Search

The criminal justice system, the criminal enforcement system and the prison system are realities built from an androcentric perspective. The fact that only a small part of the crimes that are prosecuted and sentenced have been committed by women places them in a minority position in the enforcement system, which means they have less access to resources and services. This paper aims to analyse what strategies have been undertaken in recent years in order to introduce gender-based transformations in criminal enforcement in Catalonia and to determine what challenges remain. Firstly, we present quantitative and qualitative data relating to the population of women in prison. We then analyse how the passing of new legislation aimed at recognising and extending the principle of equality and non-discrimination in Catalonia impacts criminal enforcement, favouring the deployment of initiatives such as the creation of gender referents for penitentiary centres and specific programmes for women in prison. After reviewing some interesting initiatives promoted from outside the Catalan territory, the paper concludes with six proposals aimed at improving the situation of women who come in contact with the criminal enforcement system and at introducing a gender perspective in the penitentiary system.

Introduction. Somatic symptoms with no organic cause are more prevalent among women than among men, with mental health problems generated by gender and social norms mainly being presented by females, to which the health system tends to provide an exclusively medicalised response. It is possible to implement group interventions that address the consequences of divergent socialisation hinging on gender as regards mental health, with these efforts having a positive impact on perceptions of well-being. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of socio-educational groups on the participants, using a qualitative methodology. Methodology. We conducted ten semi-structured interviews with participants in the socio-educational groups. Sample selection was intentional, selecting ten participants on the basis of the following variables: age, level of education, marital status, employment status, income level, and the size of the municipality in which they resided. This theoretical sampling technique allowed us to guarantee the heterogeneity of the participants and their discourse. To analyse the information, we applied a phenomenological and critical approach, and conducted a process of thematic analysis. Results. Well-being is the main theme that emerges from the analysis of the information, grouping together different sub-themes and properties. In the female participants discourse we noted that socio-educational groups helped them approach their lives differently, allowing them to feel better on the personal and relational levels. The coping mechanisms observed included problem-focused (questioning, gender awareness, acting on the problem, self-determination, social relations and integration into the labour market) and emotion-focused strategies (relativisation, acceptance and living in the present, relaxation techniques and emotional expression). Discussion. This study contributes to an understanding of how socio-educational groups offered a good strategy to improve participants’ mental health and perceived wellbeing by applying group work with a gender perspective. They provided a forum in which the participants became gender-aware, leading them to reconsider themselves and their lives, find new explanations for their experiences, and realise their ability to develop their creativity in the face of guilt and fear, allowing them to pursue new life projects. Conclusions. The results are consistent with the literature, which indicates the existence of gender norms adversely affecting participants' mental health problems. These problems could be reduced through work undertaken in socio-educational groups that enables them to develop new coping strategies. The implications for social policies include evaluating the potential of incorporating this type of strategy into the portfolio of public health services, as well as assessing the relevance of creating and carrying out socio-educational groups with men. With a view to the future, it would be valuable to establish qualitative measures over time to observe any changes in the participants’ discourse and experiences.

This research paper presents a queer feminist analysis of gendered discourses in South Africa’s (SA) (2020-2025) National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). It builds on an extensive field of WPS scholarship by using the case study of SA’s NAP to illustrate how policy can be used to harness critical gendered language and create possibilities for radical (re)imaginings of gendered peace. While a considerable knowledge base that explores the gendered discourses of NAPs on WPS already exists, a key gap in the literature —that has only more recently begun to be explored with greater rigor— is the bridging of queer and feminist theories to further push the boundaries of discursive policy analysis. Against this backdrop, feminist critical discourse analysis (CDA) was applied to the NAP case study to surface dominant and counter-discourses on gender and their possible inclusionary/exclusionary effects. Key findings centre the potential value of policy discourses which, in their fragmentation, ruptures, continuities and ambivalences, can facilitate opportunities for queer peace at the instrumental level and beyond.

The primary objective of this paper is to study and understand which factors determine the use or the non-use of ethnic resources in the business strategies of immigrant business women in Madrid. To achieve this goal, we studied the relationship between the structural factors of the host society, the resources that may be available to immigrant women in the context of their ethnic communities, and other individual characteristics. In this study, it is used a qualitative approach. We conducted 27 semi-structured interviews with immigrant entrepreneurs from Latin America (Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru), Africa (Morocco and Senegal), and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria and Romania). The main conclusions reveal that the difference regarding the use of ethnic resources lies in the following factors: social networks, legal status, having access to ethnic resources, business location, and entrepreneur women’s origin.

