Coping with sexual harassment: the experience of young working women in Italy

The aims of this qualitative study were to describe sexual harassment (SH) as experienced by young Italian women in the workplace and to analyse their reactions and forms of resistance. A sample of 20 university students who mostly held casual jobs was recruited at one university and interviewed in 2017\u201318; the transcriptions were analysed using a thematic method. Respondents experienced multiple forms of SH, from sexual comments and requests to physical contacts, carried out by male employers, co-workers and customers. Often SH had a pronounced pornographic nature, and occasionally women were treated as \u2018prostitutes\u2019; dress-code implied \u2018dressing sexily\u2019, and becomes a form of SH. All women evaluated these behaviours as inappropriate, but no one considered making a formal complaint. They reported confusion, attempts to minimise, going along with a smile, asking the help of colleagues, and using the boyfriend as a protector. Few took direct actions such as confronting the harassers, retaliating or complaining to the employer. Notwithstanding the hostility and humiliation experienced, the young women interviewed retained a strong sense of their dignity as workers, which can count as another form of resistance to a system that consistently tries to objectify them and disqualify them as workers

Donne vittime di violenza da parte del partner: quali strade per chidere aiuto?

La ricerca di sostegno sociale ha un ruolo centrale nell’uscita dalla violenza; avere figli (nel testo verrà utilizzato il sostantivo “figli” per indicare l’insieme dei figli e delle figlie delle donne) e divenire consapevoli degli effetti che la violenza ha su di loro è spesso l’elemento chiave che spinge le donne a ricercare aiuto. Questo studio ha l’obiettivo di indagare quali fonti di aiuto le donne contattano prima di rivolgersi ad un Centro Antiviolenza (CAV) e di analizzare le circostanze in cui lo fanno. A tal fine è stato condotto uno studio trasversale in cinque CAV del Nord Italia. Centocinquantuno donne hanno compilato autonomamente un questionario anonimo. Le donne hanno riportato elevati livelli di tutte le tipologie di violenza; i figli erano, nella maggior parte dei casi, direttamente coinvolti nelle violenze. Il 33% delle donne ha riferito di aver contattato 4 o più fonti di aiuto prima di arrivare al CAV. Il coinvolgimento dei figli nelle violenze ha portato le donne a rivolgersi a più fonti di aiuto rispetto alle situazioni in cui i figli non erano coinvolti. I risultati sottolineano l’importanza di formare tutti i professionisti e le professioniste che potrebbero incontrare nel loro percorso professionale delle donne che hanno subito o che stanno subendo violenza. La demande d’aide et de soutien joue un rôle central pour mettre fin à la violence du partenaire et pour marquer le tournant dans le processus concernant la prise de conscience des effets de la violence sur les enfants. Cette étude vise à examiner les sources d’assistance que les femmes ont contactées avant d’arriver au centre anti-violence et à analyser les circonstances concrètes des cas de figure. Une étude transversale a été menée sur les femmes qui se sont adressées à un centre antiviolence en Italie. Cent cinquante et une femmes ont rempli un questionnaire auto-administré. Elles ont signalé des niveaux élevés de toutes les typologies de violence entre partenaires intimes ; les enfants étaient étroitement associés à la violence. Avant d’arriver au centre anti-violence, 33,1 % de l’échantillon a contacté au moins quatre sources d’assistance. Lorsque les enfants étaient impliqués dans la violence, les sources activées étaient plus nombreuses que si les enfants ne l’étaient pas. L’étude rappelle toute l’importance d’améliorer la capacité des professionnels à reconnaître la violence et à soutenir les victimes. Looking for help and support has a central role in the process of putting an end to partner violence and an important turning-point in the process of deciding to seek help is having children and becoming aware of the effects of the violence on them. This study aims to investigate which sources of help women contacted before arriving at an Anti-violence Centre(AVC), and to analyse the circumstances in which they contacted them. A cross-sectional study was conducted among women arriving at an Anti-violence Centre in Italy. One hundred and fifty-one women filled in a self-administered questionnaire. The women reported high levels of all typologies of IPV (Intimate Partner Violence); the children were closely involved in the violence. Before arriving to the AVC, 33.1% of the sample contacted four or more sources. When children were involved in violence, more sources were activated, than in cases in which children were not involved. This study points to the importance of improving practitioners’ ability to recognize violence and support the victims

Disordered Eating Behaviors and Sexual Harassment in Italian Male and Female University Students

The aim of this study is to describe sexual harassment among Italian university students and analyze the relationship between harassment and disordered eating behaviors. An observational survey was conducted among university students at Trieste University (Italy) in spring 2014. Students answered an anonymous self-administered questionnaire about sexual harassment, including three domains\u2014sexual harassment, unwanted comments on physical appearance, cyber-harassment\u2014and disordered eating behaviors. The global sexual harassment index was computed with three levels: Level 0, no harassment; Level 1, harassment in at least one of the three domains; and Level 2, harassment in two or three domains. Disordered eating behaviors were classified by at least one of the following: (a) eating without being able to stop or vomiting at least once or twice a month, (b) using laxatives or diuretics at least once or twice a week, (c) monitoring weight every day, and (d) dieting at least very often. The sample included 759 students (347 men and 412 women; 18-29 years old). Experiencing sexual harassment was related to eating disorder symptoms for both genders with a regular gradient: the higher the harassment score, the more frequent the disordered eating behavior symptoms, even after adjusting for age and previous sexual violence. The association was stronger for males than females. Sexual harassment and disordered eating behaviors have long been considered mainly a female problem. Men are not exempt from these problems and in some cases may be more affected than women. The topics should be assessed in men and women

