Law,campus policy,social movements,and sexual violence: Where do we stand in the #MeToo movement?

In the last 8 years, activist pressure has increased attention to sexual violence at universities. Most recently, the #MeToo movement has widened the conversation about sexual violence. This increased public attention has coincided with changes in federal guidelines, state laws, and campus policies on sexual violence as well as social movement activity by survivor‐activists and emerging counter‐movements. I argue that sociologists—specifically researchers who study gender and/or law and society—are uniquely situated to contribute to the study of sexual violence on campus. I synthesize a growing sociological and interdisciplinary literature on sexual violence—legal changes, policy effects, and social movement struggles—in order to advocate that sociologists study laws, campus policies, and social movements simultaneously.     

Developing “whole school” bystander interventions: The role of school-settings in influencing adolescents responses to dating violence and bullying

Bystander intervention programs have been introduced as innovative strategies to empower teens to intervene proactively when they witness bullying and dating violence (TDV) in their social environments. While there is promising research on the individual-level factors that influence students' willingness to intervene, there has been limited investigation on how teens' school environments encourage proactive responses. Through analysis of focus group data, this study revealed that teens are reluctant to employ bystander behaviors in any capacity. Some of the school-level factors that influenced their willingness to intervene include: trusting relationships with teachers; the perception that school personnel, rather than students, have more expertise to respond effectively; school environments that were tolerant of dating abuse; and ineffective school policies. Implications for creating “whole-school” responses to bullying and TDV will be discussed.     

Human papillomavirus vaccine and Pap tests on college campuses: How do historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) measure up?

ABSTRACT

Objective: The availability of cervical cancer prevention services at college health centers was compared between historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and non-HBCUs.

Methods: Four-year, non–primarily distant learning colleges, matching HBCUs with randomly selected non-HBCUs within the same states (N = 136) were examined. Data were collected (2014–2015 academic year) on the availability of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and Pap tests at college health centers. HBCUs were compared with non-HBCUs using conditional logistic regression, and correlates of offering these services were identified. Results: Many institutions did not offer HPV vaccine or Pap tests. Fewer HBCUs offered HPV vaccine (18% vs 53%) and Pap tests (50% vs 76%) compared with non-HBCUs. In multivariable analyses, HBCUs remained less likely than non-HBCUs to offer HPV vaccine (odds ratio [OR] = 0.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.02–0.26) and Pap tests (OR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.06–0.61). Conclusions: Greater effort is needed to make cervical cancer prevention services available at colleges, especially at HBCUs.     

Demographic and situational factors affecting injury, resistance, completion, and charges brought in sexual assault cases: what is best for arrest?

This study examines demographic and situational factors in an effort to predict whether or not a complainant was injured, used resistance, experienced a completed assault, and whether charges were brought against the offender. If the accused had consumed alcohol or drugs, he was almost seven times more likely to be arrested. The complainant was six times more likely to report rape completion if she had consumed alcohol or drugs and if the complainant fell unconscious at any time during the attack she was significantly less likely to use a resistance strategy. The complainant's use of a compliance strategy at any time during the assault positively predicted not using a physical resistance strategy and sexual assault completion. The reporting of injury positively predicted use a physical resistance strategy and sexual assault completion. If the assault was completed, it was less likely that charges were pressed. Implications of these findings are discussed, and directions for future research are offered.     

Gender symmetry in dating intimate partner violence: does similar behavior imply similar constructs?

The present study examined the extent to which there is gender symmetry in the topography and experience of dating intimate partner violence (IPV). Self-report data were collected from 450 undergraduate men and women at a large Southeastern university. Perpetration and victimization rates were examined, as were context, function, and experience of fear. Results support the view that dating IPV is generally symmetrical at a topographical level, although significantly more women than men reported perpetration of severe physical assault. However, gender asymmetries were found in the context, function, and experience of fear. These findings suggest that gender-sensitive approaches are crucial to the understanding of dating IPV.     

Token resistance to sexual intercourse and consent to unwanted sexual intercourse: College students’ dating experiences in three countries

The purposes of this study were to extend the research conducted by Muehlenhard and her colleagues (e.g., Muehlen‐hard & Hollabaugh, 1988) on token resistance to sex and to consider a second form of sexual miscommunication, consent to unwanted sex. We examined the incidence of these forms of sexual miscommunication among both women and men and in three different cultures: the United States, Russia, and Japan. Survey data were collected from 1,519 unmarried college students (970 from the U.S., 327 from Russia, and 222 from Japan). Contrary to the stereotype that only women engage in token resistance to sex, men also reported that they had been in situations in which they had said no to sex while desiring it. In the U.S. only, a greater proportion of men than women have engaged in token resistance to sex. Rates for consent to unwanted sex also varied by gender and culture. American women had the highest rate of consent to unwanted sex. The importance of collecting cross‐cultural data on sexuality and intimacy is discussed.     

