What We Think When We Think About (Interpersonal) Violence: Understanding Knowledge Production

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Gender Studies
• Sociology

Background:

• Growing consensus identifies violence against women as structurally produced.
• Neoliberalism promotes an individualist perspective on violence.
• This perspective obscures the link between structural factors and personal experiences of violence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze how individualistic interpretations of violence against women are produced and reproduced.
• To examine the role of neoliberalism in shaping understandings of gender-based violence.
• To advocate for research practices that promote equity and justice for studied communities.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of federal grant funding opportunities in the United States.
• Examination of activism in Bangladesh.
• Inclusion of data from qualitative research studies.

Main Results:

• Neoliberal frameworks individualize violence against women, attributing blame to victims.
• These frameworks also frame violence as personal failings of men, masking structural influences.
• Examples from funding, activism, and research illustrate the reproduction of these individualistic readings.

Conclusions:

• There is a critical need to challenge individualistic interpretations of gender-based violence.
• Researchers must adopt a stance of radical responsibility.
• Equitable and just research should prioritize community needs over institutional or funder interests.