International Rule of Law and Rule of Law Construction in China

The rule of law has international as well as domestic attributes, so it can be divided into two levels: the domestic rule of law and the international rule of law. Using the thinking behind the international rule of law to build the rule of law in China is both necessary and inevitable. China should put into practice the idea of the international rule of law at the institutional and the governance levels, and should at the same time participate in the UN’s rule of law activities and in international rule-making, thereby extending its rule of law discourse power and influence in the international sphere.     

Domestic Violence, Criminal Justice Responses and Homelessness: Finding the Connection and Addressing the Problem

As more social scientists examine the female side of social issues a host of questions are answered and further inquiries form in the wings. Two fields where much detailed and valuable information on women have been provided, and many questions still remain, are social work and criminal justice. A meeting point for these disciplines lies in the area of homelessness and females. By most accounts, a sizable proportion of homeless women, many of whom are mothers, become homeless due to domestic abuse. Knowledge of ineffective criminal justice responses to domestic violence leaves one to ponder whether there exists a connection between lack of social control in domestic abuse calls and the onset of female homelessness. The present work addresses this knowledge gap and suggests future research necessary to delineate a proposed link between weak criminal justice responses and female homelessness. Policy initiatives to correct these flaws are provided as well.     

Hopes and Fears: Teenage Mothers’ Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence

Research has shown that pregnancy and motherhood increase the risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) — physical, sexual and emotional — in relationships. Much of this research, however, explores this issue in relation to adults and little attention has been given to the experiences of pregnant teenagers or teenage mothers in violent relationships. This paper focuses on three main areas to explore this, disadvantage, sexual negotiations and stigma, and draws upon interviews conducted by the authors with 16 teenage mothers in the UK as part of a wider study about IPV in the relationships of disadvantaged young people.     

Domestic help and the gender division of domestic labor during the COVID-19 pandemic: Gender inequality among Japanese parents

The enduring COVID-19 pandemic has gradually transformed our everyday lives. This study focuses on changes in work and family arrangements, with particular focus on changes in domestic help, and examines its impact on the division of domestic labor. Using a social survey of work and the family conducted in November 2020 and May 2021, the results show that from January 2020 (pre-pandemic) to May 2021, approximately 40% of respondents experienced a reduced gender gap for housework and childcare, while a large gender gap is still observed in the absolute frequency of undertaking domestic labor. Some lifestyle changes triggered by the pandemic, such as an increase in the use of takeaways or delivery meals, and the expansion of working from home, are found to be able to contribute a shift toward more equal sharing of domestic labor. However, the fact that the access to such lifestyle changes is more common among those with a relatively high income or high educational background suggests that the lifestyle changes imposed by the pandemic may exacerbate class disparities in the gender gap in domestic labor. Furthermore, the results show that decreased kinship support results in a greater childcare burden being placed on women.     

Men,masculinities, and gender-based violence: The broadening scope of recent research

Men's relationships to gender-based violence (GBV) have long been an area of sociological inquiry, but until recently men have primarily been framed as perpetrators of violence against women. More recently, research on men and GBV has broadened to include studying men as victims/survivors, as investigators and law enforcement officers, as passive or active bystanders, and as allies in working to address this social problem. We review this research in an effort to bridge these divergent bodies of work; we identify methodological trends and gaps in existing research, make recommendations for improved theoretical and methodological robustness, and suggest that research perspectives on men and GBV have shifted over time as wider understandings of gender and masculinities become more hopeful and more inclusive. While we see optimism and promise in new directions of GBV research, we urge ongoing research to retain the wisdoms and critical perspectives that marked the beginnings of GBV inquiry.     

Unfair to Me or Unfair to My Spouse: Men's and Women's Perceptions of Domestic Equity and How They Relate to Mental and Physical Health

Research examining the relationship between household labor and health has not sufficiently considered perceptions of domestic equity, physical health, or potential gender differences in these relationships. Using survey data from 1,234 lawyers, we examine how perceptions of domestic equity are related to mental and physical health and whether these relationships differ by gender. The results indicate that perceiving the division of household labor as unfair to oneself is related to poorer mental health, whereas perceiving the division as unfair to one's spouse is related to poorer physical health, regardless of gender. This article demonstrates the importance of treating perceptions of unfairness to oneself and one's spouse as distinct experiences, while also considering the wider context wherein these relationships exist.     

Therapeutic Responses to Domestic Violence in Australia: A History of Controversies

This paper reviews controversies about domestic violence occurring in heterosexual relationships discussed in the Australian context by practitioners and academics and published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy over the past three decades. Controversies arose in relation to the provision of therapeutic interventions for domestic violence, primarily in individual and couple counselling and group programs. After a literature review, the following controversial issues are identified: (1) the role of patriarchy: Is a patriarchal culture the main cause of domestic violence? (2) Systemic family therapy and gendered violence: Does systemic family therapy hide men's responsibility for domestic violence? (3) Therapeutic and educational interventions for domestic violence: Does therapy turn a ‘crime’ into a ‘psychological problem’? (4) Men as victims: Do both men and women perpetrate domestic violence in equal measure? (5) It takes two to tango: What part do women play in eliciting men's violence?