Memory's Pillar and the Experience of Sexual Trauma Commentary on Janice Haaken's Pillar of Salt

In Pillar of Salt, Janice Haaken questions the claims of the advocates of recovered memory by exploring memory through a psychoanalytic lens as a process of reconfiguring the past in the light of present needs and desires. Resisting reductive formulations, she examines contemporary stories of abuse and concludes that, whether factual or not, the recovered-memory syndrome that has so starkly emerged in the past 20 years is true to women's experience of oppression within an abusive patriarchal culture. Read within the framework of subjectivity and meaning, recovered memories provide women with dramatic self-representations that give narrative structure to the truths of their lives.     

Remarried Couples in Premarital Education: Does the Content Match Participant Needs?

Although premarital education has been found to reduce risk factors of divorce, the use of premarital education has primarily been examined in first marriages, or in groups combining both first and later marriages. In this qualitative study, 8 remarried couples’ perceptions of the premarital education they received were explored. The coexisting core categories of the desire to create a loving relationship yet fear of repeated marital failure emerged. The results implied that remarried couples carried an additional fear of marital dissolution, which in conjunction with the complex tasks associated with stepfamily formation, promoted attachment insecurities. Clinical applications are included.     

Adverse Life Experiences and Homelessness Among Adolescents: an examination of the conditions for convergence

Abstract

There are two factors that limit our knowledge of the risk factors associated with homelessness among runaway adolescents, namely (1) the samples used are often composed of youth homeless service users and/or youths living on the streets (visible homelessness), whereas most adolescents in fact use “private” resources (hidden homelessness), and (2) failure to use an adequate control group to identify risk factors associated specifically with homelessness. Our study compares the characteristics of two groups of youths under the supervision oftheyouth protection system, according to the presence or absence of periods of homelessness. The results throw light on the factors underlying the shiftfrom “at risk” to “homeless”, showing that youths with experience of homelessness are more likely to have been placed in substitute home environments, have experienced significant relationship difficulties with one of their parents (deterioration ofthe parent/youth relationship and parental abuse) and to have been diagnosed with behavioral disorders. The findings suggest that the decision to place young people under supervision is based more on the dynamic between risk factors rather than on the existence of behavioral problems.     

Increasing Child Serving Professionals’ Awareness and Understanding of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

ABSTRACT

Child serving professionals need increased understanding of the identification and therapeutic needs of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a training program aimed to increase awareness of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) among professionals likely to encounter victims in their work. Professionals’ (N = 227) knowledge level was examined prior to the training, immediately thereafter, and in a 6–12 month follow-up. Despite professional position or years of experience, participants had similar levels of CSEC knowledge before the training and all showed a significant improvement in their knowledge after the training. However, follow-up testing on a smaller subsample demonstrated that knowledge gains were not maintained. The analysis of the participants’ responses to how their behavior would change subsequent to the training revealed important themes including: (1) greater ability to identify/assess or recognize CSEC victims, (2) greater understanding and knowledge of CSEC, (3) increased ability to communicate, interact, and engage with CSEC victims, and (4) heightened desire to educate others and raise awareness about CSEC. Results also indicated that participants were very satisfied with the training and found it highly relevant to their work.     

One of the Boys?

This article argues that American media reports of the Jessica Lynch case illustrate some of the ways in which gender has been reordered, policed and disciplined within the United States (and North America more broadly) in the wake of 9/11 and in the context of war. The study of a key gendered representation of the war – and of the way gender interlocks with race, class, nationality and sexuality in these representations – tells us not only about how the war was sold to the American public, but also about the degree to which normative and disciplinary gender roles can be stretched, or not, within domestic society and the ways in which contemporary media portrayals of foreign adventures serve to reinforce these gender norms. Ultimately we argue that media portraits of Jessica Lynch demonstrate how little the simple inclusion of women in the military acts to disrupt sexist systems of power and meaning.     

