Thèses sur le sujet « Women – Legal status, laws, etc. – Social aspects »

This thesis addresses the problems related to the assessment of gender-based claims of persecution under the international definition of 'refugee'. The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees does not list 'gender' as one of the persecution grounds that entitle a person to seek refuge. In attempting to solve this apparent dilemma, the 'membership of a particular social group' category was long considered to be the appropriate assessment framework.
While nowadays the other four enumerated Convention grounds---race, religion, nationality, and political opinion---have increasingly received regard, the approach to gender-based persecution has so far been neither systematic, nor consistent. Moreover, the most critical interpretative hurdles continue to arise in the context of the 'membership of a particular social group' category,
This study therefore examines the link between the two concepts of gender-based persecution and the 'membership of a particular social group' category. For this purpose, both concepts are first considered independently (Parts II and III). Following this, the larger part of the analysis is assigned to the examination of the international case law concerning gender-based claims (Part IV) which shall determine if and how gender-based persecution can appropriately be accommodated under the 'membership of a particular social group' category,

Recent feminist criticism has resulted in remarkable changes to the interpretation of the refugee definition. Case law, academic commentaries and gender guidelines now recognize that women may constitute a particular social group under the definition of refugee. However, only those who belong to certain subgroups of women are usually granted asylum because being a woman only is considered too broad to comprise a particular social group. Such restrictive interpretation is theoretically and practically problematic, and it is the primary cause for the inconsistency in the interpretation of the definition of a particular social group and refugee determination in gender-based claims. Through an analysis of recent gender-based cases before the Canadian courts and the Immigration and Refugee Board, this paper argues that this inconsistency will be avoided when categorization of women does not require female claimants to prove characteristics other than their gender. Female refugees who are persecuted for being women do not need to provide additional reasons for their suffering, and this broad categorization of women should be consistently applied in Canada.

The study investigates the human rights violations that underlie widowhood practices in Cape Coast and Komenda in the Central Region of Ghana. Review of the relevant literature on widowhood practices suggests that widowhood practices are a global cultural phenomenon, which is not confined to Sub-Sahara Africa. A survey of relevant studies on the phenomenon suggests that there are two competing perceptions on African widowhood practices: (1) a dominant negative perspective and (2) a minor positive perspective. The dominant negative perspective, which receives overwhelming research attention, focuses only on the negative characteristics of widowhood while the minor positive perspective which receives scanty research attention, rejects the criticisms levelled against widowhood practices as being externally influenced by Christianity and Western Feminism. Various stakeholders within the Akan community were given an opportunity to retell their own versions of widowhood practices. In order to achieve this purpose, the research extracted competing narratives from all the multiple sample subgroups of the proposed study: widows; widow family heads; chiefs; widowhood ritual practitioners; elderly female supervisors of widowhood practices; an official from the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ); an official from the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MOWAC); and an official from the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of Ghana. The study found out that despite legislative intervention and policy frameworks, the practice still persist among the Akan communities in Ghana. The reasons for the continued existence of such rituals are explained followed by recommendations for possible solutions.

The objective of this treatise is to establish whether a right to social security exists in South Africa, which would entitle HIV positive persons in South Africa citizens to medical care. A study was made of various articles in journals and on the Internet to determine the South African government's policy on a right to social security and to providing medical treatment. It was found that South Africa lacks an integrated, holistic approach to social security and does not guarantee the right to social security, merely the right to have access to social security. The same was found with the right to medical care. Although there seems to be a general right to medical care which extends to and includes HIV-positive patients, the state merely guarantees the right to apply for medical treatment but does not guarantee the granting thereof. It is submitted that the Department of Health's refusal to implement a vertical transmission prevention programme and the failure to offer treatment as an alternative, for whatever reason, is "penny wise and pound foolish". In the long run more money is spent dealing with pediatric AIDS. It was further found that although the government attempted to lay a groundwork with the formulation and acceptance of the national AIDS plan, the successful implementation thereof is seriously hindered due to the lack of inter- and intra-departmental collaboration, essential health services and funding.

Society's attitudes toward criminal offenders changed dramatically over the nineteenth century. By the early twentieth century the system of handling offenders in Montreal was highly institutionalized and based on sex- and age-specific treatment involving the Catholic Church, civic and legal authorities, and Protestant reform organizations.
A thematic study of the relationship of female offenders, concerned organizations, and the criminal justice system at the height of industrial capitalism shows that as the economy expanded and the city grew, there were increasing opportunities for women to break the law. Women's crimes were largely determined by their socio-economic status in Canadian society, often crimes of poverty and survival. The growing potential to commit crime was met with a more organized and institutionalized response and the definition of what was considered wayward female behaviour broadened. The growth of the state over the latter part of the nineteenth century in the form of new and expanded juridical and penal structures resulted in an increase in disciplining the population. For women this meant the use of laws and institutions to punish inappropriate social and sexual behaviour.
This thesis explores the gender-specific treatment of female offenders in the new institutions created ostensibly to rescue them: Fullum Street Prison for Women, the Ecole de Reforme, the Girls' Cottage Industrial School, the Juvenile Delinquents' Court, and the female police force. It looks at the construction of "criminal" and "bad" and the flexible usage of certain laws to curb unruly behaviour.

