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Using Community Power to Tackle Gender-Based Violence: An Intersectional Theorisation

Lookup NU author(s): Gabriella MwedziORCiD, Professor Alison PhippsORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

What is the role of the community in tackling gender-based violence (GBV)? Could communities succeed in ways that states have failed? What approaches could make this possible? This article presents a theoretical discussion of Community Power, a recently codified and influential paradigm in Britain that focuses on ‘handing power’ to communities to deal with local issues. We are particularly interested in its potential to tackle GBV, a persistent issue with many social determinants relevant to Community Power. Our refractive analysis works on two levels: (1) we explore the possibilities of Community Power in relation to GBV; and (2) we use GBV as a lens on Community Power to illuminate its broader strengths and weaknesses. In doing this, we call for a deeper engagement with the terms ‘community’ and ‘power’, which are under-theorised and flattened in the paradigm of Community Power. Applying intersectional theory to this task, we find that Community Power initiatives risk exacerbating the dynamics that underpin GBV. We make suggestions for creating a more GBV-sensitive approach to Community Power, which might also help to enhance this mode of practice in the round.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Mwedzi G, Phipps A

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Sociological Research Online

Year: 2025

Volume: 30

Issue: 1

Pages: 136-152

Print publication date: 01/03/2025

Online publication date: 24/06/2024

Acceptance date: 15/04/2024

Date deposited: 08/07/2024

ISSN (electronic): 1360-7804

Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/13607804241252271

DOI: 10.1177/13607804241252271

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