A “shift in attitude”? Institutional change and sexual and gender-based crimes at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

ABSTRACT

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) has been slow to address sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) crimes perpetrated during the Democratic Kampuchea regime. However, there appears to have been a tentative “shift in attitude” at the ECCC toward the investigation and prosecution of these crimes. This article draws on feminist institutionalist theories, first to explain the ECCC’s initial failure to prioritize SGBV and then to explain how and why this may have changed. The article suggests that such change has not arisen from the ECCC’s formal rules. Instead, various actors working with and around these “old rules” have drawn on these provisions, civil society initiatives and international and national gender norms to modify “informal” practices concerning the prosecution of SGBV at the ECCC. Sensitivity to SGBV is particularly important in hybrid, or internationalized, international criminal structures, which may be hindered by prohibitive practices emerging from both the international and national components of the institution.     

Child Marriage Laws around the World: Minimum Marriage Age,Legal Exceptions,and Gender Disparities

ABSTRACT

The marriage of children below 18 is widely recognized in international human rights agreements as a discriminatory global practice that hinders the development and well-being of hundreds of millions of girls. Using a new global policy database, we analyze national legislation regarding minimum marriage age, exceptions permitting marriage at earlier ages, and gender disparities in laws. While our longitudinal data indicate improvements in frequencies of countries with legal provisions that prohibit marriage below the age of 18, important gaps remain in eliminating legal exceptions and gender discrimination.     

Reporting Rape in a National Sample of College Women

Abstract

Background: Studies indicate that a small percentage of rapes are reported to law enforcement officials. Research also suggests that rapes perpetrated by a stranger are more likely to be reported and that rapes involving drugs and/or alcohol are less likely to be reported. College women represent a unique and understudied population with regard to reporting rape. Methods: In the current study, the authors interviewed a national sample of 2,000 college women about rape experiences in 2006. Results: Only 11.5% of college women in the sample reported their most recent/only rape experience to authorities, with only 2.7% of rapes involving drugs and/or alcohol reported. Minority status (ie, nonwhite race) was associated with lower likelihood of reporting, whereas sustaining injuries during the rape was associated with increased likelihood of reporting. Discussion: Reporting, particularly for rapes involving drugs and alcohol, is low among college women. Implications for policy are discussed.     

Electronic Cigarette Use Among College Students: Links to Gender,Race/Ethnicity,Smoking, and Heavy Drinking

Abstract

Objective: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use continues to rise, and current data regarding use of e-cigarettes among college students are needed. The purpose of this study was to examine e-cigarette use and the relation of such use with gender, race/ethnicity, traditional tobacco use, and heavy drinking. Participants and Methods: A sample of 599 college students enrolled in General Psychology at a state university completed a self-report questionnaire. Results: Twenty-nine percent of students reported prior use of e-cigarettes, with 14% reporting use in the past 30 days. E-cigarette use was linked to male gender but not to race/ethnicity. Dual use (ie, concurrent use of both traditional and e-cigarettes) was related to heavier use of traditional and e-cigarettes, and nicotine use was linked to pronounced rates of heavy drinking. Conclusions: E-cigarette use among college students is exponentially on the rise, and its co-use with alcohol may contribute to negative outcomes in this population.     

Depressive Distress and Prevalence of Common Problems Among Homosexually Active African American Women in the United States

SUMMARY

We report findings from a national survey of 603 homosexually experienced African American women who self-identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Levels of psychological distress greatly exceeded population norms for African American women. The most frequent problems participants reported were romantic relationship and financial difficulties. Problems with using drugs or alcohol to self-medicate psychological distress were the most chronic stressors. Although 31% of women indicated they received emotional support from a counselor or other professional in the prior month, the least likely to receive support were those reporting chronic financial, housing, anger, or substance use problems. These findings underscore the vulnerability of African American women, who navigate the triple stigma of having a minority ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender.     

The Reporting of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault by Nonstrangers to the Police

We examine the effects of the gender of the victim and offender and their relationship to each other on whether sexual and physical assaults are reported to the police. We also examine the reasons victims give for not reporting assaults and whether reporting patterns have changed over time. The analyses are based on a sample of 6,291 physical assaults and 1,787 sexual assaults from the National Violence Against Women Survey. The results suggest that victims are just as likely to report domestic assaults as they are to report assaults by other people they know. Male victims are particularly reluctant to report assaults by their intimate partners, whereas third parties are particularly unlikely to report assaults by partners of either gender. Sexual assaults, particularly those that involve acquaintances, are less likely to be reported. These patterns have not changed since the 1960s.     

Adolescent’s Perceptions of Sexual Relationships Between Students and Teachers

ABSTRACT

Very little is known about how people perceive and respond to sexual relationships between students and teachers, and even less is known about how adolescents view these relationships. In this study, a large sample of high school students (N = 1203; Mean age: 16.83) responded to four scenarios describing a sexual relationship between a student and teacher. We manipulated student and teacher age, and the power differential between the student and teacher and we measured perceptions of wrongness and likelihood of reporting the situation. The data indicated that in situations of older students (18 vs. 14 or 16) and younger teachers (21 vs 30 or 40), they are less likely to be perceived as wrong and less likely to be reported. Likewise, situations were judged as more wrong when the power differential between students and teachers was greater. Further, there were strong gender differences, such that females (vs. males) consistently viewed the situations as more wrong and were more likely to report. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.     

