Regulating Women Policymaking and Practice in the UK [Paperback]

A welcome and timely addition to scholarly research on womens experiences in the political, policy and regulatory landscape. This tour de force covers a breadth of issues on the status of women in policy institutions, the regulation of abortion, pornography and gender based violence. It offers a uniquely multi-disciplinary perspective drawing upon historical, sociological, feminist, political and governance frameworks to offer new insights on the social exclusion of women. Cooper provides a sound, empirical evidence base for improving policy and the quality of life for women.By examining the regulation of women in the UK, this fine book is foremost about gender issues and policy-making in the national setting. It is, however, also of great interest to students and scholars of European studies as it convincingly shows how a policy-area of strong national institutions and legacies is influenced by and respond to European integration, be it due to the free movement of women as the abortion chapter demonstrates or the ways in which supranational law and the open internet influences the regulation of pornography.Draws together comparative policy analysis related to prominent womens issues in the UK, exploring their construction and management through the conceptual lenses of new institutionalism.A number of womens issues serve to create novel policy problems that require creative, and sometimes unique, regulatory and legal responses. This book embarks upon a comparative case study approach to explore UK policymaking in the areas of abortion, rape, prostitution and pornography in turn. Each chapter engages a different institutional perspective to explore the influence of a range of bodies such as the legal system, medical profession, civil society, police force and mass media. The analysis reveals a common thread that runs throughout decision-making in these areas; a constant balancing act between regulation that purports to protect women, and regulation that supposedl5