Women’s Empowerment Mitigates the Negative Effects of Low Production Diversity on Maternal and Child Nutrition in Nepal

Abstract

We use household survey data from Nepal to investigate relationships between women’s empowerment in agriculture and production diversity on maternal and child dietary diversity and anthropometric outcomes. Production diversity is positively associated with maternal and child dietary diversity, and weight-for-height z-scores. Women’s group membership, control over income, reduced workload, and overall empowerment are positively associated with better maternal nutrition. Control over income is positively associated with height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), and a lower gender parity gap improves children’s diets and HAZ. Women’s empowerment mitigates the negative effect of low production diversity on maternal and child dietary diversity and HAZ.     

Similarities and Differences in Victimization Risk Factors for Nonoffending and Offending Substance Users

In this cross-sectional study of substance users in Norway, the authors describe the patterns of victimization and investigate the factors associated with victimization, for nonoffenders and offenders separately. Recent victimization was reported by 59%, and the victimization rate was higher among offenders compared with nonoffenders (69% and 43%, p < .001). Women, regardless of offender status, experienced more victimization. Unstable housing was associated with victimization among nonoffenders, whereas markers for more severe substance use and indicators for poor mental health were associated with victimization in both groups. Addressing these factors may be important in reducing victimization and its negative outcomes among substance users.     

Women’s human rights education trainers in Turkey: situated empowerment for social change

This article presents evidence of the links between human rights education and social change by analyzing the long-term effects on 88 trainers engaged in a non-formal adult training program sponsored by a women’s human rights group in Turkey, Women for Women’s Human Rights – New Ways. In this article, I show the transformative impacts of carrying out human rights education on the trainers themselves: in their identity; knowledge, skills, and attitudes; and behaviors in their family and in the workplace. This article extends the treatment of an emerging question within social change theory – that of the long-term influence on activists brought about by their very engagement in these activities. At the same time, because the activists are trainers associated with a human rights education program that infuses critical pedagogy with a feminist perspective, this qualitative case study provides the opportunity to explore ‘situated empowerment’ on trainers in both their personal and professional domains. The article concludes that further studies of human rights educators engaged as long-term trainers will further enrich the social change literature and the treatment of activists.     

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Subsequent Substance Abuse in a Sample of Sexual Offenders: Implications for Treatment and Prevention

The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of substance abuse indicators in a sample of male sexual offenders (N = 679) and to examine the influence of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) on the likelihood of substance abuse outcomes. Half of these sex offenders reported a history of drug or alcohol abuse, and nearly one in five reported a substance-related arrest. Higher ACE scores were associated with endorsement of a greater number of substance-abuse-related problems, suggesting that accumulation of early trauma may increase the likelihood for substance misuse. By enhancing our understanding of the frequency and antecedents of dynamic risk factors such as substance abuse, we can better devise clinical interventions that respond to the comprehensive needs of sexually abusive individuals and reduce risk for sexual reoffense. As well, early interventions for at-risk families and maltreated youth may interrupt their trajectory toward adulthood substance abuse and criminal behavior, including sex offending.     

The influence of individual and community-level child mortality on fertility in Egypt

Child mortality was analyzed in relation to 3 dimensions of reproductive behavior: birth intervals, additional children desired, and contraceptive use. Study data were drawn from a 1978 survey conducted in 2 predominantly rural governorates, Beheira and Kafr El-Sheikh, in lower Egypt. Within each governorate, 2 districts were selected on the basis of their distance from the capital of the governorate, agricultural output by major crops, percent of the population urban, infant mortality rate, and crude birthrate. Within each of the 4 districts, villages were randomly drawn from 3 strata: villages lacking any governmental services; villages with limited services (health center or primary school); and villages served by a combined unit center providing integrated services. A random sample of household heads was selected from household registration records of the provision office of each district. 1200 interviews were obtained from 685 households. Restriction of the sample to women with 1 or more live births, and the elimination of 13 cases with incomplete or inaccurate information, yielded 1010 cases for analysis. The basic measure of actual fertility was birth intervals. For the total sample and within each age category, cumulative fertility is higher the greater the number of child deaths. The data demonstrate a strong relationship between child mortality experience and cumulative fertility. The problem lies in interpreting such results. With some exceptions, birth intervals increased as expected with increasing parity. Women without child death experience displayed longer birth intervals than women who had not lost a child. With the single exception of the 7th parity women, all differences were statistically significant. The data fail to eliminate potential biological influences on subsequent fertility. With biological influences adequately controlled, no behavioral differences remained. Women who experienced child mortality desired greater numbers of additional children than women without child death experience. 19% of respondents were ever users of contraception, with women of low parity the least likely ever to have used contraception.     

