VIdOM

This project aims to contribute, both theoretically and empirically, to the field of gender-based violence studies and engages an intersectional perspective. It posits that the postcolonial context and socioeconomic characteristics of the three overseas territories studied – Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion Island – intensify the role of certain factors associated with the risk of violence and complicate pathways out of violent situations. The project constitutes the next stage of a research programme initiated by the setting up of a sociodemographic survey on gender-based violence in these territories (2018). As well as its theoretical and empirical contributions, the research will change perceptions of violence in these territories and will produce new knowledge, particularly with regard to Reunion Island. Four topics structure the research project. The first will update knowledge on the social and cultural conditions of the production of family violence in childhood, both for girls and boys. Analyses exploring hypotheses relating to the role of social context and family upbringing will take into account the legacies of slavery and colonization, and religion. The gender and intersectionality focus will bring new insights to long-term impacts on the life course including in terms of social inequalities. The second topic addresses the interrelationship between violence in adulthood and social and economic deprivation. Such deprivation is a common experience in these territories. We aim to highlight processes shaping the continuum of violence, through two illustrative examples of deprivation among women: single parenthood and migration. We will examine the interrelationship also for men, under the hypothesis that other social processes shape men’s experiences. Topic 3 aims to deepen our understanding of escape routes from violence through a study of disclosure and reporting of violence, and of what facilitates or hinders help seeking for women and men. Analyses will focus on the victim’s viewpoint, highlighting the role of local stakeholders, notably health and criminal justice professionals, as well as religious communities, in aiding or hampering access to help. Topic 4 examines the role of institutional intervention and representations of intimate partner violence (IPV) and of victims of such violence. Analyses of the contours of IPV prevention policies will be set within local historical, political and social contexts. The project’s originality within gender-based violence studies lies in its mixed methods design, using both new statistical survey data and a variety of qualitative materials (in-depth interviews with victims and institutional representatives, press articles, visual and textual materials from violence prevention campaigns). The impacts and benefits of the research will be significant in two fields. First, research results will be widely disseminated both nationally and internationally, through the organization of and participation in conferences and by numerous publications in academic journals and books. Second, given current levels of attention in France (mainland and overseas territories) on issues surrounding violence against women, the project aims to feed into social policy by way of presentations to local stakeholders, articles in professional journals, contributions to developing training tools, research briefs, all extensively disseminated to ensure a rapid transfer of knowledge to local and national institutions.