Biblio

Paiva analyses the international #MeToo movement from the perspective of the Brazilian feminist movement; its historical approaches and new focus on using social networks. She also interprets #MeToo as one expression of new feminism and the related movements and collectives that stemmed from it. The author finally analyses #EleNão (NotHim) as an offshoot of #MeToo and its failure to prevent the 2018 election of Jair Bolsonaro, who represented misogynist and chauvinist movement in Brazil.

Report on the Australia response to the emergence of the #MeToo movement.

Criticises the law that entered into force at the end of 2018 – Bill C-51 – that is intended to counter-act under-reporting and “ensure that victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence are treated with the utmost compassion and respect.” However, the authors argue, there is nothing in the law to protect against judicial misapplication or inappropriate methods of defence in court.

This article compares the impact of the #MeToo movement in South Korea and Japan. In South Korea, #MeToo inspired many women to go public with their accusations in numerous high-profile cases. Those accusations in turn inspired mass demonstrations and demands for legal reform. In South Korea, the movement also led to policy proposals and the revision of laws on sexual harassment and gender-based violence. In Japan, however, the movement has grown more slowly. Fewer women made public accusations, and if they did, they tended to remain anonymous. The movement has been limited to a small number of cases leading to a professional network to support women journalists. The authors argue that the different outcomes can be explained by the strength of women’s engagement in civil society and the nature of the media coverage in each case. In both countries, however, women continue to face a powerful backlash that includes victim-blaming and social and professional sanctions for speaking up.

In Spain and France, a lot of attention was initially given to Alyssa Milano’s #Me Too initiative in October 2017 and Oprah Winfrey’s #Time’s Up claim in January 2018. The authors argue that in Spain and France #MeToo was focused as a way for ordinary women to denounce the sexual abuse and harassment they had been suffering, sometimes for decades, in the past, and the role of well-known actors or powerful personalities was almost non-existent. But the #MeToo movement did play a significant role in supporting women, individually or collectively, to oppose sexual abuse and harassment.

The article discusses the high levels of harassment endured by women in South-East and Eastern Europe, revealed in a 2019 OSCE survey, and the difficulty of speaking out. It gives the example Marija Lukic, who accused the former president of a  municipality in Serbia and was insulted by 50 of his supporters when she went to court. The author also comments very briefly on short but ultimately unsuccessful social media MeToo campaigns in Poland and Romania and suggests that in Hungary the response has been confined to 'liberal and cultural circles'. She records that the Council of Europe's 2011 Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women was ratified by Serbia in November 2017 and Croatia in 2018, but has not been ratified by the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Moldova, Ukraine or Russia.   

A comprehensive exploration of the development of feminist movements in the Middle East, despite the wars led by authoritarian states, western imperialistic powers, and reactionary fundamentalist forces.

The authors begin by documenting the restorative origins of #MeToo, as well as exploring steps taken especially by Time's Up, to amplify and promote the credibility of survivors' voices, seek accountability, change workplace practices, and encourage access to the legal system. They then explore the key components of restorative justice: acknowledgement, responsibility-taking, harm repair, non-repetition, and reintegration. The aim is how these concepts might apply in the context of addressing sexual assault and harassment in the workplace and in the world at large.

Kohn discusses the allegations against high-profile perpetrators as a representative sample of the range of accusations raised generally by the #MeToo movement. She also analyzes the current responses available to redress these wrongs and then turns to the potential of restorative justice. This is conceived as a therapeutic form of dispute resolution that has enormous potential for eliciting the outcomes the #MeToo movement seek: true gender-equality, respect, and understanding.

Men have an important role as allies in reducing discrimination against women. Using the Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA), the authors examined whether men's identification with women would predict their allied collective actions. They also examined whether men’s identification with their own group would reduce their willingness to improve women's situation. They found that moral beliefs and a sense of group efficacy made men more likely to join in collective action to combat discrimination against women. They also discuss the possible role of norms and concept of legitimacy in society in explaining the pattern of results.

Highlights the rapid rise of a new wave of feminism in Chile thanks to students’ demonstrations across the country aiming at tackling femicide and impunity.

Looks at the expansion of political and legal rights on gender-related issues in Latin America. The article also discusses the overall progress of women in education; their role in the labour market; and women’s access to health-care and social security. Emphasises the predominance of gender-based violence and lack of reproductive rights in the region.

The article analyses the language used by the Polish nationalist right in relation to LGBT communities and women’s right to abortion. The authors show links between the language of Church officials hierarchs and right-wing columnists. The attack on gender uses the same methods of political mobilisation and power management as the campaign against refugees and immigrants. The anti-gender discourse may strengthen the narrative against the ‘liberal EU’ and create substitute ‘scapegoats’ inside Poland. The dispersed anti-gender discourse does have a real impact on social attitudes – on the one hand, it polarises social sympathies and, on the other hand, it strengthens right-wing attitudes. The analysis is based on right-wing press articles, Church officials’ statements, videos on YouTube and a parliamentary debate about the right to abortion.