This was a phenomenological study undertaken to understand women's experience of the workers' compensation system. Eleven women were interviewed. They ranged in age from twenty-five to sixty-five years and represented diverse socio-economic and educational backgrounds. All women were from a non-indigenous background. The initial question to women was "Can you tell me what it is like to be involved in the workers' compensation system?" The narratives were analysed and interpreted using Hycner's (1985) phenomenological guidelines. Five core themes were found: negative versus positive/neutral experiences, the workplaces response and role in the process, women's experiences of payouts and tribunals, reasons why women may not claim workers' compensation, and the impact of the process on each women and their family(s). Acker's theory of 'gendered institutions' was used to understand why "many apparently gender-neutral processes are sites of gender production" (Acker, 1992b, p. 249). The experiences of the eleven women suggested that the workers' compensation system in Queensland is gendered; 'The women indicated that the workers compensation process was a disincentive to making a claim. WorkCover was viewed as siding with the employer, bureaucratic in nature and lacking values associated with empathy, sympathy and caring. Recommendations for improvements to the workers' compensation included: establish legal obligations and enforcement of occupational health and safety responsibilities to injured or ill workers; adoption of occupational health and safety values by employers; change the attitudes of employers (recognising women as breadwinners and workers are not disposable); a single case manager to advocate for injured or ill workers; recognition of mental and emotional consequences of an injury or illness provision of rehabilitation that recognises mental and emotional factors as well as the importance of family participation; greater involvement of employers and employees in the rehabilitation process; and finally, improved service delivery which involves consistency, ethics, clarity, (regarding the WorkCover process for injured workers and employers), accountability and involvement of all parties. The knowledge embedded in the interviews, expressed through core stories and themes, was essential to making women's voices visible and providing an insight into service delivery based on women's experiences and needs.

This dissertation examined the relationship between support services for adult survivors of sexual assault and judicial outcomes. Specifically, this study explored survivors' willingness to participate in the judicial process. Although "victim unwilling to participate" is the primary reason given by the police for cases not progressing to prosecution, we know little about most aspects of survivors' willingness to participate in the judicial process, especially beyond initial reporting of the assault. The steps to prosecution are dependent on one another yet a survivor's willingness to participate in these steps is a fluid process. The primary research question explored was Are there clusters of survivors according to their responses to specific items on a Willingness to Participate scale? Additional research questions focused on differences among possible clusters of survivors. A semi-structured interview protocol was completed with 46 survivors of adult sexual assault. Cluster analysis was conducted and three clusters emerged. Findings suggest that support services were helpful to those who were highly willing to participate but that willingness was insufficient to influence judicial outcomes. Future research concerning judicial outcomes in sexual assault cases should focus on strategies to dispel myths about rape among survivors, within the judicial system, and with potential jurors as a means of improving both survivor participation and judicial outcomes.

During the antebellum period of U.S. slavery (1830-1861), many people claimed ownership of the enslaved woman's body, both legally and figuratively. The assumption that they were merely property, however, belies the unstable, shifting truths about bodily ownership. This thesis inquires into the gendered specifics and ambiguities of the law, the body, and women under slavery. By examining the particular bodily regulation and exploitation of enslaved women, especially around their reproductive labor, I suggest that new operations of oppression and also of resistance come into focus. The legal structure recognized enslaved women in the interest of owners, and this limitation was defining, meaning that justice flowed in one direction. If married white women were "civilly dead," as famously evoked by the Declaration of Sentiments (1848) then enslaved women were civilly non-existent. The law controlled, but did not protect slaves, and a number of opponents to slavery denounced this contradictory scenario during the antebellum era (and before). Literally, enslaved women were claimed by their masters, purchased and sold as chattel. Physically, they were claimed by those men (both white and black) who sought to have power over them. Symbolically, they were claimed by anti-slavers and pro-slavers alike when it suited their purposes, often in the domains of news and literature, for the sake of advancing their ideas, a rich record of which fills court cases, newsprint, and propaganda touching the slavery issue before the civil war. Due to the numerous ways that enslaved women's bodies have been claimed, owned, or circulated in markets, it may have been considered implicit to many that others owned their bodies. I believe that this is an oversimplified historical supposition that needs to be re-theorized. Indeed, enslaved women lived in a time when they were often led to believe that their bodies were not truly their own, and yet, many of them resisted their particular forms of oppression by claiming ownership of their bodies and those of their children; sometimes using rather extreme methods to keep from contributing to their oppression. In other words, slave owners' monopoly of the legal, economic, and logistical meanings of ownership of slaves had to be constantly reaffirmed and negotiated. This thesis asks: who owned the enslaved woman's body? I seek to emphasize that enslaved women were valid claimants of themselves as can seen in primary sources that today have only been given limited expression in the historiography.

