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14 pages, 269 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sexual Violence Against Men: Impacts on Individual Victims, Significant Others, and the Community in the Eastern Region of Congo

by Ines Yagi

Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(3), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14030146 - 27 Feb 2025

Viewed by 888

Abstract

Conflict-related sexual violence remains a systematic tool employed in warfare and terrorism to undermine communities, as recognized by the UN Security Council in Resolutions 1820 (2008) and 2242 (2015). Sexual violence has been a persistent issue throughout the history of conflict, war, and human existence. However, the victimization of men and boys remains insufficiently acknowledged and reported. This under-recognition can be attributed to several factors, such as societal stigma, the topic’s sensitive nature, prevailing stereotypes, and cultural influences. Male sexual violence is recognized as a critical public health concern because of its profound, immediate, and lasting effects on the victims, their loved ones, the community, and society at large. This paper examines the social and relational consequences of such violence on the individual victims, their significant others, and the wider society. The analysis will draw upon data gathered from the author’s doctoral thesis conducted in the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2021, as well as recent research on this critical issue to enrich the discussion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Rape and Sexual Violence on the Relationships of Survivors)

38 pages, 13127 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In the Footsteps of Tradition: Reinventing the Paths of Santa Faz Within the Paradigm of Sustainability and Territorial Development in Alicante

by Pablo Rosser and Seila Soler

Religions 2025, 16(2), 224; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020224 - 12 Feb 2025

Viewed by 1119

Abstract

The Santa Faz Pilgrimage, with over 600 years of history and as Spain’s second most significant pilgrimage, is at a critical point due to urbanization and inadequate planning. This study explores revitalizing and enhancing the historical Santa Faz routes, integrating cultural tourism, environmental sustainability, and socioeconomic benefits. Recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, the pilgrimage impacts Alicante’s cultural landscape yet faces pressure from modern urban development. Using a multidisciplinary approach aligned with the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the study proposes alternative routes, such as a “green route” through ancient paths and water routes, a Villafranqueza route, and one from the former Monastery of Los Ángeles. These paths would be revived through local reforestation, sustainable tourism infrastructure, and rest areas for pilgrims. The restoration of the Santa Faz paths is seen as vital for cultural heritage conservation, sustainable tourism, and job creation, with both opportunities and challenges in integrating these routes into the Council of Europe’s Cultural Routes. The study advocates modifying the urban plan and promoting employment in heritage and tourism management, emphasizing the need for ongoing research and cross-disciplinary collaboration to secure the long-term preservation and development of these culturally significant spaces. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pilgrimage Routes, Sacred Places, and Contribution to Territories’ Sustainable Development)

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21 pages, 338 KiB

Open AccessArticle

ISIL in Iraq: A Critical Analysis of the UN Security Council’s Gendered Personification of (Non)States

by Faye Bird

Laws 2022, 11(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws11010005 - 10 Jan 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4765

Abstract

Legal feminist theories have troubled dominant conceptions of statehood, revealing the threat of the ‘Other’ as integral to the hegemonic masculinity of powerful states. In this paper I provide a critical gendered discourse analysis of the UN Security Council’s response to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIL). I consider the role of personification in constituting legal subjects as states (persons) and excavate this from the Council’s resolutions concerning Iraq. In constituting ISIL as a barbaric, hypermasculine terror group in relational opposition to the state of Iraq, the Council draws on gendered normativities ordinarily veiled by seemingly objective legal criteria as to the creation of states. Whilst the state of Iraq is constituted through the hegemonic model of statehood, one premised upon democratic, liberal Westphalian ideals, it is still subject to the paternalism of the Security Council. In this way, the state of Iraq is framed as failing to reach a particular masculine standard of statehood, and is thus subject to the continuation of ‘civilising’ discourses. Thus, instead of asking whether ISIL is or is not a state under international law, it is revealing to consider how responses to it work to maintain and (re)produce a graded, hierarchical international community of states. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Normativities of Sex: Past, Present, Future)

17 pages, 246 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Political Viability of the Russia-North Korea-South Korea Gas Pipeline Project: An Analysis of the Role of the U.S.

by Yusin Lee

Energies 2019, 12(10), 1895; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12101895 - 18 May 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4534

Abstract

This study analyzes the political viability of the Russia-North Korea-South Korea (RNS) gas pipeline project. This analysis demonstrates that North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January 2016 changed the dynamic of the project. Before the test, when inter-Korean relations were good, South Korea and Russia could make efforts to secure political support for the project. However, after the fourth nuclear test, this was no longer the case. As North Korea’s nuclear power status became more evident, this nuclear problem began to have profound implications for U.S. security. In response, Washington not only led the UN Security Council to impose very severe sanctions against North Korea, but also placed its own sanctions on the country. These sanctions began to contain provisions that could prevent the implementation of the pipeline project. In addition to these sanctions, the U.S. sanctions against Russia in 2017 over its intervention in the U.S. election and aggression against Ukraine also contained clauses that could hamper it. Therefore, unless the U.S. lifts or eases all of these sanctions, South Korea and Russia are unwilling to take any concrete actions to secure political support for the RNS pipeline project. Based on this analysis, this paper argues that the U.S. now holds the most important key to its political viability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Policy in South Korea)

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