Women's Wellbeing
How Easy Is It to Get an Abortion in Australia?
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ronli Sifris
This paper explores the law relating to abortion in Australia through a “pro-choice” lens. It begins by considering the need for decriminalisation as a precondition to the adequate facilitation of access to abortion services. As part of this discussion, the paper argues that the criminalisation of abortion is problematic for a number of reasons. For example, it contravenes the notion that the right to terminate a pregnancy falls within existing human rights norms, it increases the stigma attached to abortion, and it undermines the need for certainty and clarity in the law. It then proceeds to consider other factors, besides criminalisation, which affect women’s access to services. As part of this discussion the paper engages in an analysis of the law in the various Australian jurisdictions and considers the extent to which access to services is facilitated adequately. For example, it considers the “health exception” to prohibitions on abortion together with the imposition of gestational limits before discussing other relevant issues such as abortion on grounds of foetal abnormality, access to medical abortion, conscientious objection, non-legal barriers to access and the introduction of safe access zones.
Food and Physical Activity-related Attitudes and Behaviors of African-American and Afro-Caribbean Immigrant Women in Atlanta, Georgia
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Melany Chambers
In the U.S., overweight and obesity prevalence is highest among “Blacks” (African-Americans). Messages designed to target African-Americans rarely indicate acknowledgement of differences among the various cultures that comprise this segment of the population. Incorporating cultural sensitivity in message designs can produce more effective messages, which can then reduce waste in health campaign resources and better address obesity-related diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, and type-2 diabetes. This study utilized social cognitive theory to compare two sub-groups (African-American and Afro-Caribbean immigrant women) within the African-American segment of the population to identify any indicators that may justify cultural segmentation of obesity-related health message designs. There were more differences than similarities between African-American and Afro-Caribbean women. Both groups were concerned about their health and said they thought lifestyle affected health outcomes. Differences between the groups included positive versus negative attitudes toward food and physical activity modeled in their childhood, the social environment (current versus childhood) that influenced them toward healthier lifestyles, and, their definition of ideal body size as larger versus smaller. The study revealed that culturally, there were more differences than similarities between the African-American and Afro-Caribbean participants, thus suggesting some rationale for considering cultural segmentation of obesity-related health messages targeted toward the population segment currently referred to as “African-Americans” (Blacks). There were also some similarities, which may be used as the basis for designing undifferentiated messages for members of both groups.
Impact of the Internal Migration on Female Well-being: A Comparative Analysis of China and Taiwan
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Aki Iida, Fumei Zhang, Xinxin Xu, György Folk
Internal migration in search of a better life is not a new phenomenon even today in China. If this betterment has been happening, a crucial question still remains open. The prediction of standard economic science on the fulfillment of human needs would be an automatic improvement as incomes increase. Despite the widely shared assertion of the economic mainstream, the relationship between income and well-being is rarely proven empirically. The main objective of this study is to examine the level of well-being of Chinese and Taiwanese females before leaving their homelands and after their migration to a new place. For data collection, a Likert-scale based 3-part questionnaire is used. The objective is to establish the relationship between the development of income and other conventional gains versus the availability of the satisfiers of eight cardinal needs for our sample before and after migration. The inquiry is built upon the model of cardinal needs, eightfold preconditions of any human well-being, including environmental, psychological and social needs, proposed as the underlying basis of human well-being interpreted differently overages, cultures, and disciplines. The results demonstrate that the availability of these obvious precursors of well-being decreased after migration in our sample. The satisfaction of material needs somewhat has improved while that of other needs have deteriorated. The study findings contribute to well-being studies as well as to understanding the geographical, socioeconomic, sociocultural differences in Chinese speaking regions of East Asia.
