The feminist politics of naming violence

Abstract

The naming of violence in feminist political campaigns and in the context of feminist theory has rhetorical and political effects. Feminist contention about the scope and meaning of ‘Violence against Women' (VAW) and ‘Sex and Gender-Based Violence' (SGBV), and about the concepts of gender and of violence itself, are fundamentally debates about the politics of feminist contestation, and the goals, strategies and tactics of feminist organisation, campaigns and action. This article examines the propulsion since the late twentieth century of the problems of VAW and SGBV on to global and national political agendas. The feminist theory that underpins the uptake of this new agenda is contested by opponents of feminism. More significantly for the article it is also contested within feminism, in disputes about how feminist political aims should be furthered, through what institutions and with what strategic goals in view. The article aims to show that theoretical and philosophical controversy about the concepts of violence, and sex and gender, are always political, both in the sense that they are an aspect of feminist competition about how feminist politics should proceed, and in the sense that the political implications of concepts and theory must always be a significant factor in their salience for feminist action.

Disclosing Gender-Based Violence: A Qualitative Analysis of Professionals’ and Women’s Perspectives through a Discursive Approach

“…We want to question the assumption that women do not disclose because they have normalised certain forms of violence and that this problem could be solved by asking specific questions as some standardised protocols propose—to ask about specific acts such as punches, hitting, threats, etc. [ 44 ]. Instead, we propose that how women understand violence and tell their stories, and how professionals receive those stories, does not take place in a vacuum but is instead shaped by media and legal discourses of what ‘real’ (or punishable) violence is and what it is not and of who is a ‘real victim’ or a ‘real batterer’ and who is not [ 21 , 43 ].…”

“…Definitions around GBV continuously change and evolve, and this carries consequences both for how professionals and protocols ‘identify’ violence and for how women themselves understand and frame their experiences [ 45 ]. Our findings, showing that certain types of violence are easier for women to recognise and disclose (physical violence versus psychological violence), may reflect not so much a lack of awareness on the part of women about other types of GBV but rather the types of GBV that the system is more likely to accept as legitimate and thus to trust the victim [ 44 ].…”

Aesthetics in Distress: Gender-Based Violence and Visual Culture. Introductory Note

“…54-61). Moreover, the equally notorious feminist controversies and constant ruminations on the use of expressions such as "gender-based violence" and "violence against women" (Boyle, 2019a;Frazer & Hutchings, 2020) clearly showcase the central role played by the linguistic and textual dimension in unveiling gender-based violence.…”

Şiddeti Adlandırma ve Anlama: Türkiye’de Şiddete Maruz Kalan Kadınların Deneyimleri ve Baş Etme Stratejileri

“…Adlandırmanın gücü uzun zamandır feminist akademisyenler tarafından vurgulanmıştır (Burstein, 1994;Frazer ve Hutchings, 2020;Goodman ve Browne, 1994;Trothen, 2006). Toplumsal dünyamızda belirli bir nesne, olay veya duygunun var olması adlandırma yoluyla gerçekleşmektedir.…”