The gender base of institutional support in Lithuania,Ukraine and Russia

This literature review pertains to women's status in Soviet society. This study examined the degree to which attitudes toward established institutions, support for the reform process, and generalized political orientations significantly reflect gender differences. Regression models were tested among Russians, Ukrainians, and Orthodox believers in Russia. Gender differences were apparent in the evaluations of the Communist Party. Ukrainian women were more supportive of the Communist Party. Age was the only significant factor in Russia; increased age was associated with more positive attitudes toward the Communists. More Ukrainian and Russian women than Orthodox women believed that political reform is moving too rapidly. Less educated and higher income women were more likely to believe that reform is proceeding too rapidly. Russian men were more likely to have participated in a political rally than Russian women in the model which includes socioeconomic controls. Russians with higher education were more frequent participants in political demonstrations than Russians with less education. Ukrainian women were more likely than men to be pacifists. Over 20% of the variance in pacifism scores was explained by sex and sociodemographic factors. The author concluded that gender differences are apparent in the strength of pacifism, the frequency of participation in demonstrations, attitudes toward reform, and evaluations of the Communist Party. Russian women compared to US women did not necessarily support liberal, democratic reforms. Lithuanian women and urban women were less supportive of the status quo and established economic and political institutions compared to Russian, Ukrainian, or rural women. Women and men responded similarly at the same educational levels. Women had a more humanitarian view of the environment and peace. A four-stage stratified sample of 2336 individuals (796 in Russia, 826 in the Ukraine, and 714 in Lithuania) was used. The survey instrument was designed by a team from the University of Iowa working with Soviet scholars.     

Sex, Maids, and Export Processing: Risks and Reasons for Gendered Global Production Networks

Increasing numbers of women have become sex workers, maids, or employees in export production networks—all largely female sectors—to earn incomes in the restructured global economy. Many must migrate domestically and internationally. Women encounter many risks and much insecurity in these sectors: low wages, no benefits, long hours, harassment, health hazards, and lack of rights or legal recourse. By examining work in these three sectors simultaneously, we find that, as a result of globalization, economic restructuring, and crises, 1) women have increasingly been forced into such income-earning activities and 2) many governments have been pushed into strategies that foster these occupations.     

Sorting by Height: Education and Economic Outcomes of Women in Less-Developed Countries

Taller height is commonly found to correlate with educational and economic outcomes. Most studies focus on a relationship to earnings, and consider samples from individual countries. This paper takes a broader view by evaluating the associations between height, education, and economic outcomes in a pooled sample of women from 63 less-developed countries. Height is shown to have a generalised association to school participation, years of schooling, type of occupation, and relative household wealth. Women in countries with shorter average heights, greater urbanisation, and higher GDP per capita exhibit stronger height associations to education and wealth. These characteristics are generally reflective of Latin American and South/Southeast Asian countries relative to sub-Saharan Africa. The results are discussed in the context of early-childhood circumstances that affect both physical and cognitive development, which have lasting influences on adult outcomes.     

The role of social structure for governing natural resources in decentralized political systems: Insights from governing a fishery in Indonesia

This empirical research investigates whether distinct network configurations between actors facilitate or impede successful local natural resource governance in decentralized political systems. Network analysis is applied to disentangle the interaction between actors involved in a decentralized fishery governance system in Indonesia from a polycentric perspective. Using an embedded network case study design, the study examines whether common interaction patterns are observed in local study sites with more successful governance outcomes compared to study sites with less successful outcomes. Three common patterns are identified: (i) higher frequency of interaction of local actors, and (ii) stronger activity of local non‐governmental actors in the polycentric governance network are found in the sites with more successful outcomes. Furthermore, the results show (iii) a higher centralization of the local governance networks with rent‐seeking actors in strong brokerage positions where highly unsustainable resource use prevails. This points to the existence of a ‘dark side’ of brokerage.     

