66 research outputs found
Deconstructing the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender victim of sex trafficking: Harm, exceptionality and religion–sexuality tensions
Contrary to widespread belief, sex trafficking also targets lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) communities. Contemporary social and political constructions of victimhood lie at the heart of regulatory policies on sex trafficking. Led by the US Department of State, knowledge about LGBT victims of trafficking constitutes the newest frontier in the expansion of criminalization measures. These measures represent a crucial shift. From a burgeoning range of preemptive measures enacted to protect an amorphous class of ‘all potential victims’, now policies are heavily premised on the risk posed by traffickers to ‘victims of special interest’. These constructed identities, however, are at odds with established structures. Drawing on a range of literatures, the core task of this article is to confront some of the complexities and tensions surrounding constructions of LGBT trafficking victims. Specifically, the article argues that discourses of ‘exceptional vulnerability’ and the polarized notions of ‘innocence’ and ‘guilt’ inform hierarchies of victimhood. Based on these insights, the article argues for the need to move beyond monolithic understandings of victims, by reframing the politics of harm accordingly
Intergroup struggles over victimhood in violent conflict: The victim-perpetrator paradigm
Most groups in violent, intergroup conflict perceive themselves to be the primary or sole
victims of that conflict. This often results in contention over who may claim victim status
and complicates a central aim of post-conflict processes, which is to acknowledge and
address harms experienced by the victims. Drawing from victimology scholarship and
intergroup relations theory, this article proposes the victim-perpetrator paradigm as a
framework to analyse how, why and to what end groups in conflict construct and maintain
their claims to the moral status of victim. This interdisciplinary paradigm builds on the
knowledge that groups utilise the ‘ideal victim’ construction to exemplify their own
innocence and blamelessness in contrast to the wickedness of the perpetrator, setting the
two categories as separate and mutually exclusive even where experiences of violence
have been complex. Additionally, this construction provides for a core intergroup need
to achieve positive social identity, which groups may enhance by demonstrating a
maximum differentiation between the in-group as victims and those out-groups identified
as perpetrators. The paradigm contributes greater knowledge on the social roots of victim
contention in conflict, as well as how groups legitimise their violence against out-groups
during and after conflict
Track D Social Science, Human Rights and Political Science
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138414/1/jia218442.pd
Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.
BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700
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