The purpose of this study was to examine forensic social workers' levels of knowledge about skepticism toward Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) in light of the controversy that surrounds the diagnosis. Relationships between demographic and professional practice variables and workers' levels of knowledge and skepticism were analyzed to assess the possible etiology of skepticism toward DID.

[Truncated abstract] This thesis examines the social and legal dynamics of support as it operated around women charged before the criminal courts in the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century metropolis. It considers the nature and implications of the support made available to, or withheld from, female defendants by individuals to whom they were in some way connected. To this end, it explores the nuances of testimony offered by witnesses and defendants in an attempt to better understand the extent and effect of the support that could be negotiated by and from a range of groups, including family members, fellow household residents, neighbours and wider community members. How narratives were framed in either sympathetic or condemnatory terms was indicative of broader social attitudes and expectations regarding women and crime as well as of women's own relationships to households and neighbourhood. To the extent that this thesis aims to interrogate negotiations of support, it adopts legal narratives as a window through which to gain an insight into the social interactions and mediation of interpersonal relationships by eighteenth-century London women. The printed accounts of trials conducted at the Old Bailey and legal documents from the London and Middlesex Sessions records form the basis of the source material that contributed towards this study. These records provide contemporary narratives in which participants described their involvement in the legal system and articulated their relationships to events and to each other. As a result, they are invaluable for the wealth of qualitative detail they contain. These legal documents have also been complemented by other contemporary sources including newspaper reports and printed pamphlet literature. ... This thesis concludes first that neighbours and fellow household residents were usually in the strongest position to affect the outcome of criminal cases, either by offering assistance or disclosing incriminating information. The importance of household and neighbours rather than kin was closely tied to the domestic context in which many female crimes took place, and the 'insider knowledge' that was gained by living in close proximity to one another. However, if and when women retained links to family and kin who lived within travelling distance, they remained an important source of support. Secondly, the thesis identifies the detection and prosecution of crime as a gendered experience; contemporary social expectations about gender influenced both legal processes and the shaping of witness accounts. Thirdly, in its examination of local responses to female crime, the thesis supports the theory that a notable shift in sentiment towards female nature and legal culpability occurred during this period, which in turn affected the support offered to female defendants. Overall, the thesis demonstrates the paramount importance of witness testimony in articulating the circumstances surrounding female crimes, and the complex negotiations of interpersonal relationships which influenced how this evidence would be contextualised as supportive or not when it was delivered.

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Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq
This research is the result of inquiries relating to the many and cruel improsoned women`s rights violation in the prison system in the state of São Paulo. In order to carry out this study, the capitalist society`s path has been outlined considering this system as a way to underestimate women`s rights in this system. Furthermore, a prison system`s research was carried out in regards to mothers who are imprisoned as well as interviews with experts that work on this field in order to analyze how the Institutional policies in regards to the Public Deffender`s Office named “Mães em Cárcere“ [imprisoned mothers] as well as its performance and challenges. The policies for “Mães em Cárcere” were established in 2011 through dialogues involving Pastoral of Prisoners (Pastoral Carcerária), Land, Work and Citizenship Institute, Public Defender’s Office (Defensoria Pública) among other public institutions that aim at supporting this group. Given the fact that in the state of São Paulo is the place where an increase of criminality levels is observed, the research suggests there is a focus on criminalizing poor suburban work-class layers based on capital. This research finally aims at showing how our society violates these women`s rights leaving ever-lasting wounds in themselves and their families
A pesquisa que ora é apresentada é fruto de indagações referentes às diversas violações de direitos sofridas por mulheres mães encarceradas no sistema penitenciário do Estado de São Paulo. Para elaboração desta pesquisa, foi realizado um levantamento do percurso do sistema prisional em especial, no que tange as mulheres mães nessas instituições, como também, entrevistas com profissionais que atual nesse segmento. Ainda traz, conhecimento sobre a existência e de como se desenvolve a Política “Mães em Cárcere”, bem como sua atuação e seus principais desafios. A Política “Mães em Cárcere” foi constituída em 2011, através de diálogos entre a Pastoral Carcerária, Instituto Terra Trabalho e Cidadania (ITTC), Defensoria Pública e outros órgãos públicos, com objetivo de garantir os direitos das mulheres mães encarceradas, demarcando principalmente o Estado de São Paulo. Ademais, deu enfoque ao aumento abusivo do encarceramento em massa, com o discurso de atuar na chamada criminalidade, mas que demonstra uma clara intenção de criminalizar uma camada da classe trabalhadora que vive nos espaços mais segregados da sociedade, buscou-se nesta pesquisa, ressaltar as situações vivenciadas pelas mulheres mães encarceradas, sendo possível, constatar entre as diversas violações de direitos, que essas acontecem de formas brutais e perversas, deixando sequelas irreparáveis nas mulheres e suas famílias

