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Women's freedom of movement and participation in psychosocial support groups: Qualitative study in northern India
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2019) Gailits N; Mathias, Kaaren; Nouvet E; Pillai P; Schwartz L
Background: Depression, the world's leading cause of disability, disproportionately affects women. Women in India, one of the most gender unequal countries worldwide, face systemic gender disadvantage that significantly increases the risk of common mental disorders. This study's objective was to examine the factors influencing women's participation in psychosocial support groups, within an approach where community members work together to collectively strengthen their community's mental health. Methods: This community-based qualitative study was conducted from May to July 2016, across three peri-urban sites in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, Northern India. Set within an NGO-run mental health project, data were collected through focus group discussions with individuals involved in psychosocial support groups including women with psychosocial disabilities as well as caregivers (N = 10, representing 59 women), and key informant interviews (N = 8) with community members and mental health professionals. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Results: The principal barrier to participating in psychosocial support groups was restrictions on women's freedom of movement. Women in the community are not normally permitted to leave home, unless going to market or work, making it difficult for women to leave their home to participate in the groups. The restrictions emanated from the overall community's attitude toward gender relations, the women's own internalized gender expectations, and most significantly, the decision-making power of husbands and mothers-in-law. Other factors including employment and education shaped women's ability to participate in psychosocial support groups; however, the role of these additional factors must be understood in connection to a gender order limiting women's freedom of movement. Conclusions: Mental health access and gender inequality are inseparable in the context of Northern India, and women's mental health cannot be addressed without first addressing underlying gender relations. Community-based mental health programs are an effective tool and can be used to strengthen communities collectively; however, attention towards the gender constraints that restrict women's freedom of movement and their ability to access care is required. To our knowledge, this is the first study to clearly document and analyze the connection between access to community mental health services in South Asia and women's freedom of movement.
A Critical Feminist Evaluation of Climate Adaptation Law and Policy: The Case of Aotearoa New Zealand
(2024) Macpherson , Elizabeth; Masselot , Annick; Jefferson, David; Gunn , Julia
Laws and policies designed to help communities adapt to the effects of climate change
are proliferating around the world. Our analysis of Aotearoa New Zealand’s adaptation
policies reveals that the experiences of women are not adequately accounted for,
and that technocratic, masculinist, and top-down adaptation approaches have
been prioritized over knowledges and approaches from diverse perspectives. We
argue for a critical feminist reconceptualization of climate adaptation, based on: (1)
taking a relational approach to embedding an ethics of care; (2) putting equity and
justice in context; and (3) acknowledging diverse agency and knowledge production.
Our approach suggests possible paths toward more inclusive and equitable climate
adaptation based on relational understandings of reciprocal, human-environment
relationships. This analysis has broad, global relevance for other countries that seek
to adopt adaptation policies, by identifying possible new pathways toward just and
equitable climate adaptation.
The future of sustainable polar ship-based tourism
(Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2023) Liggett, Daniela; Cajiao , Daniela; Lamers, Machiel; Leung, Yu-Fai; Stewart, Emma J.
Abstract
Over the last couple of decades, polar tourism has significantly grown in the number of visitors and diversified in terms of the tourism activities offered. The COVID-19 pandemic brought polar tourism to a halt and has prompted researchers, operators and policy-makers alike to reflect on how Arctic and Antarctic tourism have developed, how they are being managed and governed and, importantly, how tourism operators influence polar socio-ecological systems. Given the dominance of ship-based tourism over other types of tourism in the Polar Regions, we discuss the cornerstones of how polar ship-based tourism has developed over the last 50 years and explore the relevant international and regional governance regimes in this article. We identify which positive and negative biophysical, socio-cultural and economic impacts arising from polar tourism have been identified by researchers. It is difficult, if not impossible, to disentangle impacts caused by tourism alone from those that result from the interactions of multiple pressures at all levels (local, regional and global), and more research is needed to develop reliable and effective indicators to monitor tourism impacts. In addition, a better understanding is needed about the role tourist experiences might play in potentially encouraging long-term positive behavioural changes among visitors to the Polar Regions. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an important opportunity to review polar tourism development and management, and to ask whether an emphasis should be placed on ‘degrowth’ of the sector in the future.
Advances in remote sensing of emperor penguins: first multi-year time series documenting trends in the global population
(The Royal Society, 2024) LaRue, Michelle; Iles , David; Labrousse , Sara; Fretwell , Peter; Ortega , David; Devane , Eileen; Horstmann , Isabella; Viollat , Lise; Foster-Dyer , Rose; Le Bohec , Céline; Zitterbart , Daniel; Houstin , Aymeric; Richter , Sebastian; Winterl , Alexander; Wienecke , Barbara; Salas , Leo; Nixon , Monique; Barbraud, Christophe; Kooyman , Gerald; Ponganis P, Paul; Ainley D, David; Trathan P, Philip; Jenouvrier S, Stephanie
Like many polar animals, emperor penguin populations are challenging to monitor because of the species' life history and remoteness. Consequently, it has been difficult to establish its global status, a subject important to resolve as polar environments change. To advance our understanding of emperor penguins, we combined remote sensing, validation surveys and using Bayesian modelling, we estimated a comprehensive population trajectory over a recent 10-year period, encompassing the entirety of the species’ range. Reported as indices of abundance, our study indicates with 81% probability that there were fewer adult emperor penguins in 2018 than in 2009, with a posterior median decrease of 9.6% (95% credible interval (CI) −26.4% to +9.4%). The global population trend was −1.3% per year over this period (95% CI = −3.3% to +1.0%) and declines probably occurred in four of eight fast ice regions, irrespective of habitat conditions. Thus far, explanations have yet to be identified regarding trends, especially as we observed an apparent population uptick toward the end of time series. Our work potentially establishes a framework for monitoring other Antarctic coastal species detectable by satellite, while promoting a need for research to better understand factors driving biotic changes in the Southern Ocean ecosystem.
Promoting resilience through teaching, research and public engagement
(2023) Kingham, Simon