What college students do not know: where are the gaps in sexual health knowledge?

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to understand the gaps in college students' knowledge regarding sexual health information. Participants: A sample of 242 participants enrolled in an introductory college course participated in this study in the Fall 2009 semester. Methods: Students participated in 1 of 2 brief interventions and wrote a response paper about their experience. The papers were analyzed using conventional content analysis for information that was new to participants by looking for key words that suggested learning took place. Results: The findings indicated that the majority of participants learned new information. Most learning occurred regarding sexually transmitted infections (ie, types, symptoms, prevalence, treatment, testing) and correct condom use. There were also demographic differences regarding reported new information. Conclusions: Findings can be used to develop future sex education programs for college students by providing college educators with an understanding of where students lack knowledge of sexual health.     

The “ethical loneliness” of male sexual violence survivors in Northern Uganda: gendered reflections on silencing

In this article, I explore the gendered silencing of conflict-related sexual violence against men and of male survivors’ lived realities in Northern Uganda using the frame of masculinities. Utilizing Stauffer’s conceptual framework of “ethical loneliness,” I elucidate how male survivors’ experiences of sexual violence are characterized by various layers of externally imposed silences by different actors and institutions often over decades. I demonstrate that the harms experienced by survivors in Northern Uganda are characterized by silence, isolation and abandonment, “compounded by the cruelty of wrongs not being heard” and constituted through multiple rounds of neglect. Exemplified through the narrative of a male survivor, I argue that in particular, the externally imposed silencing by institutions designed to listen entrenches further harms. I unpack how these layered silences are gendered and conditioned by socially constructed incompatibilities between masculinities and vulnerabilities, which disallow men to openly speak about their sexual violations and to seek services and support. Working with the concept of “ethical loneliness,” I propose a novel theoretical framework for analyzing the effects of externally imposed and gender-specific silencing with wider utility beyond male sexual violence, applicable to survivors of political and wartime gendered violence more broadly.     

Sexual self-concept and sexual self-efficacy in adolescents: a possible clue to promoting sexual health?

This study examined the associations between sexual self-concept (sexual esteem and sexual anxiety) and sexual self-efficacy (situational and resistive) in a sample of 388 high school students (59% Caucasian, 28% African American). Males reported lower sexual esteem and lower sexual self-efficacy than females. Males and African Americans reported higher levels of sexual anxiety and lower levels of resistive self-efficacy than females and Caucasians. In regression models, higher sexual self-esteem uniquely predicted higher sexual self-efficacy scores, even after controlling for demographic variables, knowledge of sexual risk, and previous coital experience. In post hoc analyses, sexual self-esteem mediated the relation between knowledge of sexual risk and both types of sexual self-efficacy. Results suggest the need for interventions to promote male sexual self-efficacy and sexual esteem and the need for longitudinal research that explicates models of sexual health in adolescence.     

Research on stalking: what do we know and where do we go?

Findings of the article in this two-volume series on stalking are reviewed. Building on the findings of the National Violence Against Women Survey (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998), this series of studies adds to the literature in defining and measuring stalking behaviors. Repeated stalking victimization is reported by up to 62% of young adults, although frequencies depend on the sample and the precise definition used. Self-definitions of stalking victimization may be quite different from legal definitions. Although the majority of legally defined stalkers (where victim fear is a key component) are men stalking women, studies utilizing other definitions find many more women as stalkers, with no significant gender differences in many studies. In many cases, it does appear that stalking is one part of a larger pattern of relationship physical and psychological abuse. Data on emotional reactions and coping strategies of victims are also reviewed, along with findings on characteristics of stalkers.     

Child sexual abuse and attachment theory:are we rushing headlong into another controversy?

The child sexual abuse knowledge base has developed within a highly charged political and social context. As such, early theories of sexual abuse were susceptible to biases that reflected the larger sociocultural context. The purpose of this paper is to consider whether attachment theory as it is applied to child sexual abuse might also be susceptible to such biases. Although this paper concludes that attachment theory can potentially add an important dimension to the conceptualization of child sexual abuse and its dynamics, it is also suggested that attachment theory may remain at risk for becoming a vehicle for transmitting political and ideological agendas.     

The coloniality of the gaze on sexual violence: a stalled attempt at a South Africa - Rwanda dialogue?