Includes bibliography
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The human security concept challenges the traditional view of state security. The very essence of human security means to respect human rights. The Commission on Human Security did not focus on women as a special area of concern in the 1994 Human Development Report. The report does not recognise that being subject to gender hierarchies increases women’s insecurity and that women experience human security differently from men and shows that the human security concept does not include gender based violence (GBV) because there is no specific attention paid to issues that predominantly pertain to women. This study is conducted from a feminist perspective. It is reflexive research and based on standpoint theory. The data is gathered through analysis of secondary data and primary data, collected through interviews. GBV in South Africa tends to be continuous and the perpetrator is most likely to be a spouse or partner. Studies show that women are seen as being dependent on and weaker than men. Many men view women’s rights legislation as a challenge to the legitimacy of men’s authority over women. Women who try to be more independent in their relationships are regarded as threats and violence against them becomes a way for men to show control. The criminal justice system in South Africa has made progress in protecting women from GBV but myths, stereotypes and social conventions still prevent women from receiving justice. Traditionally, the state regards what happens in the private sphere as outside its responsibility. The public/private dichotomy challenges state regulations and norms which is evident in the case of domestic violence. It is often argued that GBV has remained imperceptible because it takes place in the private sphere. However, this research indicates that due to the socio-economic situation in South Africa, the abuse is often publicly known by those in the immediate environment as people live in informal housing. This research shows that a human security framework that targets GBV has to be developed for those who bear its consequences. When women are not viewed as subjects, issues that mainly affect them remain invisible. It is necessary that analysis of human insecurity starts from the conditions of women’s lives. Many women in South Africa live highly traumatic lives. Fighting GBV requires that we know the victims of GBV and let them decide what they need to feel secure. Creating human security requires that other threats which contribute to GBV, such as poverty, gender stereotypes and prejudice are also addressed. GBV has become an epidemic in South Africa and is a permanent constraint in women’s lives and impacts society as a whole. The security of the state rest on the security of women and as long as the state fails to treat GBV as a serious crime and protect women the state is more likely to use violence on a larger scale against its citizens.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Menslike Veiligheidskonsept daag die tradisionele siening van staatsveiligheid uit: die kerbetekenis van Menslike Veiligheid is om menseregte te respekteer. Die Kommissie op Menslike Veiligheid het nie op vroue as ‘n spesiale area van kommer gefokus in die Menslike Ontwikkelingsverslag van 1994 nie. Die verslag het daarin gefaal om te erken dat die realiteit van geslags-hiërargieë vroue se insekuriteit verhoog, en dat die ervaring van menslike sekuriteit van mans en vroue verskil. Hierdie navorsing sal toon dat die menslike veiligheidsbegrip nie in staat is om geslags-gebaseerde geweld (GGG) in ag te neem nie, aangesien daar geen spesifieke aandag verleen is aan vraagstukke wat hoofsaaklik op vroue betrekking het nie. Hierdie studie is vanuit 'n feministiese perspektief gedoen. Die navorsing is reflektief en op standpunt-teorie gebaseer. Die data is deur die analise van sekondêre data, asook die gebruik van primêre data i deur middel van onderhoude ingesamel . GGG in Suid-Afrika is geneig om oor ‘n uitgerekte tydperk plaas te vind en die mees waarskynlike oortreders is ‘n eggenoot of lewensmaat. Navorsing toon dat gemeenskappe geneig is om vroue as swakker en afhanlik van mans te sien. Wetgewing op die regte van vroue word deur vele mans as ‘n uidaging van hul legitieme superioriteit, ten op sigte van vroue, gesien. Vroue wat dus onafhanklikheid in hul verhoudings probeer uitoefen, word as bedreigings gesien en geweld word gebruik om hulle “in hul plek te hou”. Die Suid-Afrikaanse kriminele regstelsel het al vordering gemaak in terme van die beskerming van vroue teen GGG, maar mites, stereotipes en sosiale konvensies belemmer steeds die volle gang van die gereg. Die staat het in die verlede die private sfeer as buite sy jurisdiksie gesien. Die openbare/private sfeer digotomie bied uitdagings vir staatsregulering en vir die implementering van regulasies , en dit word veral duidelik in die geval van huishoudelike geweld. Daar word aangevoer dat aangesien GGG in die private sfeer plaasvind, dit onsigbaar bly. Hierdie navorsing het egter bevind dat GGG in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks dikwels in die openbare gemeenskapsfeer (deur diegene in die onmiddelike omgewing) opgemerk word, omdat baie mense in Suid-Afrika informele nedersettings woon.Hierdie navorsing het verder bevind dat ‘n GGG raamwerk vir menslike veiligheid ontwikkel moet word wat diegene wat die gevolge van GGG dra insluit. Indien vroue nie spesifiek as navorsingssubjekte geag word nie, bly faktore wat hulle spesifiek beïnvloed onsigbaar. Dit is belangrik dat analise van menslike insekuriteit begin om die omstandighede van vrouens se lewens in ag te neem. Vroue in Suid-Afrika leef in hoogs traumatiese omstandighede. In die bestryding van GGG is dit belangrik dat die slagoffers van GGG in ag geneem word en dat dit hulle toelaat om dit duidelik te maak wat hulle onveilig laat voel. Die skep van menslike veiligheid vereis dat bedreigings wat bydra tot GGG, naamlik armoede, geslagstereotipes en vooroordeel , ook aangespreek word. GGG in Suid-Afrika het ‘n epidemie geword, en plaas ‘n permanente beperking op vroue se lewens. Dit het ook ‘n blywende impak op die samelewing as ‘n geheel. Die veiligheid van die staat rus op die veiligheid van vroue. Solank as wat die staat versuim om GGG te bekamp en as ‘n ernstigge misdaad te erken, en vroue nie die beskerming van die staat geniet nie, is daar ‘n hoër moontlikheid vir die gebruik van geweld deur die staat teen sy eie burgers op ‘n groter skaal.