Collaborative Interlaboratory Studies for the Validation of ELISA Methods for the Detection of Allergenic Fining Agents Used in Wine According to the Criteria of OIV Resolution 427–2010 Modified by OIV–Comex 502–2012

The clarification or fining of wine removes undesired substances (mainly proteins, phenols, and tannins), which would roil the wine and cause bitterness and astringency. A common fining agent, egg white, can be directly added to wine through the inlet of a circulating pump, but more typically egg white comes as commercial preparation in powdered form (commercially named egg albumin). Skimmed milk or more frequently purified caseinates are used to remove bitterness and hardness of white wine and sherry. Both egg white and caseinates are fining agents with optimal enological properties, but their residues could represent a risk for subjects suffering from food allergy. The rules for allergen labeling were detailed in Directives 2003/89/EC, and Directive 2005/26/EC established a list of food ingredients provisionally excluded from labeling, that included wine fining agents. Extended till June 2012, wine labeling exemption can be now maintained only if (1) egg and milk derivatives are not used and cross-contamination is under control; and (2) wine clarified with such products is negative for the presence of residues using techniques with detection and quantification limits of 0.25 and 0.5 ppm, respectively. Analytical requirements were defined in the OIV resolution 427–2010 (OIV 2010) modified by OIV/COMEX 502–2012 (OIV 2012). On the basis of a previous experience, an interlaboratory collaborative trial was organized to validate a commercial ELISA kit designed to measure allergenic residues in red wine fined with egg white proteins. In the meantime, the performance of the commercial caseinate ELISA kit for white wine was rechecked according to the new limit of detection and limit of quantification values, recommended by OIV in 2012. The collaborative interlaboratory studies showed that both ELISA kits had good reproducibility, repeatability, and robustness in detecting residues of allergenic fining agents in wine, in good agreement with the requirements of the OIV resolution 427–2010 modified by OIV/COMEX 502–2012

Gender differences in pain prevalence, characteristics, assessment and treatment in internal medicine patients: a post-hoc analysis of the FADOI-DOMINO study

Conflicting results come from epidemiological studies on the correlations between gender and pain in hospitalized patients. No specific data are reported in patients admitted to Internal Medicine Units (IMUs). Post-hoc analysis of the FADOI-DOMINO study, performed in 26 IMUs in Italy, with two cross-sectional surveys interspersed with an educational program. The 5200 medical charts of the FADOI-DOMINO study were re-analyzed. The following sex differences were highlighted: i) a greater pain prevalence was evidenced in women in the Pre-phase; ii) among patients with chronic pain, anxiety and depression were significantly more present in women compared with men; iii) oncologic pain was more prevalent in men; in a specular way, nononcologic pain showed a greater prevalence in women in both phases; iv) strong opioids therapy was higher for men. Some sex differences in pain seem to exist in IMUs, although less evident if compared with those previously reported in other settings. A more careful assessment of coexisting conditions such as anxiety, depression or cognitive impairment can result in a better management of these problems

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

Femminismo e giovani generazioni: a che punto siamo?

Femminismo, nuove generazioni, relazioni di coppia, violenz

The Involvement of Children in Postseparation Intimate Partner Violence in Italy: A Strategy to Maintain Coercive Control?

Violence against women often continues after couples separate. Although the involvement of children in intimate partner violence is known, no study has investigated the role of children in postseparation violence in southern Europe. The aim of this study was to analyze male perpetrators\u2019 strategies to maintain control over the woman after couples separate and the involvement of children in this process. We designed a multimethod research with a sample of women attending five anti-violence centers in Italy: In the quantitative part, women were interviewed with a questionnaire (N \ubc 151) at baseline and followed up 18 months later (N \ubc 91); in the qualitative part, in-depth interviews were carried out with women (N \ubc 13) attending the same centers. Results showed that women experienced high levels of violence and that children were deeply involved. When women with children were no longer living with the violence perpetrator, threats, violence, manipulation, and controlling behaviors occurred during father\u2013child contacts: 78.9% of women in the longitudinal survey and all women in the qualitative study reported at least one of these unsettling behaviors. The qualitative study allowed for discovering some specific perpetrator strategies. Making the woman feel guilty, threatening, denigrating, and impoverishing her; preventing her from living a normal life; and trying to destroy the mother\u2013child bond were key elements of a complex design aimed at maintaining coercive control over the ex-partner. Results from this multimethod study provided a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of coercive control and postseparation violence and how perpetrators use children to fulfill their aims

The help-seeking process among women victims of partner violence in Italy

Looking for support has a central role in the process of escaping violence. This study aims to investigate which sources of help women victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) contacted before arriving at an anti-violence centre (AVC), and to analyse the links with the women\u2019s characteristics, their history of violence and the involvement of children. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 151 women arriving at five AVCs in Italy, where they filled in a self-administered questionnaire. Women reported high levels of violence; children were closely involved. Only two women reported no previous contact with sources of help; 33.1 per cent of the sample contacted four or more sources. Non-Italian women were more likely to contact four or more sources of help; having children was linked to more contacts with social workers; more severe violence was linked to more contacts with law enforcement agents. When children were involved in violence, the odds ratio for contacting four or more sources of help increased significantly, also after controlling for women\u2019s nationality (adjusted odds ratio 9.47, p<0.05). This study provides evidence of the active behaviour of victims of violence and of the role played by children\u2019s involvement in women\u2019s help-seeking behaviour