
Elizabeth Tobey ◽  
Hussein Ismail ◽  
Annabel Erulkar

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e042544
Author(s):  
Margaret Nampijja ◽  
Kenneth Okelo ◽  
Patricia Kitsao Wekulo ◽  
Elizabeth W Kimani-Murage ◽  
Helen Elsey

IntroductionInvesting in children during the critical period between birth and age 5 years can have long-lasting benefits throughout their life. Children in Kenya’s urban informal settlements, face significant challenges to healthy development, particularly when their families need to earn a daily wage and cannot care for them during the day. In response, informal and poor quality child-care centres with untrained caregivers have proliferated. We aim to co-design and test the feasibility of a supportive assessment and skills-building for child-care centre providers.Methods and analysisA sequential mixed-methods approach will be used. We will map and profile child-care centres in two informal settlements in Nairobi, and complete a brief quality assessment of 50 child-care centres. We will test the feasibility of a supportive assessment skills-building system on 40 child-care centres, beginning with assessing centre-caregivers’ knowledge and skills in these centres. This will inform the subsequent co-design process and provide baseline data. Following a policy review, we will use experience-based co-design to develop the supportive assessment process. This will include qualitative interviews with policymakers (n=15), focus groups with parents (n=4 focus group discussions (FGDs)), child-care providers (n=4 FGDs) and joint workshops. To assess feasibility and acceptability, we will observe, record and cost implementation for 6 months. The knowledge/skills questionnaire will be repeated at the end of implementation and results will inform the purposive selection of 10 child-care providers and parents for qualitative interviews. Descriptive statistics and thematic framework approach will respectively be used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data and identify drivers of feasibility.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by Amref Health Africa’s Ethics and Scientific Review Committee (Ref: P7802020 on 20th April 2020) and the University of York (Ref: HSRGC 20th March 2020). Findings will be published and continual engagement with decision-makers will embed findings into child-care policy and practice.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0887302X2110042
Author(s):  
Kim K. P. Johnson ◽  
Ui-Jeen Yu

Self-sexualization is an emerging area of research relevant to clothing researchers as evaluations of sexual appeal often stem from specific items and uses of dress. Our research purpose was to systematically review the available research on self-sexualization. In our review we focused specifically on three topics: what precedes self-sexualizing? What outcomes are associated with self-sexualizing? And how has self-sexualization been operationalized? The time frame for this review was 2007–2020. To locate the 31 journal articles that supplied the data for this research, multiple data bases were searched using the following search terms: self-sexualization, self-sexualizing, and sexual self-presentation. Important precursors to self-sexualization include exposure to media and social media, self-objectification, internalization of sexualization, and desiring attention from others. Empowerment has been studied as an outcome of self-sexualization along with negative inferences concerning both young women and girls that self-sexualize. Operationalization of self-sexualization is varied and likely contributes to inconsistent findings.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Whiteford ◽  
Glenn Simpson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory account of the links between devolution, homelessness and health in the UK. Specifically, it focusses on the policy context and governance structures that shape the systems of healthcare for homeless people in London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Design/methodology/approach Empirically the paper draws on semi-structured interviews with a small sample of policy and practice actors from the devolved territories. Qualitative interviews were supplemented by a comparative policy analysis of the homelessness and health agenda within the devolved regions. Theoretically, it takes inspiration from Chaney’s concept of the “issue salience of homelessness” and explores the comparative character of healthcare as pertains to homeless people across the devolved territories. Findings The paper provides clear evidence of areas of divergence and convergence in policy and practice between the devolved regions. These features are shown to be strongly mediated by the interplay of two factors: first, the scope and scale of national and local homelessness prevention strategies; and second, intra-national variation in public health responses to homelessness. Originality/value The paper offers considerable insight from a comparative policy perspective into the nature of healthcare provision for homeless people in the devolved regions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick O’Leary ◽  
Scott D. Easton ◽  
Nick Gould

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a trauma that affects males in substantial numbers, sometimes in ways that are gender-specific (e.g., compromised masculine identity, confusion regarding sexuality). Much of the identification of the male-specific outcomes has been derived from practitioner experience and small qualitative studies. The current study explores gender-specific outcomes and describes the development of a scale to measure the effects of CSA on men. First, qualitative interviews with 20 men who were sexually abused in childhood were thematically analyzed. The emergent themes of sexuality, self-concept, psychological and emotional well-being, and social functioning were used to construct a 30-item instrument which was later completed by 147 men with histories of CSA. The dimensionality of the 30 items was then assessed for suitability as scales using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The final instrument, the Male Sexual Abuse Effects Scale (MSAES), combines three subscales: Negative Identity, Guilt and Self-Blame, and Psychological and Emotional Well-Being. Items concerning masculine identity were shown to be valid in the scale. MSAES scores were compared with the General Health Questionnaire–28 (GHQ-28) and found to be significantly correlated. GHQ-28 clinical thresholds were applied to differentiate clinical from nonclinical cases; an independent-samples t test showed that the clinical cases from the GHQ-28 had high scores on the MSAES. The new scale has the potential to help clinicians and researchers identify men who have been severely affected by CSA and who should be of clinical concern.