This thesis is an investigation of the impact of commercial game farming on former farm workers in the Bushman's River area of the Eastern Cape. In its examination of the broader economic and political changes that have facilitated a move from agriculture to game farming, it analyses how these changes affect farm workers. The main concern of the thesis is the ways in which farm workers (at the local level) respond to changes at the national and global level (legal and political changes, the advent of tourism, and the injection of foreign capital and businessmen into the area). Lack of knowledge about their rights under the current political dispensation, as well as the perceived need for mediation between themselves and foreign landowners, points to a general sense of powerlessness. Feelings of alienation from local government structures aimed at fulfilling this function indicate a significant gap between the statute at the national level and the local reality. Local reality is informed by a strong conservatism which is generated by African Independent Church structures and local Xhosa perceptions of manhood and respectability. This conservative discourse leads to a frame of reference which is largely informed by pre-1994 interactions with farmers and government. This results in a situation in which farm workers, largely unaware of their rights in the new dispensation, operate as they did in the past; waiting for landowners to decide their fate for them. What ensues is a lack of meaningful interaction with government and landowners, perpetuating their subjugation and cynicism as to whether government structures are in fact working in their interests. The thesis comes to three main conclusions. The first is that game farming has been negatively received by farm workers due to the associated threats of unemployment and eviction. The second is that despite high levels of subjugation, even the very poor are agents to some degree. The creation of a masculine identity which is internally articulated, as opposed to outwardly expressed, and the grounding of reputation in the family suggest that farm workers have developed mechanisms to deal with their disempowered position. Lastly, farm workers are in possession of social capital which has made it possible for them to deal with their low status in the societal hierarchy. This includes the Church, family and fellow community members. These coping strategies have however proved a disadvantage in the current era because they prevent direct communication with landowners, government and NGOs.

O reconhecimento da identidade de gênero e o uso do nome social são algumas das principais pautas do movimento trans e LGBTI e contribuem para a diminuição da opressão e exclusão desse grupo social. Essas demandas foram parcialmente atendidas com a publicação do Decreto Nº 8.727, que dispõe sobre o uso do nome social e o reconhecimento da identidade de gênero de pessoas trans em órgãos públicos federais, suscitando diversas reações-respostas nas diferentes esferas sociais. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar os discursos sobre a identidade de pessoas trans em textos online, mais precisamente a partir das relações dialógicas entre o Decreto Nº 8.727, de 28 de abril de 2016, e notícias do jornalismo online. Nesta análise, foram considerados dados de pesquisa, além do referido decreto, dez notícias do jornalismo online, publicadas entre abril de 2016 e agosto de 2017, que tematizam questões relativas ao uso do nome social e ao reconhecimento da identidade de gênero, buscando verificar que relações de diálogo se tecem entre os enunciados e o Decreto Nº 8.727. A ancoragem teórico-metodológica da pesquisa teve como embasamento os estudos do Círculo de Bakhtin (BAKHTIN, 2012[1920-1924; 2014[1927]; 2015[1930-1936]; 2014[1934-1935]; 2016[1952-1953]; 2015[1963]; 1987[1965]; 2015[1979]; BAKHTIN/VOLOCHÍNOV, 2014[1929]; VOLOCHÍNOV 2013[1930]; MEDVIEDEV, 2016[1928]), além de estudos acerca da identidade a partir da perspectiva da Linguística Aplicada e seus diálogos interdisciplinares (BHABHA, 2014; MOITA LOPES, 2003; 2006, 2010, 2013a, 2013b; RAJAGOPALAN, 2003) e também sobre as questões da transgeneridade e do gênero social (BUTLER, 2015; BENTO, 2008, JESUS, 2010a; 2010b; 2012a; 2012b; JESUS, ALVES, 2010; LOURO, 2016). Com relação às regularidades discursivas, observouse a reenunciação das teorias de gênero e sexualidade e a tentativa de neutralização por parte do discurso jornalístico, tornando opacas suas valorações. Além disso, tem-se o reenquadramento de discursos acerca da identidade de pessoas trans como estratégia discursiva por parte dos veículos de comunicação, evidenciando posicionamentos axiológicos de naturezas distintas. Nesses discursos, em alguns momentos, o Decreto Nº 8.727 e o uso do nome social eram tratados como ferramentas importantes de cidadania e visibilidade para o movimento trans, instituindo o sujeito trans como um sujeito de direito; em outros, tanto o uso do nome social quanto as vivências de gênero que extrapolam a cisnormatividade eram questionados.
The recognition of gender identity and the use of the social name are some of the main guidelines of the trans and LGBTI movement and contribute to the reduction of the oppression and exclusion of this social group. These demands were partially met with the publication of the decree, which deals with the use of social name and the recognition of the gender identity of trans people in federal public agencies, provoking diverse reactions in the different social spheres. The present work had as main objective to analyze the speeches about the identity of trans people in online texts, more precisely from the conexions between Decree N. 8.727, of April 28, 2016, and news of online journalism. In this analysis, we have selected, in addition to the aforementioned decree, ten news articles on online journalism that discuss issues related to the use of social name and the recognition of gender identity, seeking to verify that dialogue relations are woven between the statements and Decree No. 8.727. To reach our goal, we opted for theoretical-methodological anchoring in Bakhtin Circle studies (BAKHTIN, 2012 [1920-1924, 2014 [1927], 2015 [1930-1936], 2014 [1934-1935], 2016 [1952-1953 (1990), [1929], and also studies of identity from the perspective of the Applied Linguistics, (BHABHA, 2014, MOITA LOPES, 2003, 2010, 2013a, 2013b; RAJAGOPALAN, 2003) and also on issues of transgender and social gender studies (BUTLER, 2015, BENTO, 2008, JESUS , 2010a; 2010b; 2012a; 2012b; JESUS, ALVES, 2010; LOURO, 2016). The data gave rise to some regularities, such as the reenactment of theories of gender and the attempt to neutralize the journalistic discourse, making their valuations opaque. In addition, there is a reframing of discourses about the identity of trans people as a discursive strategy on the part of the communication vehicles, evidencing axiological positions of different natures. In these discourses, we noticed how Decree No. 8,727 and the use of the social name were treated as important tools of citizenship and visibility for the trans movement, instituting the trans subject as a subject of law; at the sime time, both the use of the social name and the experiences of gender that extrapolated the cisnormativity were questioned.

