Policy Press

History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement

We've Come Further Than You Think

By Gill Hague

Published

May 26, 2021

Page count

266 pages

ISBN

978-1447356332

Dimensions

216 x 138 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

May 26, 2021

Page count

266 pages

ISBN

978-1447356325

Dimensions

216 x 138 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

May 26, 2021

Page count

266 pages

ISBN

978-1447356356

Dimensions

216 x 138 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

May 26, 2021

Page count

266 pages

ISBN

978-1447356356

Dimensions

216 x 138 mm

Imprint

Policy Press
History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement

Acclaimed activist and scholar Gill Hague recounts the inspiring story of the domestic violence movement in the UK and beyond from the 1960s onwards in this captivating book.

Memories, poems and interviews with activists, practitioners and abuse survivors shed new light on a period of immense change, shaped by a generation of feminist pioneers.

From the women’s liberation movement until now, this book showcases the campaigning zeal with which policies, services and awareness-raising on gendered violence in the UK and across the world were built, including for Black and minority women. This fascinating history will inform and inspire new ways forward within the domestic violence movement.

“…a passionate and assiduous account of this arena.” Morning Star

“(Hague's) account shows the considerable progress that feminists have made in bringing the issue of violence against women to the forefront of public attention, and subsequently in organising innovative approaches for addressing this violence.” Oral History Society

"Gill Hague’s marvellous book maps a critical period of feminist struggles in the UK, capturing their diversity, vision, passion, creativity and energy. The message of this book is that history matters. If we are to defend the gains that have been made and build on those gains in future struggles for women’s liberation and wider social justice, we must know what came before us. A must-read." Pragna Patel, Southall Black Sisters

"She was in the room when it happened. Gill Hague, feminist activist pioneer and scholar, details the Women's Liberation Movements and the Violence Against Women Movements from then until now." Rebecca Emerson Dobash, University of Manchester

Gill Hague is Professor Emerita of Violence Against Women Studies at the University of Bristol and has been an activist, practitioner and researcher on violence against women nationally and internationally since the early 1970s. She was a founder of the Centre for Gender and Violence Research, School for Policy Studies at University of Bristol and has over 130 publications on violence against women including eight books. Hague has received both a CBE and an Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize for her life’s work on gender violence.

Introduction

Everything seemed to change at once: women’s liberation and the women’s movement(s) from the 1960s

Women’s liberation: strands, debates, transformations

The violence against women movements burst into life

Taking on rape and sexual violence, as well as domestic abuse

A radical women’s politics: the light of innovation and new ways to organise

Wider feminist principles and domestic violence: making a new world

As time went on: the movements on domestic violence and harmful practices grow

Struggling to change: campaigns, laws, and local and global strategies

Activist responses, justice and shelters (refuges) across the world

Expanding the movements, gaining the evidence: feminist research and transnational action

End word