This book integrates the role of gender in girls' and women's development across the life span, looking specifically at internal and external vulnerabilities and risks, and the protective or supportive factors that facilitate effective coping, positive growth, strength and resilience. The interaction between physical, psychological, and cultural factors is integrated within each period of development. The book emphasizes how gender socialization of female development and behavior impacts self-evaluation and identity processes within various cultural groups. The authors also discusses the social roles that girls and women reflectively adopt and describe how externally induced risks such as poverty, interpersonal abuse, and violence influence a healthy development.
This book examines the state of women's rights across Europe, from the three-year research of the Network for European Women's Rights. Based on country reports and practical input from researchers and activists in the field, the book is an up-to-date account of the issue of women's social entitlements and rights across Europe: it provides astute theoretical analyses of existing problems and suggests innovative alternatives. It brings together authors from academia, policy-making and international institutions to ensure comprehensive representation and thorough commentary of the issue.