In Uganda, there are an estimated 200,000 women suffering from obstetric fistula, with 1,900 new cases expected annually. These figures, combined with a persistently high maternal mortality rate, have led to an international discourse that claims the solution to improving maternal health outcomes is facility-based delivery with a skilled birth attendant. In accord with this discourse, the Ugandan government criminalized traditional birth attendants in 2010. In this study, I examine the lived experience of traditional birth attendants and women who have suffered from an obstetric fistula in eastern Uganda. Using data collected from open-ended, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant-observation, I describe the biocultural determinants of obstetric fistula. Based on findings, I argue that although emergency obstetric care is critical to prevent obstetric fistula in cases of obstructed labor, the criminalization of the locally constructed system of care, TBAs, serves as yet another layer of structural violence in the lives of rural, poor women. Results demonstrate how political-economic and cultural determinants of obstetric fistula are minimized in favor of a Western prescribed, bio-medical solution, which is heavily resource dependent. This solution is promoted through a political economy of hope fueled by the obstetric imaginary, or the enthusiastic belief in Western-style biomedical obstetric care’s ability to deliver positive health outcomes for women and infants regardless of local context and constraints. Recommendations include increased obstetric fistula treatment facilities with improved communication from medical staff, decriminalization of traditional birth attendants and renewed training programs, and engaging local populations in maternal health discourse to ensure culturally competent programs.
Graduation date: 2013

Bibliography: leaves 230-248. This thesis examines the causes and consequences to women who, as a result of their marital of de facto relationship incur debt from their spouse/partner. First, it aims to describe the legal and social construction of sexually transmitted debt through a feminist analysis of the 1998 Australian High Court legal case of Garcia v National Australia Bank Ltd. It aims, second, to contribute to feminist understanding of financial decision-making within households by focussing on those decisions that lead to the accumulation of debt within the domestic sphere.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Labour, Policy and Globalisation, 2017
This research presents an investigation of the role played by private corporations in promoting gender equality, using the platinum mining sector in the Rustenburg area as a case study. In evaluating this role the research uses The Mining Charter, a piece of legislation and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to assess the efforts that have been made by Anglo American and Impala Platinum mines. This qualitative study uses an abductive approach and a Marxist feminist theoretical perspective to establish what constitutes the problem of inequality. Relying on data collected through document analysis, which included a review of the Mining Charter, and various company annual reports, coupled with data collected from conducting interviews from September to December 2016, the research has found companies to look at the problem of gender equality from a ‘female employees statistics’ point of view. As such, the problem of equality has ignored the indirect negative impacts mining has on women in the communities in which the mining companies operate. This research understands equality as having two sides, “formal and informal” equality. While efforts by the government, and mining companies have tried to address the part of formal equality through increasing the numbers of females in mining, and improving the general conditions in which they operate, this research finds that there exists a form of “informal equality.” This informal inequality looks at the outcomes of the efforts in reality, and goes beyond the company into society. Mining companies have the ability to address this type of equality through CSR, but this research notes that CSR programs are often not viewed through a gender lens. The study therefore concludes that there is a disjuncture between the perceived results of efforts made by corporations on paper and the outcomes in reality. While corporations can contribute to promoting equality in the workplace, their understanding of equality is skewed and one sided therefore inequality continues to persist. Perhaps if companies use the strategy of gender mainstreaming to address the goal of equality, which involves taking into account the particular problems of women in all facets, then equality can be achieved.
XL2018

