Midwives' perceptions of disrespect and abuse of women during labour and childbirth in Lusaka, Zambia

Background/Aims Disrespect and abuse is a frequent occurrence in labour wards around the world. Disrespect and abuse during care by health workers can prevent pregnant women from seeking care during labour and childbirth, which can lead to increased maternal and neonatal mortality rates. This study aimed to explore midwives' perceptions of disrespect and abuse of women during labour and childbirth in Lusaka. Methods A concurrent convergent mixed-method approach was used for this study. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire given to 217 midwives actively practicing in maternal health services across Lusaka randomly sampled for the quantitative arm of the study. The data were analysed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression, with P<0.05 used to indicate significance. For the qualitative component of the study, 13 purposively selected key informants were interviewed with an interview guide. Results Most of the respondents (88.5%) perceived disrespect and abuse of women during labour and childbirth as a negative phenomenon. However, almost half (40.1%) had provided care which was disrespectful and abusive during their practice and the majority (68.7%) had observed disrespect and abuse by other midwives. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis found an association between midwives' perception of disrespect and abuse and witnessing or participating in disrespectful and abusive behaviour during practice. In the qualitative arm of the study, midwives reported that disrespect and abuse occurred in labour wards across Lusaka, demonstrating an urgent need to prevent such practices. Midwives suggested actions such as increased sensitisation and training of midwives on respectful maternity care and improved staffing levels as ways to prevent this practice Conclusions Disrespect and abuse of women during labour and childbirth should be prevented. Increasing health education and training for both the public and midwives on respectful maternity care can help to achieve this goal. Midwives need to be motivated through good working environments, increased wages and increased time to rest while working, as the heavy workload was found to contribute to disrespect and abuse in labour wards.

FEMALE BODY IN MEDIA AND MARKETING

This research aims to examine the attitude towards the ways in which the female body is represented, i.e. to determine the extent to which the respondents (women) agree with the statements based on critical observations of feminist and researchers on gender issues on unethical (unacceptable) representation and treatment of woman and the female body in media and marketing. The study involved 509 women, aged between 18 and 55 years. The attitude towards the representation of the female body is operationalized by a scale (RFB scale) of 21 statements, grouped into three dimensions- sexual objectification, promotion of the “ideal” female body and instrumentalization of the female body. The results show that the respondents, although to varying degrees, agree with all the statements that describe the ways in which the female body is presented in the media and in marketing. Although all three dimensions are quite common in the media and in marketing, the respondents see the instrumentalization (abuse) of the female body for commercial purposes as the most pronounced phenomenon. Both on an overall scale and in dimensions, women from urban areas show a higher score than women living in rural areas. There are no statistically significant differences between groups defined by other sociodemographic characteristics (age, marital status, region, type of neighborhood, education). The conclusion is that the respondents support the attitude of feminists and researchers of gender issues that in the media and in marketing there is sexual objectification and promotion of the “ideal” female body, and especially pronounced instrumentalization (abuse) of women and the female body for commercial purposes.

Ideological Representation of Women's Oppression in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale

The abuse of women is an issue that persists throughout the ages till the present time because people are still living in a world of a dominated idea which is known as man is the self and woman is the other. So the objective of this research paper is to argue this global issue using Van Dijk's Ideological Square (1998) as a framework so as to examine the ideologies that underline the use of language in The Handmaid’s Tale. It is hypothesized that the ideology of oppression is exposed in the novel throughout using the ideological strategies of positive- self presentation and negative-other presentation. Ultimately, it concludes that the novelist employs both, male and female, characters to consistently ridicule and offer negative coverage about women and to increasingly align and offer favorable comments about men to present the world of patriarchy from a different perspective.

Universal credit, gender and structural abuse

Purpose This paper aims to explore Joint couple payments under Universal Credit which tend to privilege male partners. This may entrap women in abusive relationships, foster poverty which are indicative of gendered structural abuse. Design/methodology/approach Through a critical review of the literature and qualitative interviews with third sector support workers, the authors explore the impacts that Universal Credit has on women, especially those in abusive partnerships. Findings Current welfare processes reinforce patriarchal assumptions and are indicative of the structural abuse of women. This has increased during the lockdowns imposed to tackle COVID-19. Practical implications Changes are needed in the ways in which welfare benefits are disbursed. Gendered structural abuses should be explicitly considered when working with women who experience domestic violence and abuse. Originality/value This paper argues that there needs to be a wider a recognition of gender power relations and the concept of structural abuse in policy formation and implementation.

Social Work and Digital Activism: Sorority, Intersectionality, Homophily and Polarisation in #MeToo

Introduction. Social Work is currently facing the significant challenge of dealing with social networking sites – which have become a parallel universe of socialisation – in which ever-increasing digital activism is taking place. The #MeToo movement stands out as a global benchmark. It has established itself as a digital-global feminist movement, fighting harassment and the abuse of women. Methodology. Adopting a social work perspective, a longitudinal analysis was performed of the #MeToo movement on Twitter between 2018-2019 based on social network analysis and netnography, in conjunction with specific algorithms. Results. The results showed significant patterns of sorority, homophily and affective polarisation through the echo chambers and filter bubbles that were identified in the detected Twitter communities. Furthermore, these online communities reflected real offline characteristics (geographical location, affinities, similarities). Discussion and conclusions. The #MeToo movement’s global effect and durability has led to a new understanding of social movements in the digital era. Social workers must not be blind to the exciting digital opportunities arising from digitalisation. They must combat homophily and the polarisation of global society on social networking sites, promoting values oriented towards tolerance of diversity. Practitioners must show awareness and intervene proactively in global digital spheres to understand, reflect and promote social justice, equality of rights and the empowerment of disadvantaged, vulnerable and oppressed people.

An Exploratory Study of the Political Abuse of Women in Afghanistan

Women, the 48.45% of total Afghan population usually termed and referred as the most victimized clan of Afghanistan. It is engendered notion and perceived as reality around the world. Undoubtedly, Mujahidin and later the Taliban have made the situation miserable for women. But, comparatively, women in Afghanistan did not face as many cruelties earlier during Taliban regime as they suffering today. They were secured, honored and allowed to participate equally in all spheres of life ranging from socio-economic to religio-political during the reign of Taliban. Majority of the religious elite among the Muslims interprets the religious teachings according to its own requirements to assure legitimacy particularly in the context of women. Same is the case with Afghanistan, which, being the buffer state, had been remained epicenter for political interests of world powers and who used its soil to expand or legitimize their authority, violate human rights specifically women as wartime strategy to achieve the goals. This intricate study with reference to the manipulated status of women is based on qualitative method and will explore the political dimensions where women have been used as wartime strategy to legitimize the power. It is based on explanatory and exploratory goals of the study. The thematic and observational approach will be used to analyze the available qualitative data by using secondary sources.

CONTEXTUALISATION OF WOMEN ABUSE IN AFRICA: BIBLICAL AND AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES

The Women related abuses such oppressions and inequalities have been dominant in the man –woman relationship throughout out human history. Narrations in biblical discourses to anthropological records in Africa have reviewed this phenomenon. Contextuality and plurality of women abuse can be seen in famine/poverty, female infertility and woman beauty. Patriarchal culture and biblical interpretations have been regarded as channels of gender inequality and abuse of women. The tendency of women to wait upon Gods vindication in their abuse has not been feeble contributor to women marginalization. Women abuse takes place also in modern society. African societies have notoriously headlined in the inequality, oppression of women’s rights and abuse of other forms. At the center of this phenomenon in is its cultures that tend to favour men to women and patriarchal in nature. The African scenario and biblical discourses of women tend to meet in culture.