Preventing Homelessness due to Domestic Violence: Providing a Safe Space or Closing the Door to New Possibilities?

Domestic violence has been recognized as a major contributory factor to homelessness in the UK and elsewhere, with women more likely to be affected. In the UK and other countries undergoing welfare reform, moves toward 'active citizenship' increase the complexity of the relationship between states and citizens and open up new strategies for both. However, analysts have noted some strategies can create new forms of inequality, including gender-based ones. This article considers the impact of prevention-centred homelessness policy responses to domestic violence, with specific reference to the 'Sanctuary' model. Sanctuary schemes support women facing homelessness due to domestic violence to remain in their current residence, protected against attack from outside the home. Drawing on analysis of the literature and empirical work, we compare the experiences of women who have used traditional forms of support and Sanctuary services. We argue that while the model has the potential to provide greater autonomy to some women in these circumstances, it is not appropriate for all. Increased emphasis on Sanctuary schemes could make it more difficult for women who might prefer to move. We conclude that more attention needs to be paid to addressing the origin of women's homelessness due to domestic violence.     

A Comparative Discussion of the Gendered Implications of Cash-for-Care Schemes: Markets, Independence and Social Citizenship in Crisis?

There are moves across many countries away from state-led provision of services for disabled people towards cash-based systems, which have been welcomed by disabled people as increasing choice and control over services and support, and increasing independence and social participation. However, feminist scholars have long warned about the implications of commodifying care for women, and the possible consequences of substituting cash for services for social citizenship have remained underexplored, for both disabled people generally, disabled women and mothers more particularly, and for personal assistants/care workers. This article will attempt to address that gap by carrying out a comparative literature review and policy analysis of the role of policy development and outcomes in cash-for-care schemes, looking comparatively across policy developments in several countries, as well as developed welfare states beyond Europe to examine: (a) the impact of the tensions between various governance levels, particularly local and national government; (b) the gendered impact of such policies on (for example) gendered divisions of paid and unpaid work, citizenship and social participation; (c) the impact such policies have, or are likely to have, on different groups of men and women across the life course and across different social and economic groups; and (d) how such policies can contribute to the well-being and/or detriment of different groups of women (and men) within different social, political, economic and historical contexts.     

Intersection of Ethnicity,Gender and Class: Oriental Faculty Women in Israel

Ethnicity, gender and class are the major factors of social inequality and have been studied extensively leading to a large literature pertaining to each one of them. The issue of the intersection of ethnicity, gender and class has been introduced into the social sciences by feminist critical theory. Intersection theory postulates that minority groups are discriminated against on the basis of more than one characteristic which are “inextricably tied” leading to complex forms of inequality in various social domains. This study examines the intertwined effects of these factors as they are experienced and narrated by Mizrachi women (19) who are employed in universities and colleges. Although the intersection approach is generally supported by the data it was found that under certain conditions ethnicity, gender and class may be separated. One type of decomposition is when one identity encroaches upon another or others; the second is the separation of diverse identities assigning them to different life areas. These change processes do not support stereotypical dichotomies between Ashkenazi and Mizrachi, women and men and so on, and enable the creation of new hybrid identities.

The State of American Boyhood

The existence of a “boy crisis” in the United States is a topic of public policy debate. This study examines the state of American boyhood, using not only the commonly reviewed indicators of school achievement but also mental health, premature death, injury, delinquency, and arrests. Boys are in trouble in many areas: low rates of literacy, low grades and engagement in school, high dropout from school, and dramatically higher rates of placement in special education, suicide, premature death, injuries, and arrests. Girls, however, suffer from other problems, especially depression, suicidal ideation and attempts, and eating disorders, and are less likely to achieve at the very highest levels in mathematics and science. This study argues that both boys and girls suffer from characteristic problems, but the issues affecting boys are serious and neglected.

The Window of Ritual: Seeing the Intentions and Emotions of ‘Doing’ Gender

My goal in this paper is to revisit interaction ritual theory as a theoretical underpinning of West and Zimmerman’s ‘doing’ gender paradigm in order to develop a more nuanced understanding of what is taking place inside the interactions of men and women as they ‘do’ gender. Recent work in ritual theory, specifically the work of Bell (Ritual theory, ritual practice, 1992) and Collins (Interaction ritual chains, 2004) expands the role of the individual in the ritual process by conceptualizing ritual as a form of ‘practice’ that can be mobilized in the pursuit of emotional energy. Through the narratives of 24 married couples, I explore how domestic labor functions as an interaction ritual that is driven by ‘emotional energy’. This emotional energy shapes the localized intentions of men and women as they ‘do’ gender thus transforming gender into something that we ‘use’ as well as ‘do’. These emotions and intentions can be seen most clearly through a new ‘window’ of ritual.