The thesis investigates how a justice framework is relevant to analysis of the role of international law in relation to climate change-induced human displacement. In particular, through the application of a justice framework, questions of responsibility will be explored. It will be argued that such a lens alters conceptualisations of the role international law may play, or should play, in relation to the phenomenon. Specific justice theories selected are corrective and distributive justice, which will be explored in a substantial theoretical chapter forming the analytical backbone of the thesis. The theories then inform the more contextualised analysis about the role of international law in relation to climate change-induced displacement. Corrective justice permits analysis of whether climate change-induced displacement, or the livelihood impacts that precede it, could be conceived as (wrongful) damage or harm which is compensable under international law, either through fault-based regimes or no-fault regimes (i.e. insurance). Distributive justice permits analysis of whether climate change-induced displacement could potentially be framed as an undeserved and disproportionate burden which stipulates international action to rebalance it, through distributing either costs or burdens. The thesis hopes to contribute to the growing scholarship concerning international law and climate change-induced displacement by investigating the bounds of the law where the phenomenon is viewed as one of responsibility and of justice.

South Africa's first democratic elections were held in 1994. Since then, the government has engaged itself in a process of reconstruction and development through the formulation of policies and legislation which are in line with the country‟s Constitution of 1996. Some of these policies and legislation pertain to the issue of children‟s human rights. This study, firstly, sought to analyze key South African policies and legislations related to children‟s rights that have emerged since 1994. These documents include, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996; the Children‟s Act 38 of 2005; Education White paper 6: Building an Inclusive Education and Training Systems (Department of Education, 2001), the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996; and the National Policy on HIV/AID for learners and educators in public schools and students and educators in further education and training institutions (1999). Secondly, the study aimed to explore whether children‟s rights are a myth or reality in South Africa by analyzing secondary data gathered from a large scale research project conducted in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, titled “Mapping the Barriers to Basic Education in the context of HIV/AIDS”. The data were collected from teachers, learners in grade 3, 6 and 9; School Governing Bodies, parents, and organizations - non governmental and community based organisations working in the district. The study used an in-depth qualitative case study approach. The study involved formal and non-formal centres of learning and their communities from four community contexts: rural, deep rural, urban and peri-urban. The data set provides insight into the lives of children in these contexts. The findings suggest that several barriers experienced by children and their families to accessing their social rights embedded in key South African policy documents related to key themes that emerged in the study: risks and vulnerabilities; control, regulation and powerlessness; the commitment of quality education not being met; and childhood poverty.
Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

This dissertation focuses in the phenomenon of partner violence in Mexico. It examines the causes of partner violence at multiple levels of analysis. At the micro level it examines characteristics of individual victims, the family and the relationship. At the macro level the focus is on the legal and social structures that define domestic violence and the State's response. Throughout the analysis, the State plays a central role as the set of institutional arrangements that define the rules of the game and that determine the possibilities for change and the potential roles and effectiveness of key players including the feminist movement. Throughout the analysis I examine the confluence of forces that influence the State's attempts to reduce individual women's risk of partner violence through its legislative, judicial and police powers in a historically defined situation characterized by pervasive structural patriarchy. A major objective is to asses the influence of the pervasive patriarchy in the system on individual women's risk of partner violence. The approach adopted in this dissertation is based on the assumption that patriarchy is a social system that permeates social institutions and that becomes internalized and part of the normative everyday reality that structures individual's interpretations and motivations. This research demonstrates that, on average, the structural gender inequality between Mexican men and women is high. This inequality is revealed through qualitative and quantitative analyses that demonstrate empirically the influence of the patriarchal system both on individual experiences of partner violence, and on the State's response. Adopting a feminist post-structuralist approach to the analysis of the State's role, the research reveals inconsistencies between the discourses and practices of the Mexican State regarding partner violence. By analyzing administrative family violence legislation, I determine whether the Mexican State has in fact made substantively meaningful attempts to challenge patriarchy and to end violence against women in the family realm. The family violence legislation has two often inherently contradictory purposes. On the one hand the objective is to protect the family as a core social institution. The second, which is often in conflict with the first objective, is to protect women from abuse by their partners. This dissertation demonstrates that these conflicting objectives and the embededness of patriarchy throughout the social help explain why certain branches of the Mexican State tend to strengthen patriarchy and reify women's subordinate position in the family. The way in which the State interprets and implements family violence legislation reveals the inability and/or unwillingness of the State to protect women's rights and highlights the patriarchal assumptions pervading the State's actions. Finally, this research looks at feminist and women's movements and NGOs to determine whether they have been effective in influencing the State to adopt measures to guarantee women a life free of violence. I looked not only for their influence on the legislative level, but also surveyed the role they continue to play in implementing antiviolence laws.
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This ethnographic study of asylum seekers in East Anglia, UK, poses the following questions: how do asylum seekers adapt, cope and adjust to life in the UK when their future is so uncertain? To what extent do people seeking asylum relate to an asylum seeker identity? How do asylum seekers negotiate interactions with others as they await an outcome to their application for asylum? This study explores these questions in an effort to gain insight into the role of identity reconstruction during the process of asylum seeking. This thesis is based on twelve months of fieldwork in the towns of Norwich and Great Yarmouth, and to a lesser extent in Peterborough and London, where asylum seekers had been dispersed by either the London Boroughs or the Home Office’s NASS (National Asylum Support Service). During 2002 and 2003, I conducted fieldwork amongst asylum seekers, as well as amongst support workers working for various NGOs that offered a number of support services for asylum seekers. The focus on asylum seekers’ speech-acts is a method to observe the primary form of social action by which asylum seekers articulate a shared place, liminal immigration system and interaction with others. These elements shape asylum seekers’ identity in the UK. Consequently, asylum seekers’ predicament can be understood as a movement through the immigration system, but also an existential movement as each person tries to negotiate their existence.
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Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 2008