Referent Group Proximity,Social Norms,and Context: Alcohol Use in a Low-Use Environment

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived normative use of alcohol and reported consumption in an environment where relatively little alcohol use occurs. Participants: A total of 585 undergraduate students completed an online survey on alcohol use in March 2006. Methods: Participants reported personal alcohol use and perceptions of use by “friends,” “the average student,” and “the average student who drinks.” Results: Due to the large number of students reporting zero alcohol use, zero-inflated negative binomial regression was used to analyze the data. Results showed that perceptions of use and beliefs about the acceptability of use by proximal groups were strongly and positively correlated with personal alcohol use. Perceptions of distal groups were either not correlated or were correlated negatively with personal use. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the use of distal referent groups for a social norms campaign in a low-use environment may have paradoxical effects.     

University Binge Drinking Patterns and Changes in Patterns of Alcohol Consumption Among Chinese Undergraduates in a Hong Kong University

Abstract

Objective: To examine patterns of binge drinking and changes in drinking patterns among Chinese university students. Participants and Methods: Responses to an anonymous questionnaire were compared between a random sample of 411 second year Chinese undergraduate students in 2006 and 2,630 first year students from the previous year. Students reporting any symptoms of alcohol abuse were classified as alcohol abusers whereas those reporting repeated inability to curtail use were categorized as alcohol dependent. Results: After 1 year of university, greatly increased rates of past-month drinking of different degrees were found in both genders. Binge drinking among second year undergraduates was significantly correlated with male gender, living in a student residence hall, smoking, drinking to relieve stress, and having friends who frequently drank. Conclusions: Alcohol misuse is a health hazard to Chinese students in a university environment. Proactive policies aimed at preventing harmful alcohol use should be considered by university authorities.     

A Fall from Grace: Women,Scandals, and Perceptions of Politicians

ABSTRACT

While political scientists have researched explanations for the dearth of women in elected office for decades, no consistent account has emerged. We enter the discussion using an original experimental survey on an adult sample at the national level to examine whether gender stereotypes affect the evaluation of candidates running for office. We specifically look at situations where there is alleged wrongdoing to explore whether evaluations are asymmetrically applied to men and women. We find that voters treat candidates differently, exhibiting a general preference for women. When malfeasance is alleged, however, women suffer greater consequences for wrongdoing under certain conditions, potentially as a result of a “backlash” effect for violating gender norms.     

Childhood Gender Nonconformity and Children’s Past-Life Memories

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines childhood gender nonconformity (GNC) in conjunction with the phenomenon in which young children describe memories of a purported previous life. Methods: In a case-control study of 469 children reporting past-life memories, we used logistic regression to examine predictors of GNC, measured by documented gender nonconforming behaviors. Results: Children who remembered a life involving a different natal sex were much more likely to exhibit GNC than children who remembered a same-sex life. Conclusions: After exploring potential explanations, we conclude that past-life memories represent a novel factor that may be associated with the development of GNC.     

The gender division of housework after the first child: a comparison among Bulgaria,France and the Netherlands

ABSTRACT

In our study, we adopt a comparative-longitudinal perspective on the gender division of housework before and after the birth of the first child, exploiting the first two waves of the Gender and Generation Survey and comparing three countries belonging to different gender and welfare regimes (i.e. Bulgaria, France and the Netherlands). We find that childrearing everywhere triggers a re-traditionalisation, generating a more inegalitarian gender division of housework, yet with interesting differences across countries. Fixed-effect regression analyses of the pooled data show that changes when becoming parents are less pronounced in France with respect to Bulgaria and the Netherlands, more pronounced when she is low-educated. Moreover, when countries are analysed separately, it emerges that it is only in the Netherlands that traditionalisation around first childbirth is significantly lower in couples where the woman is middle- and high-educated compared to those where she is low-educated. Economic, cultural and institutional contexts do matter. Traditionalisation and within-couples polarisation is weaker in contexts where non-traditional attitudes are widespread, social policies are more defamilialising and more explicitly addressed also to men, and where part-time is not the main reconciliation strategy, as in France.     

The alcohol contexts of consent,wanted sex,sexual pleasure,and sexual assault: Results from a probability survey of undergraduate students

Objective: To examine, in a probability sample of undergraduate students, characteristics of students’ most recent sexual experiences (including alcohol use) as well as their experiences with nonconsensual sex. Participants: In January and February 2015, 22,046 students were invited to participate in an anonymous, cross-sectional, Internet-based survey; 7,032 surveys were completed (31.9%). Methods: Measures included background characteristics (age, gender, sexual orientation), most recent sexual event items (sexual pleasure, wantedness, alcohol use), and experiences with nonconsensual sex (since college and lifetime). Results: Respondents reporting sober consensual sex were more likely to report higher levels of sexual pleasure and wantedness. Nonconsensual oral, vaginal, or anal penetration occurring during college were reported by 15.8% of women and 7.7% of men. Students more often told friends, partners, or family members and rarely disclosed to university faculty or police. Conclusions: Implications for campus policy and health education are addressed.     