The book notes the long history of pro-choice activism, and explores new limits on abortion in the United States under the Trump/Pence Administration, as well as the global impact of US policy. The author then charts the pro-choice movements led by women in Canada, Ireland, and Poland; the interconnection between diversity and abortion; and the fight against abortion stigma. It also includes testimonies of women who have had abortions.

Notes that the official Algerian claims to be a model of political stability in the region - partly corroborated by the regime's ability to prevent unrest in 2011 turning into a revolution - have been proved illusory by the mass movement that erupted in Algeria in February 2019,and by the breath of its support.

Argues that, in a society like Nigeria’s, where lack of financial opportunity has fostered an entrepreneurial mindset, and where distrust of western feminism is culturally entrenched, neoliberal feminism may be women’s best option, even if neoliberal feminism is criticized for its disregard for structural inequalities and thus for failing women most susceptible to violence.

BBC Middle East editor briefly surveys the demonstrations in Lebanon and Iraq, notes attempted protests in Egypt, and  discusses the frustration and rage of young people over educational failures and unemployment, as well as rampant corruption.  He comments on the security forces firing on Iraqi demonstrators, and on reports that men in black (sometimes masked) who might be pro-Iranian militias were opening fire, Bowen also notes that some Iraqi soldiers have wrapped the national flag around their shoulders, suggesting sympathy for the protesters.

Argues that governments, businesses and individuals acting alone cannot secure effective policies on curbing climate change, what is needed is mobilization by the 'third sector'. Hale suggests success depends on 'national leadership by a diverse coalition of groups; action at community level; a mass movement 'living differently and demanding more, and mobilization across borders'.

Zhongly Yu explores four eras during which feminism evolved in China. The first wave was characterised by the May Fourth Movement from 1915 until 1921 – a political, social, and cultural revolution; the second wave that spanned from 1949 to the late 1970s, was government-led, with state policies mobilising rural and urban women in the public sphere as important builders of society; a third wave, beginning in the 1980s and ending in the 1990s, was led by female academics, and was characterised by the concept of ‘female essence’ and a concern for achieving harmony between women and men; the fourth, more recent wave is led by young feminist activists and focuses on gender equality and male sexual misconduct. 

New Zealand has built a strong, bipartisan record over several decades for constructive disarmament and arms control policies, which promotes its reputation as a relatively independent, principled international actor. New Zealand’s role as a champion of a rules-based international order, and as a defender of the rights and interests of small states, is also underpinned by its record.

Narrates the background of the #AbujaPoliceraidOnWomen campaign, in response to the violent arrest of 70 women in two clubs on the accusation of prostitution. The police allegedly raped those women who couldn’t afford the bail. See also the interview on this campaign with Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, founder of the Stand To End Rape (STER) initiative  http://africanfeminism.com/police-brutality-against-nigerian-women-an-interview-with-oluwaseun-ayodeji-osowobi/ and http://africanfeminism.com/protests-arent-tea-parties-dont-expect-women-to-be-civil/

Narrates the background of the #AbujaPoliceraidOnWomen campaign, in response to the violent arrest of 70 women in two clubs on the accusation of prostitution. The police allegedly raped those women who couldn’t afford the bail. See also the interview on this campaign with Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, founder of the Stand To End Rape (STER) initiative  http://africanfeminism.com/police-brutality-against-nigerian-women-an-interview-with-oluwaseun-ayodeji-osowobi/ and http://africanfeminism.com/protests-arent-tea-parties-dont-expect-women-to-be-civil/

'Ni Una Menos', an Argentine feminist movement, has spread throughout Latin America largely due to its use of social media. The organisation is able to hold to account both the Argentine government and society overall, keeping women’s rights in the spotlight. This study examines ‘Ni Una Menos’ Twitter account since its formation in 2015, in order to understand how the organization has evolved over time, and how it continues to fight for women’s rights.

Erasto notes that the TPNW explicitly mentions the NPT, and argues that the two treaties are clearly legally compatible, despite claims that the TPNW is in conflict with the NPT.  He then assesses in detail political arguments that the TPNW could jeopardise the NPT regime. 

This article explores the development of the ‘nuclear taboo’ and ICAN’s creative manipulation of discourses of nuclear pollution. ICAN placed people who had long been marginalized by nuclear diplomacy – Atomic Bomb survivors, women, indigenous people, civilians, representatives of small states – at the centre of the debate about conversation about nuclear weapons. In doing so, ICAN deconstructed discourses legitimating nuclear weapons, revealing the ambivalence and fear underneath diplomatic euphemism. ICAN also turned the stigma associated with nuclear weapons onto those who defended them.