Women's rights activists have observed November 25th as a day against gender-based violence since 1981. This date was selected to honour the Mirabal sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were brutally murdered in 1960 by order of the country’s ruler, Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961). November 25th also marks the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence which ends on December 10th, Human Rights Day. This annual campaign is used by individuals and organisations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.
Despite the adoption of the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) by the UN General Assembly in 1979, violence against women and girls remains a pervasive problem worldwide. To date, only two out of three countries have outlawed domestic violence, while 37 countries worldwide still exempt rape perpetrators from prosecution if they are married to or eventually marry the victim and 49 countries currently have no laws protecting women from domestic violence.
To mark this event, Elsevier presents a curated, freely available collection of journal articles and book chapters to highlight the urgent need to end violence against women and girls.
Elsevier, Transport Policy, Volume 114, December 2021
Bangladesh is one of the world's strongest emerging economies. This nation is working on improving women's empowerment, with more women entering meaningful employment, and socio-cultural constraints on women's mobility gradually decreasing over time. However, for women in Bangladesh, travel constraints are currently more significant than cultural constraints. Therefore, to sustain the nation's economic growth, challenges to women's mobility must be resolved by developing a gender-inclusive transport system. To achieve this, proper transport planning is necessary.
This article presents unique data on the economic and social impacts of Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) in development contexts. The article draws on quantitative and qualitative data from over 5120 women in Ghana (2066 respondents) and Pakistan (3054 respondents) collected between 2016 and 2018 to assess the impacts on productivity, primarily through presenteeism and absenteeism, in paid and unpaid work due to a range of forms of VAWG.
Elsevier, Women's Studies International Forum, Volume 88, 1 September 2021
The paper examines the prevalence and patterns of honour-based violence and oppression by documenting and analysing self-reported experiences among youth in contemporary metropolitan Sweden. The material is gathered via three surveys of 15-year-olds in metropolitan Sweden (N6002). The analysis draws on feminist intersectional violence studies and situates honour-based violence at the intersections of gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. It develops the concepts of isolation and mobility within and between groups at family, community, and societal levels.
Elsevier, Transport Policy, Volume 111, September 2021
Location-based social media data can offer useful insights on the spatial and temporal dynamics of public attitudes. In this study, we aim to investigate the gendered attitudes toward transit services in China, utilizing the case of Shenzhen. We collected 44,257 Weibo microblogs, a major source of social media data in China, and applied a series of text mining and visualization techniques to examine the gender differences among our focused themes. The microblogs reveal a distinct gender gap in terms of quantity, as nearly 74% are posted by women.
Elsevier, Women's Studies International Forum, Volume 88, 1 September 2021
Various researches have been carried out in the past to understand psychological trauma that suggest that gender differences can be observed in the type, prevalence, and impact of trauma. Ample evidence exists that indicates that women are often the target of different kinds of gender-based violence, causing them to experience physical and psychological trauma. However, the trauma associated with one such gender-based crime, acid attack, has been less explored and lacks due representation in media and literature. Moreover, trauma has mostly been studied from a clinical perspective.
Sexual aggression and violence against women (VAM) are not only social problems; they are mental health problems. Women who experience sexual trauma often express disruptions in emotional and cognitive processes, some of which lead to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Animal models of neurogenesis and learning suggest that social yet aggressive interactions between a pubescent female and an adult male can disrupt processes of learning related to maternal care, which in turn reduce survival of new neurons in the female hippocampus.
Elsevier, Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 69, June 2021
There is an increasing interest in the link between ambient temperature and sexual crime in the context of climate change. However, existing studies are limited in evaluating the acute effect of temperature and rarely estimate the attributable burden. Here, we show that in seven large US cities, every 5 °C rise in daily mean temperature was associated with a 4.5 % [95 % confidence interval (CI): 2.8–6.3 %] increase in sex offenses in the following 0–8 days.
Elsevier, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Volume 147, May 2021
This study assesses whether the negative exogenous informational shock of the MeToo scandal has affected women's perception of security. The MeToo movement was first reported in the media worldwide in October 2017, and has received enormous press coverage since then. The exogenous and unanticipated nature of the scandal provides a natural experiment that we can use to quantify how wider external information affects ‘ordinary’ women's perceptions of security and their willingness to report feelings of dissatisfaction with security levels.
