Securitization and Desecuritization: Female Soldiers and the Reconstruction of Women in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone

This article focuses on the construction of “soldier” and “victim” by post-conflict programs in Sierra Leone. Focusing on the absence of individual testimonies and interviews that inform representations of women and girls post-conflict, this article demonstrates that the ideal of the female war victim has limited the ways in which female combatants are addressed by disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs in Sierra Leone. It is argued that titles given to female soldiers such as “females associated with the war,” “dependents,” or “camp followers” reveal the reluctance of reintegration agencies to identify females who participated in war as soldiers. In addition, I argue that men and masculinity are securitized post-conflict while women—even when they act in highly securitized roles such as soldiers—are desecuritized and, in effect, de-emphasized in post-conflict policy making. The impact of this categorization has been that the reintegration process for men has been securitized, or emphasized as an essential element of the transition from war to peace. In contrast, the reintegration process for females has been deemed a social concern and has been moralized as a return to normal.     

A Study of the Predictors of Persistence in Stalking Situations

Stalkers engaging in persistent campaigns of harassment have the potential to cause immense harm to their victims and themselves. Being able to estimate which stalkers are likely to persist longest is important to clinicians dealing with both perpetrators and victims. This study of 200 stalkers investigated characteristics of the stalkers and their behaviour that were associated with increased persistence. Logistic regression models were developed to predict low, moderate, and highly persistent stalking. The results supported previous research indicating that the type of prior relationship between stalker and victim is strongly associated with persistence, with prior acquaintances the most persistent, and strangers least. Being aged over 30, sending the victim unsolicited materials, and having an intimacy seeking or resentful motivation was also associated with greater persistence, as was the presence of psychosis.

Sudden death due to atlantoaxial subluxation in marfan syndrome

Marfan syndrome is 1 of the commonest inherited connective tissue disorders. Sudden death may occur and is usually attributed to cardiovascular manifestations of the syndrome. Atlantoaxial hypermobility, increased odontoid height, and rotatory subluxation are well described in this syndrome, but this paper details what seems to be the first reported case of sudden and unexpected death due to spontaneous atlantoaxial subluxation in Marfan syndrome.     

Does incarceration-based drug treatment reduce recidivism? A meta-analytic synthesis of the research

This research synthesized results from 66 published and unpublished evaluations of incarceration-based drug treatment programs using meta-analysis. Incarceration-based drug treatment programs fell into five types: therapeutic communities (TCs), residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT), group counseling, boot camps specifically for drug offenders, and narcotic maintenance programs. We examined the effectiveness of each of these types of interventions in reducing post-release offending and drug use, and we also examined whether differences in research findings can be explained by variations in methodology, sample, or program features. Our results consistently found support for the effectiveness of TC programs on both outcome measures, and this finding was robust to variations in method, sample, and program features. We also found support for the effectiveness of RSAT and group counseling programs in reducing re-offending, but these programs’ effects on drug use were ambiguous. A limited number of evaluations assessed narcotic maintenance or boot camp programs; however, the existing evaluations found mixed support for maintenance programs and no support for boot camps.     

Parental bonding and adult attachment styles in different types of stalker

Attachment theory is one of the earliest and most vigorously promoted explanations of the psychological processes that underlie stalking behavior. Insecure attachment has been proposed as impairing the management of relationships, thus increasing the propensity to stalk. The current study explored the parental bonding and adult attachment styles of 122 stalkers referred to a specialist forensic clinic. Stalkers were grouped according to two common classification methods: relationship and motivation. Compared to general community samples, stalkers were more likely to remember their parents as emotionally neglectful and have insecure adult attachment styles, with the degree of divergence varying according to stalker type and mode of classification. In offering support for the theoretical proposition that stalking evolves from pathological attachment, these findings highlight the need to consider attachment in the assessment and management of stalkers. Also emphasized is the importance of taking classification methods into account when interpreting and evaluating stalking research.     

“Even though we're married,I'm single”: The meaning of jail incarceration in romantic relationships

Jail incarceration substantially transforms romantic relationships, and incarceration may alter the commitment between partners, thereby undermining or strengthening relationships. In this article, we use in-depth interviews with 85 women connected to incarcerated men (as current or former romantic partners) to explore how women articulate relationship changes that stem from their partner's jail incarceration, a common but understudied form of contact with the criminal legal system. We identify three interrelated and mutually reinforcing processes, which are shaped by and shape a partner's commitment to the relationship. First, incarceration produces liminality in the status of the relationship. Second, incarceration fosters women's sense of independence from their incarcerated partners. Third, incarceration creates space for partners to reevaluate how they prioritize the relationship in their lives. Jail incarceration intervenes in romantic relationships at different points during each relationship, and accordingly, women experience heterogeneity in processes of liminality, independence, and reprioritization. These processes contribute to differential relationship experiences, with some relationships deteriorating during incarceration, others strengthening, and others neither deteriorating nor strengthening. By systematically uncovering these processes linking jail incarceration to romantic relationships, we advance an understanding of how the criminal legal system can shape relationship commitment processes and inequalities among families.