Communities of Epistemic Resistance: Patricia Hill Collins and the Power of Naming Community

Shifting the Center: Relocating Refugee Men in Strategies Aiming to Address Violence Against Women

“…The communities of resistance in my research, however, demonstrate the potential to "shift the centre" and challenge cultural hegemony. Mchugh (2020) says that communities of resistance employ several strategies to challenge cultural hegemony: first, they separate themselves from projects and dialogue generated by oppressors; second, they propose alternative frameworks and practices; third, they form strategic alliances with other groups who might share similar histories of disadvantage and oppression; and fourth, they learn and use the knowledge and skills of the oppressor to develop their own frameworks to counter strategies of the dominant groups.…”

“…In doing so, however, participants were aware they were confronting different cultural hegemonies concerning the meaning of gender equality, established wisdom on the causes of DV and how to address it, and a service culture focused on individualistic notions of breaking up the family and legal interventions (Merry, 2011). Refugee and migrant women might want different forms of support for multiple reasons, such as wanting to stay with their partners because of love and loyalty or coming from cultures that hold more collective notions of personhood as important (Mehrotra et al, 2016; Merry, 2011). Whether women wish to stay with their partners or leave violent relationships, as I discuss in this article, individualistic means developed in western institutions to address domestic violence have had little success in holding men to account for their violence.…”

“…The epistemic knowledge that formed out of the second wave, liberal feminism to address a range of women's issues, such as violence against women (VAW), has been a point of contention in both scholarship and praxis for those engaged in discussions of difference (Bock & James, 2005; Dekoven, 2001; Ramazanoglu & Holland, 1999; Westmarland & Kelly, 2016). Increasing scholarship is now problematizing the individualistic strategies that have been developed in western institutions to address VAW, and the need to explore more collective, community-led strategies (Biersack & Macintyre, 2016; Goodmark, 2014; Gouws, 2016; Heiner & Tyson, 2017; Kim, 2018; Mehrotra et al, 2016). There has been recognition that individualistic strategies, which are often predicted by western notions of gender equality, have privileged some voices over others (Carbado et al, 2013; Westmarland & Kelly, 2016), and calls from scholars working at the intersections of gender, race, and class to “shift the centre,” as Mohanty (2005) says (see also Kim [2021] for “shifting the lens,” and Kabeer et al [2008] for “reversing the gaze”).…”