2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-136
Author(s):  
Nichola Cadet

This article explores the increase in the number of older people on probation caseloads. ‘Older’ clients are defined as those aged 50 and over, in line with the use of this definition by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. Drawing upon a Freedom of Information request submitted to the Ministry of Justice, the data show increases in the age of probation clients across community orders, suspended sentences, and supervision on licence. One in five residents in Approved Premises are over 50. Despite the increase, there is a dearth of research relating to the needs of older people on probation and how well probation services and staff are equipped to meet their needs. Consequently, this article utilises research relating to older prisoners, drawing inferences to probation experiences. This prompts the question of whether probation is ‘institutionally thoughtless’, a term coined relating to the daily experiences of older prisoners. This article depicts findings from qualitative interviews with older prisoners in prison for the first time. The findings highlight ambivalence towards completing accredited programmes, which may be applicable to probation settings. This article concludes that action to tackle discrimination requires a commitment to justice, self-awareness, and knowledge via policy and practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. a6en
Author(s):  
Sandra de Souza Machado ◽  
Begoña Sánchez Torrejón ◽  
Víctor Amar Rodríguez

Data, discursive and methodological analysis, from the perspective of Communication and Education gender studies, are applied aiming media literacy for a responsive citizenship in the fight against trafficking in women and girls. Questioning gender violence in misinformation, fake news, post-truths, and malicious intentions. Media literacy, co-education and collective awareness function as strategies of action to combat the trafficking of (young) women, which reaches alarming degrees in the 21st century, including during the global pandemic of COVID-19.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S8-S9
Author(s):  
M. Amering

AimUnderstand the needs of women users of mental health services and their families and discuss consequences.MethodNon-systematic review of concepts and data regarding the needs of women users of mental health services and their families.Resultsnequity and inefficiency of mental health resources affect men and women all around the globe. Some important mental health needs as well as barriers to care are gender-specific. Women have specific needs in specific phases of life, e.g. the perinatal period, as well as specific risk factors, e.g. interpersonal violence and sexual abuse. Developments of women only services as well as the implementation of gender-specific approaches in routine care are underway and need to be evaluated, amended and expanded. Training as well as research requirements are numerous and urgent. Family carers are an essential mental health resource. A majority is female with significant unmet needs. Family advocacy in mental health is prominently supported by female activists as is the psychiatric user movement. Because of the cumulation and the interaction of gender-based and other forms of discrimination, legislations such as those following the UN-Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities include specific provisions for women and girls with psychosocial disabilities.ConclusionsMental health stigma and discrimination interact with gender inequality and the discrimination of women and girls to their mental health detriment. Clinical and scientific responsibilities in mental health essentially include gender-specific attention to the needs of women and girls and their families.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luissa Vahedi ◽  
Sabine Lee ◽  
Susan A. Bartels

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the lived experience of seeking justice and reparations related to conceiving a peacekeeper-fathered child. Design/methodology/approach Based on 18 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted across Haiti in 2017, the authors mapped the experiences of Haitian mothers of peacekeeper-fathered children onto the ecological framework, proposing prevention/response strategies at the micro, meso and macro levels. Findings The findings mainly focus on reporting and access to support. Reporting was sometimes discouraged by the peacekeeper fathers due to the fear of being reprimanded. Among women who did report, some were told that nothing could be done, as the peacekeeper returned to his home country. Disclosure fatigue was common among participants who formally reported their pregnancies/peacekeeper-fathered children, particularly when promises of employment or child support failed to materialize. Overall, there was widespread distrust and disillusionment with the UN’s reporting and support system. Originality/value To improve the UN’s sexual abuse and exploitation prevention/response system at the micro level, the authors propose addressing personal knowledge/attitudes/beliefs through scenario-based and contextually relevant peacekeeper training and addressing the sexual/reproductive health needs of women and girls in proximity to peacekeeping bases. At the meso level, the UN should improve trust in reporting. Efforts to do so should include mandatory third-party deoxyribonucleic acid testing and banking, streamlined reporting mechanisms and removing the practice of automatically repatriating implicated peacekeepers. At the macro level, the authors recommend investments to improve educational and economic opportunities for women and girls, as well as revamping policies that contribute to impunity and absolve peacekeepers and troop-contributing countries of their responsibilities to provide child support.


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