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Empowering Women for a Better World. Activism and Leadership in the Global Movements to Fight Violence Against Women

Thursday, 14 July 2016: 14:15-15:45
Location: Hörsaal 33 (Main Building)
RC32 Women in Society (host committee)

Language: English

In the last decades, women’s activism has greatly contributed to the shaping of the modern “social imaginary”, namely the normative background of our social life which defines all individuals as free agents, living in a society which exists for their mutual benefit and respect. Women’s activism has challenged the early-modern assumption that society and agents can be treated as neutral.  Women’s movements have unveiled that a gendered notion of men’s rights and freedom was embedded in that assumption.  
The global networks who fight against gender-based violence aim to protect and empower women who are deprived of the basic right to lead a safe life. The aim of this session is to take a close look at how these networks have contributed to shaping a social imaginary that insists on a better world for all the gendered subjects. 
Speakers will be invited to provide a historical view and a sociological interpretation of women’s activism and leadership in this basic field of social life. In particular, the session will investigate:

  • what special social imaginary has emerged out of the best cases of women’s activism against gender violence in the different regions of the world;
  • what features of these cases cut across borders and disseminated; 
  • how visionary leaders emerged out of grassroots activities; 
  • what made a difference in terms of improving women’s rights and empowerment.
Session Organizers:
Consuelo CORRADI, Lumsa University, Italy and Glenda BONIFACIO, University of Lethbridge, Canada
Chair:
Consuelo CORRADI, University of Rome, Italy
Posters:
Partnering for Change: A Collaborative Model for Research on Violence Against Women in Canada
Catherine HOLTMANN, Muriel McQueen Centre for Family Violence Research, Canada
Multiple Struggles in Fighting Violence Against Women: Implications Among Roma Women Leaders in Spain
Eva ESPINAR-RUIZ, University of Alicante, Spain; Carmen VIVES-CASES, University of Alicante, Spain
De- and Re-Constructing Violence with Residential Care Girls
Helena PARKKILA, Women's and Gender Studies, Finland; Mervi HEIKKINEN, Women's and Gender Studies, University of Oulu, Finland
See more of: RC32 Women in Society
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