The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), enacted in 2006, broadened the legal definition of domestic violence and extended protections to women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in India. This article presents a longitudinal analysis to assess if IPV declined after the law's ratification. Findings indicate that while the PWDVA correlated with marginal improvements in certain forms of IPV, other forms of IPV worsened. Deep-rooted social norms continue to influence behaviors and attitudes surrounding IPV, limiting the law's effectiveness. Addressing IPV in India requires a multidimensional strategy that goes beyond legal reforms.

This article enquires into the communication of femicides in Greece as a discursive struggle over the emotional and moral recognition of their victims, waged through social media platforms. It is, specifically, interested in how high-traffic Greek feminist community pages on Facebook and Instagram engaged with incidents of women killings in 2021, the year that femicide rates peaked in the country. The article suggests that these pages develop a feminist-populist critique of femicide caught up in the algorithmic bias of platformized communication and reflects on whether this critique can not only raise awareness of gendered violence but also highlight the structural conditions under which it occurs.

About 25% of college women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) or sexual violence (SV). Routine screening can identify those experiencing violence, refer them for care and mitigate long-term sequelae. We interviewed 35 healthcare providers to explore barriers and facilitators to IPV/SV screening in U.S. college health centers. Individual-level barriers were personal discomfort asking about IPV/SV and perceived student resistance to being asked. Organizational barriers included lack of established policies/procedures, inadequate time/staffing and referral resources and perceived lack of standardized IPV/SV screening guidelines. Facilitators were having IPV/SV screening questions within the electronic health record and universal approaches to IPV/SV screening.

Obstetric violence includes multiple forms of mistreatment perpetrated by healthcare workers and institutions toward patients during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. A common manifestation is linguistic violence, often presented as mocking, threatening, or yelling at patients. Using critical narrative analysis of 105 semistructured interviews with health providers and patients in Medellín, Colombia, this study found that silence and silencing are forms of violence in obstetrics but can also function as acts of resistance. This study expands current research on language use in cases of violence against women in clinical settings and expands the concept of "linguistic obstetric violence" beyond verbal abuse.

College sexual assault (SA) often occurs in social contexts. Perceiving and responding to SA risk is important for prevention. SA history is linked to poorer risk perception and response. Interpersonal orientations, particularly low agency and high communion (LAHC), might confer additional risk. Using a SA vignette paradigm, we examined LAHC as a moderator of associations between SA severity and SA risk perception and response. Prior SA severity related to earlier risk detection, yet longer discomfort toleration before leaving the scenario, only among women with high LAHC orientation. Prevention efforts could target the time between SA risk detection and behavior response.

This study examined prevalence and characteristics of nonfatal strangulation (NFS) in medical forensic examinations from 2017 to 2023. A retrospective chart review of 1,396 records revealed 243 NFS cases (17.4%), prevalence increasing from 13.3% in 2017 to 22.2% in 2023. Adult NFS comprised 15.2% of cases, children 2.2%. Analysis of the NFS group revealed partner/spouse perpetrators were most common overall. Children were most commonly victimized by friends/acquaintances. NFS disproportionately affected females (94.2% of all NFS cases). Among children experiencing NFS, minority groups were overrepresented, accounting for 74.2% of pediatric NFS cases. The COVID-19 period showed distinct changes in age-related patterns.

Women's legal right to self-defense in Turkey is limited in practice, particularly under chronic abuse. This study examines how legal knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors shape self-defense. A cross-sectional survey of 392 women was analyzed to assess the impact of socio-demographic and cognitive factors. Attitudes significantly predicted behavior, while legal knowledge alone did not. Results highlight the influence of institutional distrust, stigma, and normative pressure. The study calls for feminist-informed legal reform and recognition of self-defense education as a collective right to resist gender-based violence, emphasizing structural inequality and the gap between legal rights and real-life agency.

Sexual dating violence (SDV) is a global issue affecting young women, increasing health risks, including suicide. This study analyzes the relationship between SDV and suicide risk (SR) in 1,239 women aged 18-28 from Chile, Colombia, and Spain, using a cross-sectional, cross-cultural design. Prevalence ranged from 34.9% (Spain) to 50.3% (Chile). Victimization was linked to negative affect, social isolation, emotional suppression, and SR. A direct effect of sexual violence on SR was found only in Spain. Indirect effects varied, with mediators including negative affect, social isolation (Chile, Colombia), and emotional suppression (Spain). Cultural contexts significantly shape these dynamics.

This article qualitatively explores women's experiences of violence in public maternity care in Niger to identify drivers, facilitators, manifestations, and consequences of the maltreatment of women during labor and delivery. The 58 participating mothers shared experiences that included physical abuse (slapping), verbal abuse (insults), psychological abuse (mockery), discrimination (social status/economic status), financial coercion (demanding money prior to care), and harmful birthing practices (forcing the baby out with elbows). Sociocultural aspects driving maltreatment of women included beliefs about expression of pain during labor and delivery, while social connections and the presence of the physician during delivery were protective factors.

Although a popular approach for sexual violence prevention, limited research has explored the role of bystander intervention in the nonconsensual distribution of sexual images (NCD). Among 1,095 undergraduate students, online survey results indicated that although 76% had the opportunity to intervene, only 33% intervened prosocially; the most common prosocial intervention was confronting the perpetrator (28.2% of bystanders). Individual (e.g., bystander gender, sexual orientation, and prior bystander behavior) and situational variables (e.g., perpetrator and victim importance, victim gender, and how the images were shown/shared) were significantly associated with varied bystander behaviors, bearing implications for research and practice.

