000			02493nam a2200277Ia 4500
001			113312
005			20250625151227.0
008			110331s2005 eng
040			_aWSS _dAFV
100			_aAkins, Brielyn Nikole _9695
245			_aIncluding ourselves in empowerment : _bwomen's experiences of working in feminist domestic violence and sexual assault organizations _cAkins, Brielyn Nikole
246			_bA thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology.
260			_c2005
365			_a00 _b0
520			_aThesis (MA - Sociology) - Victoria University of Wellington, 2005. This thesis uses a feminist sociological perspective to explore the experiences of empowerment for 9 women working in hierarchical-bureaucratic and collectivist-democratic organisations in the fields of domestic violence and sexual assault in New Zealand and the United States. It does not examine domestic violence and sexual assault specifically. Open-ended interview questions were used. The findings indicate that there are specific factors associated with these organisational archetypes which influence experiences of empowerment differently. These specific factors were linked with two common underlying themes of power and accountability. Being in the organisation and support from co-workers were found to contribute to experiences of empowerment. Conflict between individuals, workloads and staffing issues, and remuneration were often experienced as disempowering. These results indicate that there are factors that influence experiences of empowerment common to all organisations within the study. It is therefore important that feminist organisations work to balance autonomy and accountability, and engage in regular dialogue about how well they are empowering the women who work in them. The author suggests that future research should expand beyond focusing on organisational type and instead focus on the practical day-to-day life of organisations and seek to discover what specific factors make an organisation empowering or disempowering.--AUTHOR'S ABSTRACT
522			_anz
650	2	7	_2FVC _aGENDER _9269
650	2	7	_2FVC _aINTERVENTION _9326
650	2	4	_aSOCIAL SERVICES _9555
650	2	7	_2FVC _aSOCIAL WORK PRACTICE _9562
650	2	7	_2FVC _aTHESES _9606
650	2	7	_2FVC _aTREATMENT _9613
650	2	7	_2FVC _aWOMEN _9645
650	2	7	_9458 _aPREVENTION _2FVC
942			_2ddc _cTHESIS
999			_c2817 _d2817