A/HRC/11/6 page 22 D. The impact of global change and crises 67. This section focuses on the linkages between VAW and patterns of global transformations by identifying strategic sites where political-economic processes can be seen to be accentuating existing gender inequalities or creating new patterns of inclusion and marginalization.65 1. Competitive globalization 68. Neoliberal policies open up economies to global competition and seek to lower the costs of production. This has given rise to unprecedented opportunities for women’s access to paid work that can potentially empower them. However, due to economic volatility, job insecurity, subcontracting and loss of livelihoods of poor women, particularly those in developing countries, have encountered new vulnerabilities and risks. 69. Furthermore, under such conditions marked by insecurity and unemployment, men may become dispossessed and dislocated; conditions under which masculinities and power relations get altered. This may heighten aggression against women and children in the home and in public spaces, compensating for the loss of control.66 A recent study in post-apartheid South Africa showed that men facing chronic unemployment justified their violent behaviour towards their female partners by referring to their feelings of powerlessness.67 2. Transitions to market economies 70. Patterns of economic destabilization associated with macroeconomic policies, including structural adjustment policies that facilitate the integration of global markets, have varied from country to country. However, similar cross-country trends in inequalities and vulnerabilities for women have been observed. For instance, the market transitions in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union led to widespread increases in poverty, unemployment, hardship, income disparities, discontent, breakdown of social support networks and a general loss of status for women. These factors increased women’s dependency and raised their vulnerability to abuse within and outside the home.68 Some have viewed Eastern Europe and Central Asia as “test regions” for judging the impact of neoliberal policies.69 Notwithstanding exceptions, many of the 65 The report does not claim to make causal links between neoliberal policy and the violation of women’s rights but rather, on the basis of available empirical evidence, it aims to identify trends and tendencies. 66 Seguino, loc. cit. (note 19 above), p. 48; Chant, Sylvia, “Men in crisis? Reflections on masculinities, work and family in Northwest Costa Rica”, in Jackson, C. (ed). Men at Work: Labour, Masculinities, Development, London: Frank Cass, pp. 199-218. 67 F. Boonzaier, “Woman abuse in South Africa: A brief contextual analysis”, Feminism and Psychology, Vol. 15, No. 1 (2005), pp. 99-103. 68 True, Jaqui, Gender, Globalization and Postsocialism: The Czech Republic After Communism, New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. 69 Elson, loc. cit. (note 12 above).