Gender Perspectives
in Social Work Practice
SPRING 2021
Kristýna Pešáková – pesakova@fss.muni.cz
Lucie Čechovská – 144430@mail.muni.cz
GROUP ACTIVITY
the story of Mrs m.
VERTICAL GENDER SEGREGATION on LABOUR MARKET
Vertical segregation can be described as an unequal representation of women or men in different rungs of the employee hierarchy, for example, in
leadership positions, in middle positions management, in positions requiring a certain degree of responsibility and characterized by the ability to
define the work of subordinates, etc. In most European countries, women are at the bottom rungs of the employee ranking and less often than
men hold leadership positions. (VALENTOVÁ, ŠMÍDOVÁ, KATRŇÁK, Gender segregation of the labour market in the context of segregation
educational: an international comparison, 2007)
HORIZONTAL GENDER SEGREGATION on LABOUR MARKET
Horizontal segregation can be defined as a high concentration of men or women in a given labour market sector or in certain professions. Among
the horizontal segregated work environments in the Czech Republic Republic, for example, includes education, where women strongly
predominate among employees, or construction, where, on the contrary, there is a strong predominance of men. Horizontal labour market
segregation has an impact on the amount of salaries or wages in the given fields. The so-called typically female or feminized fields of work as
education or social services are substantial worse rated than the so-called typically male fields.
(VALENTOVÁ, ŠMÍDOVÁ, KATRŇÁK, Gender segregation of the labour market in the context of segregation educational: an international
comparison, 2007)
MULTIPLE DISCRIMINATION (based on gender, ethnicity, ...)
intersectionality - gender / race / ethnicity
transnational motherhood, work in households, low-skilled and low-paid work, triple invisibility
(gender, ethnicity, class), labour exploitation, access to health insurance and health and social
services, legal status based on spouse's residence permit
gender-based violence, horizontal and vertical intersectional discrimination on the labour market,
participation in politics and public space
gender-based violence (intersectionality of sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, class)
Life experiences of women with migration background: (Petra Ezzeddine)
Roma women: (Roma women groups Manushe – about 170 Roma women and family members across
the CZ)
Roma LGBTQ+ people: (David Tišer, https://www.araart.cz/en/roma-lgbt, short movie Roma boys)
.....
intersectionality - gender / race / ethnicity
The project looked specifically at the following grounds for discrimination: ethnicity (all the young
people involved are Roma), sexual orientation and gender identity, sex, and migrant status.
The project also looked at two aspects: how young people live their lives within the community and
outside the Roma communities: what they have to deal with, and what strategies they have to
counter the often discriminatory attitudes that surround them.
Multiple discrimination
Project Barabaripen (Council of Europe):
While the fact of being Roma seems to be the most visible ground for discrimination, other grounds –
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or migrant status – can also play a role, so that the person is
discriminated against on multiple levels. (We need intersectional analysis of life experiences to be able
to understand the complexity of barriers and also to hear personal strategies to deal with them.)
intersectionality - gender / race / ethnicity
several discrimination episodes, where different grounds of discrimination are at stake
additive discrimination, when in the same discrimination episode two or more grounds
intersectional discrimination, where in the same discrimination episode two or more grounds for
discrimination are at stake; however, in this case, the grounds cannot be analysed separately
Multiple discrimination
A word of caution is needed when using the term ‘multiple discrimination’. One may find this
term used in legal texts, in activism, in human rights organisations, as well as in academic
publications. There is no universal consensus on this term, and each field may use it with small
variations, either in a more restricted way or in a broader way.
for discrimination are at stake and it can be shown that each ground adds up to the
discrimination
scale of violenceACTIVITY
Rank situations on a scale of violence from
the least violent to the most violent.
gender based violencedefinitions
- 1992 (CEDAW Committee): gender-based violence is “violence that is directed
against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women
disproportionately” and it “is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits
women’s ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men”
- 2015 (Akční plán prevence domácího a genderového násilí na období 2015-
2018): includes all acts of physical, sexual, psychological, economical or other
forms of violence which are directed against women because they are women
or men because they are men, or acts of such violence which have a
disproportionate impact on women or men. It is violence that is based on or
legitimized by social stereotypes associated with gender prejudices and roles.
gender based violencedefinitions
- EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality): Gender-based violence is a
phenomenon deeply rooted in gender inequality, and continues to be one of the
most notable human rights violations within all societies. Gender-based
violence is violence directed against a person because of their gender. Both
women and men experience gender-based violence but the majority of victims
are women and girls.
