Constructing Survivors and Perpetrators. The Making of a Social Problem in the Domestic Violence Movement

• In Event: 463 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 24. Violence Against Women Activism

Abstract

The domestic violence movement is very active and well established, and has been an important actor of the American social movements landscape since the 1960s. The importance of the movement's contribution in terms of service provision to victims of violence is undeniable. However, one of its main successes has been its capacity to construct domestic violence as an important social problem, one that should be addressed by the state. In fact, while the expression "domestic violence" was almost unknown to the American public only a few decades ago, the existence and prevalence of the issue is now widely recognized. Of course, defining a social problem is an ongoing process, which means that concepts constantly need to be readapted. Hence, domestic violence activists are still struggling to develop a common theoretical framework that would ground their political project and reflect the work that they do on the ground. In this paper, I examine Chicago domestic violence activists' attempt at redefining the issue in a way that supports their political goals. Using data from 40 interviews with activists, I look at the way in which they define violence, explain its social sources and construct "survivors" and "perpetrators". Drawing on two examples (the inclusion of men inside shelters and the issue of substance abuse), I show that activists' capacity to address new issues or reframe old ones to respond to a new context is bounded by the possibility of reconciling new beliefs with previous conceptions of "survivors" and "perpetrators".

Author

• Marie Laperrière, Northwestern University