Complicating Notions of Violence Against Women in Honduras

Abstract

Feminist geographical analysis has demonstrated that violence inflicted upon women is personal and, simultaneously, linked to global sociopolitical and economic processes. Consequently, violence is a complex system rather than a localized norm in specific places. In heavily militarized societies, patriarchal power regimes are even more prevalent as they promote a masculinist conception of protection. This study is grounded in feminist geopolitical analysis and explores how feminist activists in Honduras experience and resist violence in their everyday lives. The research draws on interviews, discussions in focus groups, and participant observation with activists from 2013 to 2016. The findings demonstrate that 1) violence and its effects are entrenched in women's everyday lives through feelings of fear and insecurity in the streets, workplace, and home, 2) violence operates through structures and institutions such as the military and police, impunity for violence, and legal restrictions on reproductive rights, and 3) the war on drugs and internationally funded "development" projects contribute to violence. The study interweaves feminist visions of collective self-care and analyzes activists' strategies against violence. This study contributes to a growing feminist geographical scholarship that links women's bodily experiences with violence and responds to calls to complicate notions of violence.