Acts of Childhood Sexual Abuse: An Empirically Derived Typology

A clinical sample of 165 women survivors in outpatient therapy was surveyed about whether their childhood sexual abuse (CSA) included each of 17 sexual acts. Factor analysis of these acts was conducted. A typology of CSA acts consisting of three factors emerged. Inspection of the acts loading on each factor suggested that they differed primarily in terms of the type of abuse of power implied by them rather than in the nature of the sexual behavior involved. The three factors were named Coerced Complicance (Coercion), Subjugation and Humiliation (Subjugation) and Invasive Objectification (Objectification). Implications for research, theory, and clinical practice, and the need for evaluating the generalizability of the typology to other subpopulations of survivors, are discussed.     

30 Jahre Helsinki-Übereinkommen: Errungenschaften, Herausforderungen und die Resolution des Youth Forum

Die Tätigkeit der Helsinki-Kommission (HELCOM) ist von maßgeblicher Bedeutung für den Schutz von Meeresumwelt und -natur der Ostsee. Sie überwacht die Umsetzung des vor dreißig Jahren abgeschlossenen Helsinki-Übereinkommens, dient den Ostsee-Anrainer-Staaten als Forum zur Entwicklung gemeinsamer Ziele und Strategien zur Verbesserung der Meeresumwelt und erlässt entsprechende Richtlinien und Empfehlungen. Die EU-Osterweiterung, nach der Russland als einziger HELCOM-Mitgliedstaat nicht auch zugleich der EU angehört, stellt die HELCOM vor neue Herausforderungen. Die diesjährige Tagung befasste sich daher ausführlich mit der künftigen Rolle der HELCOM. Erstmals war der Tagung ein internationales Youth Forum vorgeschaltet, das in einer Resolution auf die drängendsten Probleme des Ostseeraums hinwies. Es wurden neue Ansätze und Instrumente zur Verbesserung der ökologischen Situation angeregt und gefordert. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt anlässlich des 30jährigen Bestehens des Helsinki-Übereinkommens die Rolle der HELCOM, die wesentlichen Ergebnisse der diesjährigen Tagung sowie die künftigen Herausforderungen anhand der zentralen Forderungen der Resolution des Youth Forum dar. 1 Die Verfasserinnen gehören der International Max Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs in Hamburg an. Sie haben als Mitglieder der deutschen Delegation an der diesjährigen HELCOM-Tagung vom 2.–4. 3. 2004 in Helsinki sowie an dem im Rahmen dieser Veranstaltung erstmalig stattfindenden Youth Forum am 1. 3. 2004 teilgenommen. Die Verfasserinnen arbeiten an Dissertationen zu den Themen Integrated Coastal Zone Management und Places of Refuge.     

Giving Peace a Chance: Croatia's Branitelji and the Imperative of Reintegration

This article focuses on ex-combatants (branitelji) in the town of Vukovar. It argues that while veterans currently present an obstacle to inter-ethnic reconciliation, this need not be the case; they can potentially play an important role as peace builders. As a first step, however, they need to be reintegrated into society, and to a large extent this has not yet happened. The purpose of this article is thus to reflect on possible ways of advancing the reintegration process, focusing on the core themes of identity and trauma.     

Not the only game in towns: explaining changes in municipal councils in post-revolutionary Tunisia

This study sheds light on the relationship between local and national elites during political transitions. Examining local councils in post-revolutionary Tunisia (2011–2013), it examines why and when the composition of councils changed in the absence of local elections. The study yields two important lessons. First, changes in councils resulted from a power struggle between national and local elites. Councils were more likely to remain in place when local parties and unions helped council members resist pressures from above. The interplay of local and national actors, and not the council’s competencies, explains when changes took place. Second, all councils became politicized in the process. Far from being caretaker councils impartially addressing local needs, the councils were institutions playing important roles in the struggles between local and national political elites. Councils were arenas in which political power, and notions of legitimate representation, were contested in the absence of elections. The argument is supported by quantitative analyses of original data and four comparative case studies based on qualitative fieldwork. The findings highlight the importance of local councils in transition processes and provide a basis for further work exploring local-national engagement in democratization.