Abstract This article discusses women and peace-building in Solomon Islands and the effect of law, theory and practical circumstances
on their role. It looks at the place of Solomon Islands women in society historically, with particular reference to war and
peace. It then analyses their current status from a legal perspective, looking at the existing Constitution, the proposed
Federal Constitution, and relevant aspects of international law. It questions whether gender equity provisions are sufficient
to promote participation at a practical level. The article also disputes the effectiveness of various international, regional,
and local initiatives, designed to enhance the status of women. The article discusses the application of some of the theories
relating to women and peace-building to the circumstances of Solomon Islands. It concludes by looking to the future and discussing
means of consolidating women’s position, and increasing their involvement in leadership and decision-making.
Content Type Journal Article
DOI 10.1007/s10691-008-9095-0
Authors
Jennifer Corrin, University of Queensland Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law, TC Beirne School of Law St. Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
Abstract The article examines gender equality in collective bargaining and looks at the extent to which gender and equal opportunities
issues have been mainstreamed in industrial relations systems in Italy where, despite the existence of old and new legislation
on gender equality, there are persistently low levels of female employment and the precarious workforce is made up predominantly
of women. The central question addressed in the article is whether the injection of a gender mainstreaming approach in the
Italian collective bargaining system, combined with legislative measures, may improve the situation of women in the context
of both public and private spheres. In particular, the article looks at whether gender mainstreaming has the potential to
pave the way towards an ethos of substantive equality at the workplace, whereby women enter the workforce on equal terms and
men are in a position to share the dual responsibilities of paid and unpaid work. The article maintains that gender mainstreaming
may fulfil its transformative potential as a catalyst for changing both the conceptual and analytical tools which the law
deploys, provided it is envisaged as a three-fold strategy involving simultaneous processes of deconstruction, replacement
and inclusive measures, together with deliberative forms of democracy and the imposition of a statutory positive duty on public
authorities to mainstream equality.
Content Type Journal Article
DOI 10.1007/s10691-008-9088-z
Authors
Samantha Velluti, University of Liverpool Liverpool Law School Liverpool L69 7ZS UK
Abstract In this case study, 14 witnesses of an armed robbery were interviewed after 3 months. Security camera recordings were used
to assess memory accuracy. Of all information that could be remembered about 84% was correct. Although accurately recalled
information had a higher confidence level on average than inaccurately recalled information, the mean accuracy–confidence
correlation was rather modest (0.38). These findings indicate that confidence is not a reliable predictor of accuracy. A higher
level of self-reported, post-event thinking about the incident was associated with higher confidence levels, while a higher
level of self-reported emotional impact was associated with greater accuracy. A potential source of (mis)information, a reconstruction
of the robbery broadcasted on TV, did not alter the original memories of the witnesses.
Content Type Journal Article
Category Original Article
DOI 10.1007/s10979-008-9152-x
Authors
Geralda Odinot, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) Leiden P.O. Box 792 2300 AT Leiden The Netherlands
Gezinus Wolters, Leiden University Department of Psychology Leiden The Netherlands
Peter J. van Koppen, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) Leiden P.O. Box 792 2300 AT Leiden The Netherlands
Abstract Changes in the juvenile justice system have led to more serious sanctioning of adolescents (Heilbrun, Goldstein, & Redding,
2005). A salient question for understanding whether such sanctions are appropriate pertains to whether adolescents are less mature
than adults in making decisions that lead to antisocial activity. The current study codes for psychosocial content of antisocial
decision making in adolescents (ages 12–17), young adults (18–23), and adults (ages 35–63). Results suggest that adolescents
and young adults display increased psychosocial content in their antisocial decision making relative to adults. However, the
unique effect of psychosocial content on self-report criminal behavior was significantly greater among adolescents than among
adults, whereas for young adults this was not the case. Implications for legal policy are discussed.
Content Type Journal Article
Category Original Article
DOI 10.1007/s10979-008-9150-z
Authors
Kathryn Lynn Modecki, Arizona State University Prevention Research Center P.O. Box 876005 Tempe AZ 85287 USA
Abstract This article explores commonalities between parental claims for lesbian co-mothers and other contexts in which intention is
a key aspect to family formation for (mostly) heterosexual families: in particular, surrogacy and pre-birth disputes over
embryos. Through a series of case studies drawn from recent reproductive controversies, the paper uses the lens of empathy
to argue for social or non-genetic modes of parenthood connecting lesbian mothers and other ‘reproductive outsiders’.
Content Type Journal Article
DOI 10.1007/s10691-008-9085-2
Authors
Jenni Millbank, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) Faculty of Law PO Box 123 Broadway NSW 2007 Australia
Abstract The main issue in the Masiya judgment was whether the current South African definition of rape—namely non-consensual penetration of a vagina by a penis—should
be extended to include anal penetration of both female and male victims. The majority of the Constitutional Court held that
anal penetration of female victims should constitute rape, but declined to offer similar protection to male victims. This
note argues that this judgment reverts to and reinforces patriarchal stereotypes and dichotomies and that it misunderstands,
in a profound way, central concepts such as sex and gender and the gendered nature of rape. It further suggests that, instead
of being an aberration, the judgment actually fits into a pattern of conservative judgments about gender and sexuality by
the South African Constitutional Court.
Content Type Journal Article
Category Case note
DOI 10.1007/s10691-008-9091-4
Authors
Elsje Bonthuys, University of the Witwatersrand School of Law Private Bag 3 Wits 2050 Johannesburg South Africa
Abstract This article explores how the Portuguese legal system’s efforts to determine paternity of children born outside legal marriage,
automatically initiated by the Registry Office when a birth registration does not indicate the father, reveal cultural models
which reinforce the naturalisation of the differences between mothers and fathers, with significant effects on the social
construction of parental roles and on expectations of family organisation and female sexual behaviour. The article relies
on ethnographic data drawn from direct observation of court proceedings for the determination of paternity, as well as interviews
with judges and prosecuting counsels all over the country. It is argued that judicial practices in the specific context of
courtroom investigations of paternity reinforce gender inequalities in two interrelated ways. On the one hand, they are strengthened
in the discursive practices performed during the course of the interactions between judges, prosecuting counsels and the mother
of the child, as well as the alleged father. On the other hand, the normative model of family life and the dominant ideology
of women’s and men’s relationships, which emphasise women’s socially subordinate position, are revealed by the selective use
of DNA testing in paternity cases, based on the judge’s evaluation of the mother’s sexual behaviour. The article argues that
legal attempts to establish the paternity of children born outside marriage—though based on novel technical and supposedly
objective procedures—tend, nevertheless, to reproduce the prevailing patriarchal structures.
Content Type Journal Article
DOI 10.1007/s10691-008-9089-y
Authors
Helena Machado, University of Minho Department of Sociology, Research Centre for the Social Sciences 4710-057 Braga Portugal