The lack of data is a major barrier to comprehending conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). Existing studies indicate a high prevalence of violence but limited documentation. Media are often the first to report CRSV, thus, can data science methods analyze news reports promptly and accurately? We compare manual, machine-learning and Generative AI analysis of thousands of media reports. Five variables can be automatically coded with high accuracy, increasing to over 90% with "chain of thought" prompting. Data science can reveal previously unknown CRSV attributes to inform timely prevention, but it has important limitations that researchers, advocates, and policymakers should be aware of.

This study aimed to adapt the Victim Gaslighting Questionnaire (VGQ) into Turkish and evaluate its validity and reliability among women in Türkiye. This methodological epidemiological study collected data between February 1 and May 1, 2024, from 568 women aged 18 years and older. Data were analyzed using SPSS and LISREL. The findings, supported by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), revealed a two-factor structure consisting of Peer Disagreement and Loss of Self-Trust, which was further confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Analyses indicated good model fit (χ²/df = 2.87, RMSEA = 0.058, CFI = 0.96). The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .91) and satisfactory subscale reliabilities. Findings suggest the Turkish VGQ is a psychometrically sound tool for assessing gaslighting.

One area where sexual abuse has been understudied is among women ridesharing drivers in the United States, where they commonly face what is known as technology-facilitated gender-based violence from mostly male riders. A key research question is how these male passengers respond when women drivers fight back through confrontation. This study uses 47 incidents of sexual abuse from 25 drivers from an online survey to demonstrate that perpetrators are most likely to (continue their abuse), followed by a smaller number where they attempt to the situation, and least frequently against their drivers.

Sexual assault medical forensic exams (SAMFEs) are essential for survivor care and justice system engagement. To receive federal STOP grant funding, states must ensure survivors are not billed for SAMFEs. However, states vary widely in what services are covered, leading to inconsistent implementation, billing errors, and institutional confusion. This study reviews codified statutes from all 50 states to develop a typology of SAMFE payment systems, focusing on governance, covered services, and fiscal caps. The framework highlights structural variation and provides a foundation for future research and policy development aimed at improving trauma-informed, equitable care for survivors.

This qualitative study examined what medical advocates do that is helpful and unhelpful in their interactions with sexual assault survivors from the perspective of nurses. Data were  = 22 semistructured interviews with sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) and non-SANEs. Inductive thematic analysis was used. Helpful ways advocates worked with survivors included , , , , , and . Unhelpful ways advocates worked with survivors included and SANE training did not influence nurses' perceptions of advocate helpfulness.

This qualitative study explored the dimensions of psychic restructuring (PR) in trauma recovery among Sri Lankan Tamil refugee women. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 women residing at refugee camps in southern India; the acquired data was analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. PR encompasses positive, negative, and neutral dimensions; it comprises the changes in social dynamics, healing of psychic wounds, and reunification of the individual and collective psyches. Its key positive dimensions included symbolic representations, channeling the attitudes and victimization experiences, and positive self-concept. Findings highlight the critical role of innovative PR-based mental health interventions in empowering refugee women by enhancing self-representation and agency.

AI-powered "undressing" apps generate sexually explicit deepfakes from authentic images without consent, representing a profound escalation in image-based sexual abuse. This study analyzes 29 such apps, examining their technical affordances, marketing strategies, revenue models, and privacy policies. Findings reveal that these platforms facilitate and encourage the creation of nonconsensual intimate images (NCII), normalize women's objectification, and contribute to a culture in which women's privacy and autonomy are undermined. By framing deepfake abuse as a form of gender-based violence, this research underscores the urgent need for regulatory interventions to mitigate NCII-related harms and protect victims from exploitation in digital spaces.

Intimate partner violence is highly prevalent worldwide. Previous research has linked partner violence with reduced contraceptive use, but little is known about the role of non-physical violence in non-Western contexts. Using data from the 2015-16 India Demographic and Health Survey, this study investigates how unequal gender dynamics, marital violence, and coercive control influence unmet need for contraception. Findings suggest that coercive control may play an important role in shaping women's contraceptive use and reproductive autonomy. Health practitioners and advocates should consider coercive control by spouses as a meaningful barrier to contraceptive uptake when women wish to space or limit pregnancies.

The longitudinal effects of distinct intimate partner violence (IPV) types on neurocognition among South African women with HIV are unknown. Mixed linear models determined between-group (IPV exposed vs IPV unexposed) differences in domain-specific and global deficit scores (GDS) and associations with IPV types. There were no between-group differences in cognition (GDS and domain-specific) at baseline or 1-year follow-up. There were significant time*IPV type interaction effects (physical assault, sexual coercion, injury) in attention/working memory. IPV exposure was associated with a lack of cognitive improvement. IPV-screening among women with HIV is important for improved support and targeted interventions.

Conceptualizing commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) in linear stages of pre-, peri- and postexploitation misses the complex transformation of relationships required to engage in recovery. Through an ongoing partnership with a local residential recovery program, we conducted interviews with six survivors of CSE. Results suggest pivotal transition moments, first marking transition from childhood or domestic violence, when abuse becomes exchange, and then, upon efforts to exit from CSE, repeated cycles of efforts like those exiting intimate partner violence. These complex transitions suggest a more complex alteration of relationships across a trajectory of exploitation. Postexploitation services may support sustained exit by helping individuals create new healthy relationships.

Missing values represent a major weakness of police-recorded crime data. This article examines missing data in rape cases recorded by five police forces in England and Wales between January 2018 and December 2020. A thematic analysis of semistructured interviews with police practitioners reveals factors that influence missing information in police datasets, and quantitative data analyses explore the volume and patterns of missing data across cases defined by different victim, suspect, and offense characteristics. Finally, we investigate the impact of missing data on outcomes of police investigations. We find that missing data is partly explained by victim, suspect, and case characteristics and is also associated with outcomes.