Gender as catalyst for violence against Roma in contemporary Italy

ABSTRACT

Silvio Berlusconi's use of ethnicity and immigration as national security issues in his successful campaign for election to the Italian presidency in 2008 was by no means unique in contemporary Europe. What was surprising was the speed of his right-wing government's legislative restriction of migrants in the form of the so-called ‘security package’, first introduced just five weeks after the election. Woodcock explores the striking fact that this ‘security package’, and the intense wave of racist violence by Italians against Roma that it legitimized and encouraged, was proposed and justified in response to media reports of Italian babies being stolen by ‘Zingari’ from the ‘nomad camps’ and of Italian women being raped and beaten by Romanian men of ‘Zingari’ ethnicity. Gender and ethnicity are the twin constitutive discourses of modern European society, and racialized subjects are necessarily gendered. The stereotype of ‘dangerous black men sexually threatening white women’ has been mobilized in a vast range of European and colonial nationalist projects in order to justify the policing of both racialized masculine subjects and women as objects of the patriarchy. Similarly, the depiction of women as hysterical, sexually vulnerable objects in need of (white) masculine protection is an old story that the Italian media recognize as a fairy tale even as they reproduce the discourse. Woodcock explores what has not been mentioned thus far, namely, that gender stereotypes are vital to the mobilization of violent racism against the Roma in contemporary Italy, and how conservative gender binaries are strengthened and policed in a time of social crisis through the stereotyping of Roma as racial threat.     

‘Sexurity’ and its effects in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Newly recognised as a threat to global peace and security, sexual violence in conflict is now a fixed item on international security agendas. This marks significant progress for women, gender equality and the integrity of peace programmes. Our aim here, however, is to reflect upon the risks that inhere in this accomplishment. Through the concept of ‘sexurity’, a tripartite amalgam of the securitisation of sexual violence, the sexualisation of security, and the language of crisis, we outline the adverse effects of tethering sexual violence to security. This article concerns itself with the material and symbolic effects of ‘sexurity’ for eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It first outlines ‘sexurity’ and the context of its emergence before, drawing on fieldwork in eastern DRC, the second part underlines the effects of ‘sexurity’ for the country.     

The Effect of Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol®) on the Development of Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and its Implications for Forensic Entomology

This study investigated the potential effects of flunitrazepam (known as “date rape drug”) on the developmental cycle of Chrysomya megacephala, an important forensic species, and their possible implications for the calculation of the PMI. A 1050 C. megacephala eggs were divided into five groups with seven replications each. The eggs were placed on artificial diet prepared with four drug concentrations of flunitrazepam (4, 8, 16, and 32 ng/g), besides the control group (prepared with water). Were evaluated the potential effects on development time, weight gain, and mortality during the cycles. The drug had no significant effect on development time or mortality although it did affect the weight of the pupae and adults (Kruskal–Wallis, p < 0.05). The result can be deduced that the determination of the postmortem interval is not affected.     

近关系强奸实证研究

近关系强奸是近年来国内外在强奸犯罪研究领域内研究的重点.在司法实践中,办理近关系强奸案件有诸多问题亟须解决.运用实证研究的方法,可以将近关系强奸分为约会强奸、聚会强奸、非约(聚)会双向互动强奸、单向强奸等四种类型,并通过对类型的研究探讨实践中近关系强奸案件在办理中存在的违背妇女意志认定难、犯罪人否认强奸、被害人态度反复等疑难问题,有利于在办理该类案件中在证据审查和运用中把握需要注意的问题.     

论强奸犯罪的情景因素及预防

强奸犯罪是一种危害极为严重的暴力犯罪 ,各国法律都对此施以重典 ,但是逐年上升的发案率说明了刑罚并不是唯一有效控制犯罪的手段 ,我们必须同时加强犯罪预防工作。情景预防是一种极具操作性的犯罪预防方法 ,本文尝试着用情景预防的理论来提出强奸犯罪的预防措施     

Prosecuting Mass Rape: Prosecutor v. Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovac and Zoran Vukovic

The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal convictedthree men for their role in the mass rape ofMuslim women during the conflict inBosnia-Hercegovina. That decision is a landmarkin many respects, but primarily for itsdetermination that the rape of Muslim womenamounted to a crime against humanity. Thiscomment provides an overview of the decision,exploring the significance of recognising rapeas a crime against humanity within the contextof other developments in the area of wartimerape and sexual violence. The comment alsoprovides a brief review of the decision inlight of the author's previous scepticism aboutthe capacity for the Tribunal meaningfully toaddress violence against women. The commentconcludes that while many aspects of thedecision are promising, the war crimes trialitself may offer a limiting arena within whichto address wartime rape.     

论系列杀人案件的概念及特点

系列杀人案件的表现形式较为复杂,对系列杀人案件国内外学者有几种看法。系列杀人案件是一类特殊的杀人案件。该类案件不同于集体杀人案件和狂热杀人案件。了解系列杀人案件的概念和特点有助手侦查人员调查此类案件。     

婚内强奸:从客观事实到法律事实的演进

古代西方在传统夫制社会下的男强女弱、男主女从的模式之下,刑法理论中的婚内强奸难以占得一席之地,主要缘于以“妻子承诺论”和“促使女方报复论”为理论支撑的“丈夫豁免”。20世纪中后期以来,在工业革命的背景下,西方各国开始了一场规模空前、势不可挡的以追求政治、经济、性权利平等为目标的女权运动,人们开始逐步反思检讨“丈夫豁免”的正当性,摒弃了强奸罪中的“丈夫除外”原则。婚内强奸在中国作为一个客观事实的存在显而易见,而其从客观事实到法律事实的演进,反映了当代中国在权利规范从社会本位走向权利本位之后,人权保障和提供社会公正将是任何一项法律制度所不可或缺的功能。     

同性性侵犯行为犯罪化之立法探析

中国现行刑法关于同性性犯罪的规定存在立法缺陷,应当在进行自我检讨的基础上,基于法益侵害说的观点对同性性侵犯行为进行犯罪化思考,行为对同性性的自主权的侵害达到严重程度应当规定为犯罪;同时借鉴其他国家相关法律的规定,充实我国的性犯罪规定,构想在中国针对同性性侵犯行为如何设置罪名的问题。     

性骚扰与强奸——走向"性别中立"

在人权的视角下,性骚扰与强奸被认定为性暴力。性骚扰作为最新出现的性暴力,由女权主义的“对妇女的性骚扰”发展而来;而当今时代的强奸,则由古代的“强奸妇女”发展而来。无论强奸还是性骚扰,其发展方向都是走向“性别中立”。这有利于妇女的发展。