In this work I have used Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus as a springboard to examine the Pauline tradition in the light of Zimbabwe-African, cultural, legal and social attitudes to women. I have highlighted the conflict between the practices defined by Zimbabwean Constitutional law regarding the status of women and what is the actual situation on the ground, also considering the role of the church in confronting or conforming to the cultural norms. I have likewise highlighted the conflict in the Pauline tradition where one hand women are given more active roles in the church than could be expected according to the customs of the time, but on the other hand are still bound by an oppressive tradition. I have concluded by suggesting how the church can act in order to break free of this oppressive tradition and bring about change in the habitus of the society.
New Testament
M. Th. (New Testament)

The research addresses secondary victimization of women reporting abuse at the Lenasia Police Station and reasons why it occurs. In addition, the research also determines if the expectations of the survivors of abuse about the police when reporting abuse are in line with what the Domestic Violence Act stipulates as their duties. To determine this, a sample of survivors reporting abuse was used. A qualitative and quantitative approach to the research was used. Two questionnaires were used for the sample of survivors and for service provides, with an opinion survey with knowledgeable people and a focus group discussion with police. It was found that some women were experiencing victimization by the police and that the survivors' expectations of the police were as stipulated in the Domestic Violence Act. Services provided by service providers were outlined and obstacles preventing police to provide a good service were identified. Recommendations were made.
Social work
MA(SS) (SOCIAL WORK)

This study outlines the results of an evaluation of programmes through a developmental quality assurance process within shelters for abused women and their children in Gauteng Province. The survey obtained the attitudes and opinions of the social workers/social auxiliary workers and shelter managers towards their services. The study reflects empirical findings as well as strengths and developmental areas within these shelters. The results from the study indicate that shelters for abused women and their children are functioning well. However, the Minimum Standards for Shelters are not fully adhered to. Therefore, internal and external evaluations should be used by shelter managers to evaluate their own performance and to improve service delivery.
Social Work
MA(SS) (Social Work)

Text in English
The purpose of the study was to investigate the experience explore the experience of virginity testing of female adolescents in the uThungulu district of KwaZulu-Natal. A qualitative research was conducted to explore and describe the experiences of female adolescents on virginity testing. In-depth phenomenological interviews were conducted on 18 participants during data collection. Proponents of virginity testing believe that virginity testing is a traditional practice that can assist in reducing HIV infection and teenage pregnancy amongst the youth. On the other hand, opponents of virginity testing strongly believe that the practice of virginity testing interferes with human rights and Constitutional prescripts that protect the rights to equity, privacy, bodily integrity and sexual autonomy of young women. The study found that participants had only positive experiences of the practice of virginity testing and none expressed having any negative experiences. The findings also confirmed that virginity testing is being done irrespective of different opinions from different scholars and experts on the subject. Little knowledge about the Children’s Act and the Commission for Rights of Cultural and Linguistic communities was observed.
Health Studies
M.P.H.

The South African government promulgated the Choice on Termination of pregnancy Act (CTOP Act, 92 of 1996). This was a dramatic declaration of intent unprecedented in the African continent and globally. This act changed the outlook of the practice of termination of pregnancy by ensuring that services play a critical role in the delivery of the service. This study, which is qualitative in nature, explored the experiences of Termination of Pregnancy service providers working in three designated public health institutions in the Limpopo Province. Interviews were conducted with six service providers to look at how they construct their practice of providing termination of pregnancy services. The information was analyzed and interpreted by means of a thematic analysis method. Major themes that emerged from the participants’ experiences centred on their relationship with family, colleagues, management, clients, and the community reflecting a sense of alienation and lack of adequate infrastructural support. Inadequate support has been found to greatly contribute to the loss of interest in the work around abortion.
Psychology
M. A. (Clinical Psychology)