ABSTRACT

In South Africa and Rwanda, the issue of sexual violence has been catapulted into the public sphere in politically charged post-conflict contexts. This article chronicles some of the theoretical, practical and ethical dilemmas that the writer has faced while contemplating research on rape law formation and reform in Rwanda, with an acute awareness of being a Black feminist from a country known to many as one of the rape capitals of the world. Feminist discourses around sexual violence may be grounded in political convictions that this historically invisible aspect of women’s oppression should be spotlighted and included in agendas for criminal and social justice. The writer contends that while feminist scholarship in its plurality is to be commended for stressing the importance of power relations in research, scholars are still not always sensitive to how inter- and intra-group power disparities may adversely affect the interaction between the researchers and researched and the nature of the research itself. Inter-group power disparities may also adversely affect the interaction between researchers themselves. Decolonial thought may provide lenses to make these power disparities even more visible, but it is difficult to say whether decolonial approaches can establish the terms for a more equitable engagement between all the parties concerned.     

Demographic Data on Syrians in Turkey: What do we know?

With the outbreak of civil war in Syria, Turkey has become the host of the largest refugee population in the world. In a country where reliable population registration systems are only recently established and where no extensive legal arrangements on migration existed prior to the Syrian crisis, the whole refugee situation was handled rather unsystematically, with ever-changing institutions and regulations, and various iterations of both. In this paper we present the demographic statistics that have been made public by different sources from the beginning of the crisis up to today because they are hard to reach in one place accompanied by relevant institutional changes; with the aim of assessing the current demographic data and revealing what is missing.     

Are college students more disturbed today? Stability in the acuity and qualitative character of psychopathology of college counseling center clients: 1992-1993 through 2001-2002

Are clients at college counseling centers more disturbed today than they were 5, 10, or 20 years ago? Since the mid-1980s, counseling center personnel have consistently perceived student clients as more distressed or reported acutely distressed clients as more prevalent than they did 1, 3, or 5 years ago. Only 3 studies employing a systematic, data-based methodology have addressed this question. Two researchers used different actuarial measures of the acuity or character of client pathology and concluded that current student clients are not more disturbed than were earlier ones. One researcher used clinical judgments rendered at the end of therapy and concluded that current students were more distressed. Using the Personality Assessment Inventory, the author found the actuarially determined quantitative and qualitative indices of pathology unchanged for 3,400 counseling center clients seen during 10 consecutive years. Over the same period, the use of medications increased fivefold. An actuarial measure of client distress appears crucial to both accurate diagnosis and treatment and to the adequate preparation of future counseling center professionals.     

Are we doing enough? Stigma,discrimination and human rights violations of people living with schizophrenia in India: Implications for social work practice

ABSTRACT

In India, the human rights of people living with mental illness (PLMI) are poorly articulated and hence less researched. Using in-depth and focus group interviews, this study explores multiple perspectives on stigma, discrimination, and human rights violations of people living with schizophrenia (PLS) within their web of relationships in the city of Mumbai, India. Thematic analysis shows that abusive experiences at home, stigma associated with mental health services and barriers to meaningful employment contribute to human rights violations. Implications for strengthening the role of mental health professionals including social workers to promote, protect and actualize the rights of PLS are stressed.     

Reasons for not reporting victimizations to the police: do they vary for physical and sexual incidents?

Victimization is a significant problem among college students, but it is less likely to be reported to the police than are victimizations in the general population. OBJECTIVE: In this study, the authors examined (1) whether reasons for not reporting varied by type of victimization (sexual or physical) and (2) victim-, offender-, and incident-related predictors of these reasons. PARTICIPANTS: To address these objectives, the authors used data collected from 492 female college students. METHODS: The authors recruited women via flyers placed around campus that asked them to come to the student health center to complete anonymous surveys. RESULTS: Findings from within-subject analyses indicated that women were more likely to cite the following reasons for not reporting a sexual rather than a physical victimization: the incident would be viewed as their fault, they were ashamed, they did not want anyone to know about the incident, or they did not want the police involved. Results from logistic regression analyses indicated that the predictors of not reporting also varied across crime types. CONCLUSIONS: The authors discuss study implications for campus-based prevention strategies.     

SROI in the pay for success context: Are they at odds?

The Pay For Success (PFS) and Social Impact Bond (SIB) movements to date have focused heavily on shorter-term outcomes that can be monetized and show clear savings to government entities. In part, this focus derives from the need to specify contract payments based on a narrow set of well measured outcomes (e.g., avoided days in jail and foster care, decreased use of behavioral health services). Meanwhile efforts to measure the social return on investment (SROI) of interventions have sought to expand the view of relevant outcomes to include domains that lend themselves less clearly to monetization. This paper explores the intersection between these two movements with illustrations from a SIB initiative underway focused on homeless families with children in foster care. Challenges and potential for SROI in a third-party payor environment will be discussed as well as opportunities to better leverage the strengths of both types of initiative.     

Programming for preventing sexual abuse and abduction: what does it mean when it works?

Many kinds of educational programs and other approaches to teaching children about the dangers of sexual abuse and abduction by strangers can have the "side effect" of creating new anxieties in the children. The program described in this article is effective without introducing negative, anxiety-producing stories, examples, and other warnings.