Women’s Political Firsts and Symbolic Representation

ABSTRACT

The extent to which politics is still a “man’s game” is made evident every time a top political office has a female holder for the first time. These incredibly revealing moments may give a new social meaning to women in politics—women’s political presence—and women and politics—gendered social constructions about women’s capacity to rule. This article explores the types of gendered mediation underpinning the representation of first-ever women serving in historically male-dominated political offices in Spain. It shows that gender media frames are pervasive, which may lead to an effective annihilation of women’s symbolic representation.     

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.     

CAN'T BUY ME LOVE? A FIELD EXPERIMENT EXPLORING THE TRADE‐OFF BETWEEN INCOME AND CASTE‐STATUS IN AN INDIAN MATRIMONIAL MARKET

A large body of literature depicts that status‐based discrimination is pervasive, but is silent on how economic incentive interacts with such discrimination. This study addresses this question by designing a field experiment in a reputable arranged marriage market that is prone to strong caste‐status‐based discrimination. We place newspaper advertisements of potential grooms by systematically varying their caste and income and focus on responses of higher‐caste females to lower‐caste males. The substantive finding is that despite the evidence of discrimination, discriminatory behavior of higher‐status females decreases with an increase in the advertised monthly income of lower‐status males. (JEL C93, J12, J15)     

Ethical Issues in the Mental Health Treatment of Gender Dysphoric Adolescents

SUMMARY

This paper will focus on ethical dilemmas that arise in the treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria. We will begin with a discussion of ethical and legal issues pertinent to the treatment of any adolescent, and then proceed to the gender dysphoric adolescent, since there is a great deal of overlap between the two areas. The authors re-view legal decisions, the existing data on adolescent decision-making, and ethical principles that may help the clinician in resolving some very complex situations. Utilizing case vignettes of three gender dysphoric adolescents, the authors provide a pragmatic illustration of the ethical dilemmas involved in evaluation and treatment of these youth. It is the authors' belief that treatment interventions should be based on respect for the adolescent's autonomy and confidentiality where he or she is deemed competent to make decisions.     

Responding to teen dating violence: Perspectives from mothers who have been abused and seeking services in domestic violence shelters

ABSTRACT

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a significant public health problem, but we know little about how mothers who have been abused respond to TDV. This article analyzes qualitative data from three focus groups conducted with 17 mothers who had experienced abuse. Mothers responded to four hypothetical scenarios of their child reporting TDV to them. Mothers reported that their approach to children’s reports of TDV would entail engaging in varying levels of authoritarianism, considering the gender of the child, and exercising caution in their responses. In response to the scenarios, mothers stated that they would ask questions, educate their teens, contact the perpetrator and/or parents, share their own experiences, and call for outside help. The study’s findings may assist prevention educators working with mothers who experienced abuse in responding to their children’s disclosures of incidents of TDV.     

Four contexts of institutional oppression: Examining the experiences of Blacks in education,criminal justice and child welfare

ABSTRACT

Institutions are key sites of oppression. Institutional oppression is defined as the mistreatment of people of a particular group that is enforced by society and its institutions. It is a system of invisible barriers that emerge from institutional laws, customs and practices, thus producing inequities for particular groups across race, gender and class. Woven together, the web of institutional oppression is vast, cumulative and multi-faceted, including both overt and covert discriminatory practices and behaviors. Based in a critical review of the literature, the authors of this article introduce and describe four characteristics of institutional oppression that specifically impact the lives of Black Americans. Furthermore, we provide a case vignette that illustrates these characteristics of oppression. The article concludes with recommendations on dismantling institutional oppression and highlights the roles that social workers can play in collaboration with educators and other professionals.     

College students’ use of transportation networking companies: An opportunity to decrease substance-impaired driving

Abstract

Objective: To examine the use of transportation networking companies (TNCs) (eg, Uber) among substance-using students in rural and urban college settings. Participants: Students at two large state universities were randomly selected and screened for substance use. Participants reported use of TNCs generally and after substance use and whether TNC use was on or near campus or in other environments. Methods: Data were evaluated using chi-square test, t-tests, and Fisher’s exact tests. Results: Most (85%) participants (n?=?99, 61% response rate) had used a TNC. Among students who used TNCs on/near campus, 98% of rural students used them after substance use compared to 85% of urban students (p?=?.037). We did not detect differences in TNC use by gender or age. Conclusions: Results indicate that TNC use is common after college student substance use and may play a particularly important role in preventing impaired driving for rural campuses where existing transportation options are limited.