Editorial

Citation

Lowe, M., Fry, D.P., Ireland, J.L. and Cramer, R.J. (2015), "Editorial", Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, Vol. 7 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-02-2015-0159

Editorial

Article Type: editorial From: Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, Volume 7, Issue 2

Welcome to issue 7.2 of the Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research. This issue includes five eclectic articles, derived from international, cross-disciplinary perspectives. Articles cover a range of topics, each timely in their own regard. Specifically, this issue includes: an investigation into risk factors and possible mediators of child sexual abuse in Nigeria; a qualitative discussion of the integration of research into domestic violence and sexual aggression; a sociological exploration of violence against women; a politically driven piece, asking if the militarisation of Syria was the wrong choice; and finally, the testing a of new approach to deviancy training in young children. A more detailed account of each article now follows.

The first article of this issue, authored by Ismail Yahaya et al. investigates possible correlations between child sexual abuse and risk behaviours, and takes a look at possible mediators of any such relationship. The study is cross-sectional and comprises data from 12,800 women included in the 2008 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey. Results revealed that having a history of child sexual abuse was directly related to sexually risky behaviours. Possible mediators of this association included alcohol and cigarette consumption. These findings confirm previous research conducted in non-African nations that also show relationships between historical sexual abuse and future risk behaviours. The extension of the investigation into the effects of child sexual abuse into Sub-Saharan countries is an important step forward.

Authored by Christine Murray and colleagues, the next article of this issue investigated the need for integration of research and practice between domestic violence and sexual aggression, and made an attempt to identify strategies for key stakeholders to use to bridge existing gaps between the two fields. The current study analysed qualitative data collected during one conference attended by both researchers and practitioners who work in the areas of domestic and/or sexual violence. The findings from this study provide information about: building effective researcher-practitioner collaborations where they have not previously existed; developing methodologically sound studies that address practice-relevant research questions that begin to bridge gaps between existing research areas; and identifying steps that funders, researchers, and practitioners can take to advance the integration of research and practice and develop relevant partnerships to achieve these goals.

Our third article is authored by Riane Eisler, and explores a new sociological approach for use by scholars, attorneys, and human rights activists to end the global pandemic of violence against women by invoking the Rome Statute and/or amending it to specifically protect women and girls. The article argues that the Rome Statute, especially Article 7 on Crimes against Humanity, and the principle of Responsibility to Protect apply to widespread violations of human rights that a State fails to prohibit or protect against. Eisler argues that too little attention has been paid to crimes, such as rape, domestic violence, and genital mutilation that take the lives of many women and girls every year. This article proposes the use of international law to hold governments and/or their agents accountable when they fail to protect women and girls from widespread and egregious crimes of violence.

The fourth article, authored by Armenak Tokmajyan, addresses a timely political issue: the militarisation of Syria. The authors pose questions about the the effectiveness of violence and armed rebellion as a means to topple oppressors within this troubled country. The article takes the Syrian armed rebellion in the form of a case study. As the Syrian conflict is a recent one that is still ongoing at the time of writing, and because there is a time lag in the publication of academic papers and books, this article, out of necessarity for up-to-the-moment information draws its sources from newspaper articles and online sources in presenting the case study.

The aim of the final article of this issue is to test a new approach to deviancy training in six year-old children. The authors, Stefanie Salazer and colleagues, utilised teacher reports and observations from a semi-naturalistic experimental setting to examine the prevalence of provided and received modelling and positive reinforcement, and the concurrent contribution of behaviour problems on these processes in friendship dyads. Results indicated that modelling and positive reinforcement – provided and received – were prevalent and that behaviour problems were associated mainly with provided dimensions. These findings are relevant to peer-oriented programmes designed to prevent antisocial behaviours in young children, where prevention should target friendships where deviant behaviour likely begins.

As always, the editors hope that readers find each issue timely and extensively broad in scope, both theoretically and practically. New submissions are always welcome and should be made via ScholarOne: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jacpr

Michelle Lowe, Douglas P. Fry, Jane L. Ireland and Robert J. Cramer