In this paper, it is tried to approach the reality of Sayago (Zamora), in order to investigate the elements that affect the construction of the desire to leave rural areas through the relationship between girls and space, because they are understood as a significant dimensions by focusing on the discursive constructions, images and perceptions of young rural women about their home village. In this way, the results show that the experience of young rural women reflects an affective topology and rhythms that arises from the relationship between their bodily hexis and the geographical spaces in which they are situated. These processes are intrinsical to their subjectivities, and they structure the way in which this youth women sail in their future, so that, when the cultural ideals that sustain life in the village cease to be desirable, the urban life model is imposed as valid in its imaginary.

When gender equality in Ecuador is discussed, it is important to relate inequality and exclusion, which are a hierarchical system of belonging. There is such a common reality in societies where gender equality is erroneously identified or the achievements in terms of women’s rights are superficially studied, behind or decreased for many years by all the societies. Gender is not synonymous of women, feminism or sex, but it is strongly related with these terms, it is more complex that has to do with the constitutive element of social and power relations. Unfortunately, the problem is still in force and with a lot to discuss, some doctrinaire state that perhaps the solution is that men and women share, on equal terms of conditions and responsibilities, but this is not necessarily the tip of the iceberg. This paper provides a brief history of the participation of women in public service, emphasizing in recent years, in which gender equality in political and public life of Ecuadorian women emerges.

Feminist frameworks have focused on gender inequality as the fundamental explanatory factor of male violence against women in union. This paper extends the analysis to contributions produced through social research. The approaches studied consider the personal characteristics of victims and aggressors (individual focus), the male-female power relationship within the couple (dyadic focus), and structural and symbolic factors (macro-social focus). An exploration of the respective contributions of these different perspectives shows that they offer only partial, inadequate approaches, given the multidimensional complexity of the problem. The main conclusions recognize that it is necessary to develop multi-level and inter-relational analytical frameworks such as the intersectional paradigm, in order to achieve a better understanding of the connection between gender inequality and male violence against women.

This research paper goes through some of the issues women face in the labour market, as an entrepreneur in new business ventures, and as the owner of those businesses. It considers the relevant research literature on those topics, difficulties for further development and the main challenges women still face nowadays.The expected deliverables comprise a thorough investigation of those topics, highlighting the latest findings on women’s issues, workplace discrimination in areas such as management, and entrepreneurship, and also adding in research results on women’s performance when they are at the forefront of their business ventures.The areas covered in this research are: economic, since it refers to entrepreneurship equity; educational, since a global revolution is currently under way; labour, due to the existence of discrimination when compared to some of her peers,; ethical- religious-cultural, due to its global impact; psycological, when referring to personal values such as self-esteem, failure, happiness, achievement, independence, self-trust, excellence, resilience, involvement, family responsibility, among others; and lastly biological, when it involves maternity, and family/child/elderly/handicapped care.This research focuses on three issues of interest: a) women and the workplace (going out to work away from home; establishing; generating revenue; performing in a variety of work fields; quitting the paid worker post pursuing the entrepreneurship opportunity); b) elements impeding personal development, profiling, management style, and performance level, comparing to that of male peers, c) the growing of role of women into entrepreneurship, her performance as owner of small businesses, and her contribution to the development of emerging countries, as in the case of Chile.

Domestic service comprises multiples dimensions that are related not only to the labour issues of women from popular sectors but also to the situation of social inequality that is at the root of this activity. The analysis that we propose in this text begins with the study of the construction of hierarchies and categorization that takes place in the context of interaction between employees and employers in the city of Buenos Aires. Specifically, this paper analyzes the place that food occupies in the context of the mentioned interactions, as an element through which social hierarchies are built. Our fieldwork was carried out in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 2010 and 2011, following a qualitative approach.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the role of women in the so called caminhada (march) to a land reform project in the State of Pará, Brazil. When a woman decides to join the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) (Landless Workers’ Movement) she may enter into conflict with her social environment. In the light of the changes happening due to her militancy, I want to elucidate the reasons for her involvement, examine female contributions during the settlement process and the changes this process may cause in their lives. The analysis is based upon a fieldwork conducted in a land reform hamlet near the city of Castanhal in northeastern Pará. Three case studies of female militancy are examined. Some of the outcomes of this analysis are that the role of women in this process is prominent because they are its most important support; they are assuming pioneer functions, organizing domestic and public tasks in the settlement and play the role of articulators between the different households. Due to their militancy poor urban and rural women are able to step out of their invisibility, often suffered in Brazilian society, and make an important contribution to the construction of a new life.

This paper studies Colombian migration to Sweden. It focuses on its development, processes and official policies. It analyses the socio-economic composition and work background of Colombian migrants in the city of Gothenburg as well as its process of integration to the Sweden society during the last twenty years. The study centers the analysis on family cores, associative strategies of the community, and emphasizes on women and forced exiles. Survey techniques, interviews, and the ethnographic method are thus used in order to describe and interpret available information.