Domestic Violence and Women’s Land Rights in Rural China: Findings from a National Survey in 2010

In recent decades, China undertook a series of agricultural land tenure reforms to increase the security of land use rights for rural households. While these reforms boosted agricultural production, they also increased landlessness among women due to patrilocal and patrilineal customs. Utilising data from China’s Women Social Status Survey conducted in 2010, this paper examines the impact of women’s land rights on the incidence of domestic violence in rural China. The results show that women who have lost claims to contract land or have no residential land face significantly higher risks of being physically or psychologically abused by their husbands.     

Self-rated health and barriers to healthcare in Ukraine: The pivotal role of gender and its intersections

The ongoing health crisis in the Ukraine has persisted for 48 years with a clear division of gender-based outcomes as seen in the decline of male life expectancy and stagnation of female longevity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences in self-rated health and system barriers to health care applicable to gender and its intersections because of the differing negative health outcomes for men and women. Intersectionality theory provides an analytic framework for interpreting our results. Utilizing a nationwide sample of the Ukrainian population (N = 1908), we found that low socioeconomic status (SES) women rate their health worse than men generally and any other socioeconomic group. Yet women also face the greatest barriers to health care until older ages when the ailments of men cause them to likewise face the obstacles. In reviewing the barrier to health care scale, one barrier—that of health care services being too expensive—dominated the responses with some 52.5 percent of the sample reporting it. Consequently, the greatest problem in Ukraine with respect to health reform reported by the population is the out-of-pocket costs for care in a system that is officially free. These costs, constituting some 40 percent of all national health expenditures, affect women and the aged the most.     

THE LIMITS OF CHANGE: LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN

Women make up the majority of local government employees in Great Britain but are not, however, evenly represented throughout the employment structure. Rather, women are overwhelmingly concentrated in low paid, low status and often part-time jobs, and are under-represented as decision makers, either as managers or elected council members. The situation of black and ethnic minority women is one of even greater marginalization. From 1982–7 over 200 local authorities adopted equal opportunity (EO) policies, both for employment practice and service delivery, the aims of which included redressing this inequitable situation for women. The achievements of these EO policies have proved to be very limited. Most have been introduced with few resources and little managerial or political support and without mechanisms for implementation or management accountability. EO reforms have been contained within the existing relationships and structures of local authorities when by definition, successful EO policies will upset the status quo. Nevertheless important lessons have been learned from this first pioneering phase of EO policy development.     

CAN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FOSTER SOCIAL EQUITY? STAKEHOLDER POWER,PROTECTIVE INSTITUTIONS,AND MINORITY REPRESENTATION

Performance management has been criticized for harming or, at best, ignoring social equity outcomes. While there is evidence suggesting that performance management fosters an emphasis on efficiency and effectiveness at the expense of other public values, we are still in search of a theory linking performance management to social equity. The article takes a first step towards the development of such a theory and proposes the importance of contingency factors. It argues that managerial performance information use will benefit disadvantaged groups in the presence of powerful stakeholders, protective institutions, and minority representation in government. Using data on school districts in Texas, the article finds support for the first two contingency factors but not the third one. Performance information use by superintendents increases test scores of disadvantaged students if these students make up a sizeable, powerful group, and if superintendents put emphasis on complying with the No Child Left Behind Act.     

Self-Efficacy,Religiosity, and Crime: Profiles of African American Youth in Urban Housing Communities

Youth reporting independently elevated levels of religiosity and self-efficacy tend to abstain from externalizing behavior. However, little is known about the ways in which religiosity and self-efficacy interrelate to impact youth externalizing. Drawing from a sample of African American youth from public housing communities (N = 236), we use latent profile analysis to identify subtypes of youth based on self-reported religiosity and self-efficacy and, in turn, examine links with crime. Compared to youth in other subgroups, those classified as both highly religious and highly self-efficacious reported less involvement in minor and severe delinquency, but not violence.     

