Introduction The theorisation of exploitative and dangerous systems such as patriarchy or colonialism has long been energised by the complex and evolving connections among gender, violence, and power. Research and activism that acknowledge such connections point to ways in which these systems often create normalised conditions of vulnerability, especially for people gendered within the “feminine.”…
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Violence, Gender, Power – The Politics of Feminist Research Methodologies
he theorisation of exploitative and dangerous systems such as patriarchy or colonialism has long been energised by the complex and evolving connections among gender, violence, and power. Research and activism that acknowledge such connections point to ways in which these systems often create normalised conditions of vulnerability, especially for people gendered within the “feminine.” Such theorisation has arisen most influentially in political work within civil societies that prioritises narratives of “abuse against women” as a starting point for redress, resistance, and revolution. The overwhelming focus on such abuses in African contexts has remained, however, on domestic violence and sexual assault. In the past decade, the focus has also increasingly include
Studying Political Violence with Ugandan Women: A Feminist Methodological Exploration
Our focus is on the messages conveyed by acts of violence that target women and feminised subjects, which constitute a system of communication of power and subordination with structural ramifications in society. The overall aim of the research is to unravel the meanings of gendered acts of violence in terms of existing power relations in these countries and as understood by a range of interlocutors, including survivors, activists, researchers, and government officials. Our investigation of the dynamics of acts of GBV has involved deeper feminist reflections on the politics of research and power relations.
Building Feminist Knowledges through Everyday Conversations: Using ‘Reflective Conversations’ as Research Methodology
Our focus is on the messages conveyed by acts of violence that target women and feminised subjects, which constitute a system of communication of power and subordination with structural ramifications in society. The overall aim of the research is to unravel the meanings of gendered acts of violence in terms of existing power relations in these countries and as understood by a range of interlocutors, including survivors, activists, researchers, and government officials. Our investigation of the dynamics of acts of GBV has involved deeper feminist reflections on the politics of research and power relations.
Transition Like an Egyptian: Investigating Transgender Experiences with Violence in Egypt
Our focus is on the messages conveyed by acts of violence that target women and feminised subjects, which constitute a system of communication of power and subordination with structural ramifications in society. The overall aim of the research is to unravel the meanings of gendered acts of violence in terms of existing power relations in these countries and as understood by a range of interlocutors, including survivors, activists, researchers, and government officials. Our investigation of the dynamics of acts of GBV has involved deeper feminist reflections on the politics of research and power relations.
Messages of Gender-Based Violence: Reflections on the Politics of the Methodology of Conversations
Our focus is on the messages conveyed by acts of violence that target women and feminised subjects, which constitute a system of communication of power and subordination with structural ramifications in society. The overall aim of the research is to unravel the meanings of gendered acts of violence in terms of existing power relations in these countries and as understood by a range of interlocutors, including survivors, activists, researchers, and government officials. Our investigation of the dynamics of acts of GBV has involved deeper feminist reflections on the politics of research and power relations.
Violence Against Women with Disabilities in Zimbabwe
In patriarchal societies, where inequalities between men and women prevail, women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to gendered violence. While gendered violence affects all women, research indicates that women with disabilities face a heightened risk (United Nations General Assembly 4/67/227, 4). Globally, UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) reports that 60% to 80% of women with disabilities have experienced sexual violence, with 50% subjected to multiple assaults (2015, 149).
Researching Christian-related Violence Against Women/Intimate Partner Violence (VAW/IPV) in Ghana: Insider/Outsider Positionalities
The hierarchical relationship between women and men, the stereotyped socialisation of boys and girls, and varying levels of discrimination are not merely societal but also religious constructs. I would argue that this emphasis on a hierarchical family structure, together with biblical texts on female submission, contributes to providing a theological basis for women’s subordination and gender inequality. This, in addition to the cultural practice of payment of the bridewealth (tiri nsa among the Akan), weakens women’s ability to leave toxic marriages or relationships.
We Are Not Just Data Sources!” The Pursuit of Epistemic Justice
Through these conversations, we queer and decolonise dominant epistemologies while reflecting on the unique ways queer knowledge is created in the global South. We explore the emancipatory potential of storytelling, uncovering resilience, trauma, queer joy and the complexities of the mundane. This engagement becomes a vantage point for exploring epistemic violence, examining the intimacies of queering imagined separations between “communities” and “researchers” and interrogating how the unequal power dynamics between funders and recipient organisations influence knowledge creation.
A Feminist Theory of Violence by Françoise Vergès. London: Pluto Press, 2022.
In A Feminist Theory of Violence, Françoise Vergès examines several broad questions concerning feminist theorising about violence. She aims “to contribute to the reflection on violence as a structural element of patriarchy and capitalism, rather than specifically male” (4). Vergès proceeds by eschewing an analysis of “patriarchy through the female victim/male perpetrator prism” (4), instead proposing “a critique of dependency on the police and the judicialization of social issues—in other words, of the spontaneous recourse to the criminal justice system to protect so-called ‘vulnerable’ populations”