The Role of Women's Movements in the Implementation of Gender-Based Violence Laws

Bibliographic Data

ID6355092
AuthorsNana Akua Anyidoho (0000-0003-3038-9179, University of Ghana), Gordon Crawford (0000-0002-5705-9893, Coventry University), Peace A Medie (0000-0003-0727-6205, University of Bristol)
Year2021
Volume17
Issue3
Pages427-453
Publication date2021-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitics & Gender (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1743-923X • E-ISSN: 1743-9248
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1743923x19000849
OpenAlexW2969932898
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited30

The question of whether social movements can catalyze change has preoccupied researchers but an understanding ofhowsuch change can be created is equally important. Specifically, there has been little investigation of how women's movements engage in the process ofimplementationof women's rights laws. We use a case study of Ghana's Domestic Violence Coalition to examine the challenges that movements face in the policy implementation process. The Domestic Violence Coalition, a collective of women's rights organizations, was instrumental to the passage of Ghana's Domestic Violence Act in 2007. Our study investigates the coalition's subsequent attempts to influence the act's implementation. Drawing from the social movement literature, we apply an analytical framework consisting of three internal factors (strategies, movement infrastructure, and framing) and two external factors (political context and support of allies) that have mediated the coalition's impact on implementation. We find that changes in movement infrastructure are most significant in explaining the coalition's relative ineffectiveness, as these changes adversely affect its ability to employ effective strategies and take advantage of a conducive political context and the presence of allies. This article advances the literature on rights advocacy by women's movements by analyzing the challenge of translating success in policy adoption to implementation and explaining why women's movements may have less impact on implementation processes

Context (archaeology · Domestic violence · Face (sociological concept · Framing (construction · Geography · Poison control · Political economy · Political opportunity · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social movement · Social science · Sociology · Engineering · Gender Politics and Representation · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Law · Religion, Society, and Development · Sex work and related issues

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