Solutions Panorama

Feminist Movements
to Reduce Violence
against Women
Featuring:
Feminist civil society; University
of New Mexico; Purdue
University
Where:
Global
Time Frame:
Various
DESCRIPTION
Feminist civil society effects policy change by influencing global
treaties, influencing regional agreements on violence against
women, and exerting pressure at national and regional levels to
conform to new norms.
Autonomous feminist organizations influence policy through
a variety of mechanisms. Social movements shape public
and government agendas and create the political will to
address issues. They demand institutional reforms with broad
consequences. They engage in lobbying, change cultures so
people see issues differently, and bring lawsuits and submit
briefs to international meetings. They protest and create public
disruptions. They organize networking and other activities that
bring autonomous activists in contact with government officials
and businesswomen. They organize conferences and symposia,
such as the Color of Violence Conference that sought to
understand and highlight the specific forms and dimensions of
violence against women of color. These activities, among many
others, soften the public mood and disseminate ideas.
Women are more likely to speak up in spaces that are secure
from bureaucratic reprisals or social censure. For example,
activists attempting to raise the issue of violence in Sweden
were characterized as shrill and divisive, and prominent feminist
bureaucrats lost their jobs when they were unwilling to attribute
male violence against women to individual pathologies. It is
difficult for legislative insiders to take on social change issues
without the political support of broader mobilization.
IMPACT
Political science researchers from the University of New Mexico
and Purdue University conducted a global comparative analysis
of policies on violence against women in 2012 and found that a
strong, autonomous feminist movement was a good predictor
of government action. Using an original dataset of social
movements and violence against women policies in 70 countries
over four decades, they found that feminist mobilization in
civil society accounts for the variation in policy development.
In addition, they demonstrated that autonomous movements
produce an enduring impact on violence against women policy
through the institutionalization of feminist ideas in international
norms. This pattern confirms prior evidence on violence against
women showing that movements are always critical catalysts for
policy development, although their efforts are supplemented by
other factors.
LEARN MORE
“The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond The Non-Profit
Industrial Complex,”
Edited By Incite! Women of Color Against Violence
“Sexual Subordination and State Intervention: Comparing
Sweden and the United States,”
R Amy Elman
Source: Dramatically Reduce Gender-Based Violence and Harmful
Practices policy brief
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