Laws and policies to contrast and prevent Gender-Based Violence Against Women
A comparative analysis between Spain and Italy (1993-2015)
by Stellamarina Donato (LUMSA University of Rome, Italy)
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“Laws and policies to contrast and prevent Gender-Based Violence Against Women: A comparative analysis between Spain and Italy (1993-2015)” by Stellamarina Donato is a well-written, impactful work that is useful to policymakers, academics, and other organizations working on Gender-Based Violence Against Women (GBVAW). Using international documents on GBVAW, as well as national policies and targeted interviews, this book analyzes important texts and specific cases to compare and contrast the responses of the governments of Spain and Italy to GBVAW. This book is absolutely essential in the creation of future policies to effectively target GBVAW throughout Europe, as well as for researchers looking to better understand the effectiveness of international and regional policy on national efforts to target GBVAW. Donato brings awareness to the lack of protection against GBVAW that continues to plague European countries, and this work has the potential to change the way in which GBVAW is examined by policymakers and researchers alike. It drives home that women have a right to exist in a world without violence, inspiring all those who read it to work toward positive change.
Alexandra Yingst
Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics
University of Iceland, Iceland
In my opinion, the volume is very interesting and well-organized, and it is pleasant to read.
The major strength of the volume is the analysis of international and regional documents on the GBVAW, conducted with different qualitative methods and in-depth interviews, and qualitative analysis of the text. The comparison between Italy and Spain, on how they deal with the phenomenon institutionally, two countries that are culturally very similar but potentially very different in the solutions adopted, is also interesting but potentially different.
Its originality recalls it above all in the approach top-down approach, from the UN to the national level, following a subsequently, the focus on both national sources, as well as the level of government responsiveness in terms of policies on GBVAW in Italy and Spain, while also comparing the cases.
The volume will interest both the public of associations and operators in the sector of social policies from a territorial and local point of view, but above all, those who are interested in the subject from an institutional and legal point of view.
Prof. Dr. Giovanna Truda
Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e della Comunicazione/DISPC
University of Salerno, Italy
What stage of development are women’s rights as human rights? By specifically regarding the prevention and elimination of all forms of Violence Against Women, the book focuses on two European Mediterranean countries: Italy and Spain. The book first considers the chronological description and analysis of the main international documents, those belonging to the United Nations apparatus, followed by the analysis of the sources on Gender-Based Violence Against Women (GBVAW) of the Council of Europe and the European Union.
The analysis of international documents guarantees an initial overview of the debate on GBVAW, following a top-down approach, from the UN to the national level. Successively, the focus is on both national sources as well as the level of government responsiveness in terms of policies on GBVAW in Italy and Spain, while also comparing the cases. The book adopts multimethod research based on qualitative text analysis; an examination of the level of national Government Responsiveness to GBVAW, and a series of in-depth interviews with targeted individuals. The final aim of this book is to understand how international (UN) and regional (CoE, EU) documents on GBVAW, along with the categories and expressions used within the documents, have contributed to different policies in countering GBVAW in Italy and Spain, while also highlighting the reasons why the two countries responded differently. Within a comprehensive international scenario, this book intends to create space for debate on possible future EU policies aimed at contrasting GBVAW.
Table of acronyms
List of figures and tables
Foreword by Consuelo Corradi, LUMSA University, Italy
Introduction
Chapter I
Gender-Based Violence Against Women: concepts, literature, and background information
Introduction
Research questions and research goal
The role of international bodies and governments in dealing with GBVAW in current literature: laws, policies, and government responsiveness
The debate on definitions: literature concerning violence perpetrated by men against women
Additional definitions for the book
Theoretical framework
It is all about gender
Chapter II
Methods of studying laws and policies on GBVAW
Introduction
Structure of the book
Methods
Field research
Chapter III
The international debate on GBVAW
Introduction
UN documents
Categories and thematic lines within UN documents on VAW/GV/GBVAW
CoE documents
Categories and thematic lines within CoE documents on AW/GV/GBVAW
EU documents
Categories and thematic lines within EU documents on VAW/GV/GBVAW
From private matter to shared responsibility: the evolution of international approaches to GBVAW
Chapter IV
Italian and Spanish laws and policies on GBVAW
Introduction
Italy: selected laws and policies
Laws and policies on Gender-Based Violence Against Women in Italy (1993-2015): a broader analysis of actors involved, and definitions adopted through interviews
Spain: selected laws and policies
Laws and policies on Gender-Based Violence Against Women in Spain (1993-2015): a broader analysis of the actors involved, and definitions adopted through interviews
National and transnational movements of women on GBVAW
Chapter V
Comparing Italy and Spain on the level of GBVAW government responsiveness
Introduction
Comparison and discussion of the results
Driving change: a comparative analysis of GBVAW policies in Spain and Italy
Unveiling contrasting responses: GBVAW policies in times of crisis
Conclusions
Appendices
Appendix 1: Outline of the interview (in Italian)
Appendix 2: Outline of the interview (in Spanish)
Bibliography
Index
Stellamarina Donato is a postdoctoral researcher in social sciences at LUMSA University of Rome, Italy. She received a Ph.D. and Doctor Europaeus on Gender-Based Violence Against Women (GBVAW) policies. Her research interests encompass EU policies focusing on migration and populism and gender and policies focusing on women's rights and gender-based violence against women. On these research topics, she published essays, book chapters, and articles in international and national journals, such as 'Italian Sociological Review' and 'Cultura Latinoamericana'. She is MC Member (Italy) and co-gender advisor to COST Action CA19112 Women on the Move (WEMov). She is also a member of the Research Unit: “Protagonismo e coscienza del femminile nel nuovo Millennio. La narrazione della violenza di genere in un tempo senza utopie” (LUMSA University of Rome) and founding member of “Narratives and Social Changes-International Research Group” (University of Salerno). She earned a scholarship as Visiting Ph.D. researcher at the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR). She obtained the role of research intern at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences. She worked on a Project about Populism and attitudes toward the EU in Central Europe. She has also obtained her Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Bologna, where she focused on EU-Mediterranean relations.
Violence Against Women, Gender Violence, Women’s rights, Policies on women’s issues, Spain, Italy, International documents on gender violence, EU, Sociology, Public policies and Laws on gender violence