Elsevier, The Lancet Global Health, Volume 9, August 2021
Background: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health have been understudied among vulnerable populations, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings. We aimed to analyse how the pandemic is related to early changes in mental health and parenting stress among caregivers, many of whom are internally displaced persons (IDP), in a conflict-affected setting in Colombia. Methods: For this cohort study, we used longitudinal data from a psychosocial support programme in which 1376 caregivers were randomly assigned across four sequential cohorts.
Elsevier, The Lancet Psychiatry, Volume 8, June 2021
Background: The prevalence of head injury is estimated to be as high as 55% in women in prison and might be a risk factor for violent offending, but evidence is equivocal. The extent of persisting disability is unknown, making decisions about service needs difficult. The UN recognises vulnerabilities in women in prison, but does not include head injury. This study aimed to investigate relationships among head injury, comorbidities, disability, and offending in women in prison.
Elsevier, The Lancet Global Health, Volume 9, June 2021
Background: Half of the world's missing female births occur in India, due to sex-selective abortion. It is unknown whether selective abortion of female fetuses has changed in recent years across different birth orders. We sought to document the trends in missing female births, particularly among second and third children, at national and state levels.
Elsevier, Heliyon, Volume 7, March 2021
The crisis provoked by COVID-19 has rapidly and profoundly affected Latin America. The impacts are seen not only in infection and mortality rates, but also in the economic decline and increased inequality that plague the region, problems which have been exacerbated as a result of the pandemic.
Elsevier, The Lancet, Volume 397, 6 February 2021
Women and children bear substantial morbidity and mortality as a result of armed conflicts. This Series paper focuses on the direct (due to violence) and indirect health effects of armed conflict on women and children (including adolescents) worldwide. We estimate that nearly 36 million children and 16 million women were displaced in 2017, on the basis of international databases of refugees and internally displaced populations.
Elsevier, Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 17, December 2020
Background: Sexual dysfunction and sexual distress are common during pregnancy, but the effects of exposure to sexual violence on sexual dysfunction and sexual distress in pregnant women is unknown. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of sexual violence on female sexual dysfunction and sexual distress. Methods: This is a descriptive study. Data were collected between December 2019 and April 2020 from 605 pregnant women.
Elsevier, Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 17, November 2020
Background: Research has revealed that survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) have elevated sexual dysfunction and distress. Nevertheless, a vast majority of studies examining sexual dysfunction and distress among CSA survivors were conducted among women only, and the moderating role of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms between a history of CSA and sexual dysfunction and distress is yet to be investigated.
Elsevier,
International Encyclopedia of Public Health (Second Edition), 2017, Pages 337-343
This article advances SDGs 3, 5, and 16 by providing a broad overview of global violence aginst women and highlighting the difference health professionals can make for women who experience violence in its multiple forms.
Elsevier,
International Encyclopedia of Public Health (Second Edition), 2017, Pages 491-498
This article advances SDGs 3, 5, and 16 by demonstrating how gender power inequalities are at the root of sexual violence against women and outlining ways to prevent sexual violence and mitigate the mental and physical health impacts of rape.
Elsevier,
Police Psychology, New Trends in Forensic Psychological Science, 2022, Pages 205-241
This chapter supports SDGS 3, 5 and 16 by explaining the role of psychological science and research in the training and development of law enforcement, in order to improve responses to cases of intimate partner violence (IPV).
Elsevier,
Preventing Domestic Homicides, Lessons Learned from Tragedies, 2020, Pages 209-231
This chapter supports SDGs 3, 5 and 16 by analyzing violence and homicide in a workplace setting, reviewing impact and case studies, and offering recommendations and potential approaches to prevention.
Elsevier,
Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict, Second Edition, 2008, Pages 2456-2467
This article advances SDGs 5 and 16 by examining the distinct impact that war has on women because of their gender, the various ways that women respond to war and the roles they play, the major debates within this field of study, and, finally, gender inequality as a cause of violence in peacetime and wartime.
Elsevier,
Global Emergency of Mental Disorders, 2021, Pages 353-364
This book chapter advances SDG 3 and 16 by explaining the risk factors that are specific to women with regard to mental disorders. These risk factors include socioeconomic disadvantages, violence, low income and income inequality, lower social status, and responsibilities of caring for children and family members.
Elsevier,
How Sex and Gender Impact Clinical Practice, An Evidence-Based Guide to Patient Care, 2021, Pages 277-287
This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 16 by examining three issues that are considered important public health issues as well as common patient problems—intimate partner violence, access to healthcare, and immunization—with a focus on sex and gender based medicine.
