Movements' Dynamics and Government Responsiveness to Violence Against Women: A Study Set Against Political and Social Change in Spain and Italy.

Actions to counter violence against women are a fully fledged policy field with significant differences across countries. Through a comparative analysis of Spain and Italy, this article maps the interplay between women's movements and national governments in launching violence against women (VAW) policies. In Spain, policy formation was the outcome of dual feminist-socialist activism, leading to dialogue between movements and the government. In Italy, movements opposed the government from the outside. In both countries, the critical factor inciting responsiveness on VAW was not one single variable but a combination of political opportunity, movement identity, dedicated women's policy agencies, and the soft power of international institutions.

Feminicidio and #NiUna Menos: An Analysis of Twitter Conversations During the First 3 Years of the Argentinean Movement.

This article analyzes the Twitter conversations carrying the hashtag #NiUnaMenos produced in Argentina during the time of the marches in 2015, 2016, and 2017, by adopting a quali-quantitative method. After describing the origins of NiUnaMenos, we illustrate the mobilizing force of femicide in a context of technopolitical use of social media by women's movements. Data analysis diachronically shows to what extent and in what terms conversations on NiUnaMenos refer to gender violence and femicide. The conclusions highlight the effective combination of femicide narrative, the Argentinean human rights tradition, and Twitter usages in transforming violence against women into a general civic matter.

Sexism and its associated factors among adolescents in Europe: Lights4Violence baseline results.

Despite the efforts of recent decades to reduce gender inequality, sexism is still prevalent among adolescents. The objective of this study was to identify the main socioeconomic characteristics, personal experiences, resources, and competencies associated with sexism in a sample of adolescents from different European countries. Baseline data from the Lights4Violence project included 1555 students ages 12-17 from secondary schools in six European countries (Spain, Italy, Romania, United Kingdom, Portugal, and Poland). Linear regression models were carried out, stratified by sex for benevolent (BS) and hostile (HS) dimensions of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. The average age of the sample was 14.3 years (SD = 1.5), 59.3% were girls. Boys scored higher on the measure of sexism (mean BS = 29.7; HS = 29.1) than girls (BS = 27.5, HS = 23.0; p < .001). Girls whose mothers had a university degree reported lower BS (ß = -0.113; p = .023) (reference: lower education). Girls who had experienced dating violence reported higher HS (ß = .080; p = .010) than those who had never been in an intimate relationship. For both sexes, high aggressiveness was associated with high levels of HS, and high aggressiveness was related to high levels of BS in boys. High assertiveness was associated with high levels of BS in both sexes and with high levels of HS in boys. A high level of problem-solving ability was associated with lower HS in both sexes. The study reinforces the need to invest in school programs aimed at preventing dating violence and promoting positive youth development.

The effect of macrosocial policies on violence against women: a multilevel study in 28 European countries.

OBJECTIVES: To describe and analyze whether a relationship exists between gender equality and political responses to gender violence (GV) against women with physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) in the European Union (EU). METHODS: We analyzed a subsample of 39,269 ever-partnered women aged 18 and older from the violence against women survey (2012) of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. Outcome was last 12 months physical and/or sexual IPV. Multilevel Poisson regression models were used. RESULTS: Current prevalence of IPV was 4.2%. Having suffered abuse by an adult before age 15 was the strongest associated factor for increasing the probability of suffering (PR: 2.9). Living in countries with higher gender equality, with anti-GV legislation prior to 2005, in countries where the state involved multiple actors in GV response and in countries with family policies included in the Anglo-Saxon, Eastern European and Southern European typologies (reference: Nordic), diminishes the women likelihood of suffering IPV. CONCLUSIONS: The response to IPV in the EU requires an integral approach that accounts for the efforts of multiple sectors as well as policies that reach greater levels of gender equality in the countries.