- multiple and interlocking forms of violence
gender based violenceforms
Child marriage.
Female genital mutilation.
Honour killings.
Trafficking for sex or slavery.
Intimate partner violence.
Stalking.
Physical punishment.
Sexual, emotional or psychological violence.
Acts of violence carried out in online spaces.
violence against women european
survey
One in three women (33 %) has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since she was 15 years old.
Out of all women who have a (current or previous) partner, 22 % have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a
partner since the age of 15.
11 % of women have experienced some form of sexual violence since they were 15 years old, either by a partner or some
other person.
One in 20 women (5 %) has been raped since the age of 15.
both partner and non-partner violence have the highest prevalence in the youngest age group, women who are 18–29
years old.
One third of victims (34 %) of physical violence by a previous partner experienced four or more different forms of physical
violence
FRA, 2014. Violence against women: an EU-wide survey.
Physical and sexual violence:
Intimate partner violence:
queer and postructuralist critique of predominant feminist
approach to gender based violence (intimate partner violence)
The predominant feminist paradigm in the U.S. for IPV—that men abuse women as an extension of patriarchy in order to assert power and
control – But it did not enable to understand the dynamic of cases where the perpetration was done by female offenders in heterosexual
relationships and occurrences of IPV within same-sex relationships.
Traditional feminist paradigm of domestic violence - men, the oppressors, have the power, use it to enact violence in intimate relationships, and
women, the oppressed, do not have power, and are the victims of such violence. Such delineations constrain strategies to resist oppressions
and reinforce the gender binary between men-as-aggressors and women-as-victims.
Foucault’s understanding of power - people, based on their social location, use tactics and strategies available to them to negotiate dynamics of
power - based on social location (e.g., race, gender, sexuality, class, nationality, etc.) certain tactics and strategies for using power are available
to everyone - violence may be one of these strategies
However, the violence that e.g. woman in heterosexual partnership performs cannot be understood in the same way that a man using violence
against a woman would be understood. Because of his social location, different tactics and strategies are available to him. Although both may
punch, how we understand their acts of aggression and power differ because of the ways society is gendered and sexuality is organized.
queer and postructuralist critique of predominant
feminist approach to gender based violence (intimate
partner violence)
Heteronormativity are the practices associated with heterosexuality, which are discursively constructed as the norm or
referent. Those who self-present or whose practices are different from what is socially recognizable as heterosexual are
discursively constructed as deviant.
By identifying and analyzing how heterosexuality functions as a norm in our society, queer theory can broaden our
understanding of same-sex IPV. Rather than trying to understand same-sex IPV with a heteronormative framework, such as a
traditional feminist paradigm that assumes a male perpetrator and female victim, a queer theoretical approach can show
how such heteronormative approaches may not only interfere with effective treatment interventions but may also add to the
stress of those marginalized by their sexuality.
We can understand the use of violence in same-sex relationships as one tactic available to queer people based on their social
location. Although the violence may look the same as a male or female perpetrator in a heterosexual relationship, we
understand it differently.
organizations, sources, articles
Pitoňák, M. & Spilková, J. (2016), Homophobic Prejudice in Czech Youth: a Sociodemographic Analysis of Young
People’s Opinions on Homosexuality, Sex Res Soc Policy 13: 215-229. Available: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-015-
0215-8.
NGO ProFem: Partner violence of adolescents and young people (Violence in relationships through the eyes of
teenagers - report from 2014), https://www.profem.cz/cs/s-cim-pomahame/partnerske-nasili-mladych
Organization PROUD: Report on Czech Schools Through the Looking Glass: National Research on Homophobia and
Transphobia, https://www.ilga-europe.org/sites/default/files/Attachments/cz_-proud_final_report.pdf
Úřad vlády ČR: Analýza mediálního zobrazování genderově podmíněného násilí, 2016.
Persefona, ProFem, ROSA, Acorus, Spondea, Konsent, NESEHNUTÍ, ARA ART, Trans*parent, PROUD, Česká ženská
lobby etc.
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31ST MARCH