‘There's a huge gulf between me as a male carer and women': Gender,domestic responsibility,and the community as an institutional arena

This paper explores the persistent link between women and domestic responsibility, a link that has been heavily documented and yet much less frequently theorised. Drawing on a qualitative research project with a 'critical case' study sample of couples trying to share housework and childcare in Britain in the early 1990s the paper argues that part of this puzzle linking women and domestic responsibility can be addressed by adopting wider definitions of domestic responsibility and of community. While domestic responsibility is often conceived as family labour that occurs within families/households, it also has inter-household, inter-institutional and community dimensions. With regard to a wider conceptualisation of the community, the paper argues that the community is more than a social institution; it is an institutional arena within which families/households, inter-household relations, community-based social networks and a wide array of community activities occur. The overall findings and implications of the research presented in this paper are three-fold. First, gendered socially constructed norms and gendered community-based social networks are highlighted as important factors that help to account for the persistent link between women and domestic responsibility. Second, taking cues from research carried out in Third World and low-income Western communities, it is important to shift research agendas on domestic divisions of labour to focus not only on intra-household divisions but also inter-household and intra-community relations. Third, the need is highlighted for greater attention to the links between socially constructed norms on masculinities, men's friendships and domestic responsibility. Este articulo explora la conexión persistente entre las mujeres y la responsabilidad doméstica. Se ha documentado mucho veces esta conexión pero se ha teorizado muy pocas veces. Se hace uso de una investigación cualitativa con un estudio tipo 'caso crítico' del cual proviene una muestra de parejas que intentan compartir las tareas domésticas y el cuidado de los niños, y se sostiene que se puede tratar parte de este enigma que une a las mujeres con la responsabilidad doméstica si se adoptan unas definiciones mas amplias de la responsabilidad doméstica y de la comunidad. Mientras que a menudo se suele concebir la responsabilidad doméstica como trabajo familiar que tiene lugar dentro de las familias/los hogares, también tiene dimensiones inter-hogares, inter-institucionales y comunitarias. Con respecto a una conceptualización mas amplia de la comunidad, este artículo sostiene que la comunidad es más que una institución social; es un ruedo institucional (Goetz, 1997) dentro del cual se encuentran las familias/los hogares, las relaciones inter-hogares, las redes sociales basadas en la comunidad y una amplia gama de actividades comunitarias. Tienen tres aspectos las conclusiones e implicaciones globales que se presentan en este artículo. Primero, se ponen de relieve las connotaciones de género, que se evidencian en las normas sociales y en las redes sociales basadas en la comunidad, como factores importantes que ayudan a explicar la conexión persistente entre las mujeres y la responsabilidad doméstica. Segundo, es importante seguir el ejemplo de investigaciones realizadas en el tercer mundo y en las comunidades occidentales de bajos ingresos, y cambiar el enfoque de las investigaciones de las divisiones domésticas del labor para centrarse no sólo en las divisiones entre el hogar sino también en las relaciones entre los hogares y entre la comunidad. Tercero, realzo la necesidad de prestar mas atencion a los vínculos entre las normas sociales sobre las masculinidades, las amistades entre los hombres y la responsabilidad doméstica.     

中国城市性别收入差距研究

本文利用三年城镇住户调查数据研究在不同收入水平的群体里性别收入差距的程度以及成因。研究发现在1980年代,性别收入差距程度较小并且在各个收入水平上类似。而到了1990年代以后,性别收入差距的程度有所扩大并且主要集中在低收入群体里。本文还发现在低收入群体里较大的性别收入差距主要是由性别歧视造成的。本文由此建议社会更加关注低学历、低收入的女性劳动者,保护她们的权利,该群体是劳动力市场上最弱势的群体。     

The Gender Dimension of Social Policy Reform in Turkey: Towards Equal Citizenship?

This article discusses the current social policy reform process in Turkey from a gender perspective. Until now, social security and labour regulations have provided women with special benefits and protections. Depending on the particular case, these gender‐specific policies can be interpreted differently – as positive discrimination, satisfying practical gender interests, or as a reinforcement of traditional gender norms and relations, stigmatizing women as a weaker, vulnerable group in need of special protection. Ongoing reform initiatives, however, neutralize most of these long‐lasting gendered policies, either by terminating rights formerly enjoyed only by women or by extending these rights to men as well. The article questions this changing nature of social policy as to whether it promises equal citizenship for women or increases their vulnerability, in the absence of former benefits and without sufficient policy measures for improved capability.     

Women,Health and Housing Assistance: Implications in an Emerging Era of Housing Provision

Women and the households that they head are over‐represented among the most economically and socially disadvantaged households in Australia. Recent changes in the provision of housing assistance for low income households in Australia have distinct implications for women and this paper examines the implications of these changes. Shifting the emphasis in housing assistance away from publicly provided and rent‐controlled housing to direct subsidisation of rents for private tenants has important, largely negative, consequences for the health, affordability and security of housing for many women. This situation is made worse given the current housing affordability crisis in Australia; a crisis that extends across all private housing tenures.     

Florida ADs and Homologous Reproduction

Kanter’s (Men and women of the corporation, Basic Books, New York, 1977) proposition that those in control within organizations sustain their dominance through homologous reproduction was first applied to sport by [Knoppers, Quest 39(1):9–22, 1987]. Applying the construct to interscholastic athletics in Ohio (Stangl and Kane, Sociol Sport J 8:47–60, 1991) and in Texas (Lovett and Lowry, J Sport Manage 8:27–35, 1994) researchers were able to provide a theoretical foundation to support the anecdotal “good old boys network” which prevailed in high school athletics. This study conducted in Florida determined that while sport remained a male dominated institution, homologous reproduction did not appear to be the factor sustaining the current organizational structure within interscholastic athletic departments.