Michelle Bachelet's Liderazgo Femenino (Feminine Leadership)

Evidence of military involvement in sexual exploitation and aggression against civilians on peacekeeping operations has led many feminists to question the appropriateness of using soldiers to create peace. They argue that the problems stem from a particular form of military masculinity, hegemonic within western militaries, associated with practices of strength, toughness and aggressive heterosexuality. Masculinities, however, are multiple, dynamic and contradictory. As they are constructed in relation to the contexts men find themselves in, involvement in peacekeeping may itself play a role in the construction of alternative military masculinities. Examining autobiographical accounts of soldiers involved in peacekeeping in Bosnia in the 1990s, I argue that there is evidence of an alternative discourse of ‘peacekeeper masculinity’, but question whether it fully challenges the hegemony of the warrior model. I acknowledge that peacekeeper masculinity is also problematic because although it disrupts elements of the traditional linkages between militarism and masculinity, it still relies on a feminized and racialized ‘Other’. Yet, I suggest that this is not the only way in which peacekeeper masculinity can be viewed. It can alternatively be considered part of a ‘regendered military’, which may be a necessary component of successful conflict resolution.     

Family Migration: The Role of Children and Education in Family Decision‐Making Strategies of Polish Migrants in London

Poland’s accession to the European Union in May 2004 brought many new possibilities and opportunities for Polish migrants to the United Kingdom. However, the focus on individual migrants has underestimated the complex roles of families in migration strategies and decision making. This paper brings together data from two studies of Polish migrants in London. In 2006–2007, we carried out a qualitative study, Recent Polish Migrants in London. That research examined how families may be reconfigured in different ways through migration, for example, transnational networks and splits within families. While the study participants represented varied examples of family reunification, they also revealed the complex decision making processes about leaving, staying, rejoining and returning. In our most recent study, Polish Children in London Primary Schools, we interviewed parents, who had migrated with children, about their experiences and expectations of London schools. This study revealed that the age of children was usually a factor in family migration decision making. There was a common expectation that younger children could easily adapt to a new school and learn English quickly. Drawing on the findings of these two studies, this paper will explore firstly, the variety of family migration strategies and secondly, the factors that inform migrants’ decisions to bring their families (especially children) or to leave them back home. Finally, the paper concludes by considering some of the policy implications of our findings.     

A Rapid Review of Sexual Wellbeing Definitions and Measures: Should We Now Include Sexual Wellbeing Freedom?

An increasing number of studies refer to sexual wellbeing and/or seek to measure it, and the term appears across various policy documents, including sexual health frameworks in the UK. We conducted a rapid review to determine how sexual wellbeing has been defined, qualitatively explored and quantitatively measured. Eligible studies selected for inclusion from OVID Medline, PsychInfo, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL were: in English language, published after 2007, were peer-reviewed full articles, focused on sexual wellbeing (or proxies for, e.g. satisfaction, function), and quantitatively or qualitatively assessed sexual wellbeing. We included studies with participants aged 16–65. Given study heterogeneity, our synthesis and findings are reported using a narrative approach. We identified 162 papers, of which 10 offered a definition of sexual wellbeing. Drawing upon a socio-ecological model, we categorised the 59 dimensions we identified from studies under three main domains: cognitive-affect (31 dimensions); inter-personal (22 dimensions); and socio-cultural (6 dimensions). Only 11 papers were categorised under the socio-cultural domain, commonly focusing on gender inequalities or stigma. We discuss the importance of conceptualising sexual wellbeing as individually experienced but socially and structurally influenced, including assessing sexual wellbeing freedom: a person’s freedom to achieve sexual wellbeing, or their real opportunities and liberties.     

Contemporary Political Thought and Its Implications for Social Studies Teachers

When social studies students have a role in the processes of designing assignments, constructing rubrics, and conducting assessments, they participate in authentic democratic principles relative to their own learning. When given voice, choice, and ownership in their education, social studies students gain opportunities to strengthen their depth of engagement, expand their breadth of responsibility, and increase their degree of satisfaction. Concomitantly, incorporating genuine collaboration helps social studies teachers enhance their teaching effectiveness and improve their overall classroom assessment systems. Ultimately, these techniques help social studies teachers empower their students to live the social studies they are learning in class and apply the concepts to the contexts of their lives. Thus, the learning process becomes more meaningful, productive, and rewarding.