Suicidal behavior in a young offender population

Young offenders have numerous problems, including increased psychopathology, housing, and psycho-social stresses and increased rates of substance abuse. The current study investigated the contribution that substance use might make to a particularly vulnerable group of young people. Of the 300 young people approached for the study, 23.7% reported a prior suicide attempt. For this group, the most significant predictors of a prior suicide attempt were negative affect, prior exposure to violence, and housing stress. Life-time substance-use variables were most predictive of the number of suicide attempts a young person might make. Self-reported lethality (the expectation that on the last attempt the young person expected to die) was not strongly predicted by any variable. The research identifies the important role that dynamic risk factors (such as mood, substance use, and psychosocial stressors) play in increasing the risk of self-harm for young offenders, and raises the need to provide for more comprehensive discharge planning and support in order to manage these needs.     

Comparison of Impact of Procedural Justice and Outcome on Victim Satisfaction: Evidence From Victims’ Experience With Registration of Property Crimes in India

Crime victim–police interface and registration of crime are the early and fundamental interactions in the criminal justice system. The process of lodging a complaint is marked by the pain of victimization, sharing of information, and expectation of quick remedial action from the police. The nature and quality of experience of the victim and outcomes impact the level of satisfaction with services of police. Through a survey of victims of property crimes, in different areas of a state in India, the author examines the impact of procedural justice and outcomes on victim satisfaction. The study illuminates the outcome oriented expectations of the victim, and the unique dynamics of victim–police interaction, which strains the legal ethical framework of the criminal justice system.     

Joint production and consumption in traditional households: Fuelwood and crop residues in two districts in Nepal

Forest conversion by agricultural households is the leading cause of deforestation. Yet we know little about agricultural household use of forest and tree products. This article measures household production of and demand for fuelwood and fuel substitutes in two districts in Nepal. Women play a larger role in collection in the district dependant on production from common forestlands. Men and agricultural capital are more important inputs in the district dependant on production from private lands. The article also measures demand elasticities for fuelwood, combustible agricultural residues, and improved stoves (a technological substitute), each by household income group. All price and income demand elasticities are less than one. The substitution elasticities between residues and fuelwood are less than one. Residues are more important substitutes for low income households and improved stoves are more important substitutes for high income households.     

Microfinance and Gender: Issues,Challenges and The Road Ahead

Abstract

This special collection examines the claim that microfinance promotes gender equality. The focus is on three areas of the debate: first, the question of how successful microfinance has been in empowering women; second, whether and how negative gender discrimination operates within the sector; third, how power relations within and beyond the household shape the context and outcomes of microfinance initiatives. The papers in this collection demonstrate the divergence of circumstances and emphasise the need to go beyond the past searches for a simple narrative regarding the impact of microfinance. Rather, as the sector evolves and is incorporated into the mainstream financial system, the challenge ahead for researchers is to marshal the evidence on gendered dynamics to ensure that the gains made are built on through deeper understanding of why impact outcomes and processes differ and use this to inform new initiatives to further gender equality.     

Exploring the Social and Individual Differences Among Victims,Offenders, Victim-Offenders,and Total Abstainers

An emerging line of research has begun to reveal that victims of crime share many characteristics with offenders, leading to the conclusion that the victim-offender overlap is quite substantial. Though research suggests victims and offenders are both likely to display signs of low self-control and to share certain lifestyle factors, few studies have sought to systematically analyze the various factors that converge (or diverge) across different groups: victims, offenders, victim-offenders, and total abstainers. Using data obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we examined the risk factors associated with being classified into each of the four groups. Results revealed that victim-offenders—compared to others—tended to have the highest scores on risk factors for victimization and offending. Conversely, total abstainers tended to score the lowest on measures considered risk factors. Respondents classified as victim only and those classified as offender only were positioned somewhere between victim-offenders and total abstainers in terms of their level of exposure to risk factors. These findings may indicate that victim-offenders are a statistical group in need of greater attention, especially given the benefits that could extend to the broader population if successful outcomes through intervention were realized.     

The demand for manpower—an East African case study 1

Using cross-sectional data from 13 African countries, I compare long-term health outcomes across cut and uncut women. This study is the first to use nationally representative data. Consistent with medical research, no evidence of general health impairments or decreased fertility induced by female genital cutting (FGC) is found; rather cut women have more children. The most pronounced long-term health impairments are a 24 per cent increase in the odds of contracting sexually transmitted infections and a 15 per cent increase in genital problems. Concomitantly, the odds that a cut woman will marry before an uncut woman are 13 per cent.