The Political Economy of Violence Against Women

Early in her text, Jacqui True engages the reader in the pertinent literature applying the political economy approach to the study of violence against women. In each chapter there are possibilities for further research and examination of transnational issues associated with violence against women. True has provided within her text enough topics to keep graduate students writing and researching for years to come. Particularly impressive is the discussion and inclusion of research from many different disciplines, governmental agencies, NGOs, human rights organizations, United Nations organizations, newspapers, and personal interviews with researchers and other involved persons; and this is not an exhaustive list.

True builds her case for the necessity of a political economy approach carefully. In the first six chapters she provides the linkage that takes us from thinking about violence in the home to its ultimate role in war crimes. An analysis of structured inequality in every form it may take is provided. In the later chapters, the issue of war crimes as a systemic element of violence against women is connected to post-conflict reconstruction and gendered expectations in formulating post-conflict communities. The issues of international financial crises affecting women disproportionately are examined. From my perspective the most fascinating chapter focuses on “natural disasters” and the differential outcomes for women.

True maintains that there is no such thing as a natural disaster. Natural disasters are redefined as social disasters, the effects of political and economic decisions that often affect women in consistently disparate ways. Whether it is the fairly simplistic idea that women and girls are not taught to swim in some communities, wear clothing that inhibits their ability to climb to high ground or to swim, or the more complex fact that they might not be able to own land which means when housing allotments are given to males, women may have no opportunity to direct, participate in, or receive any money. When coupling these attitudes with an exclusion of women from participating in recovery decisions and policy, it is no wonder that research has found women are more likely to suffer the indirect effects of disasters. Once women and girls are excluded from the recovery process, and if there are cultural supports for viewing women as of lesser importance, the likelihood is great that women will be sold into youthful marriage, traded for more valued goods, given up in prostitution or sex trafficking, or otherwise left in abject poverty.

In each chapter, True attempts to set out the issue of that chapter, explain it in terms of a feminist political economy approach, and most importantly, give an example of a potential solution/remedial treatment. Giving examples of persons and organizations that have made a difference in their communities or countries is inspiring. In addition, it provides additional ideas of research to see what the long-term effects of these changes have prompted. In the discussion of Liberia, the 2008 film “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” is cited as well as the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Iceland’s experience with the global financial crisis and subsequent appointment of Johanna Sigurdardottir, a former flight attendant and union representative, is instructive as to how the removal of young aggressive males from the banking industry leadership positions basically saved the day. In addition, with women in political leadership roles, Iceland was able to allow private banks to fail and reduce cuts to social welfare programs. True covers issues not only in developing countries but also those in developed countries.

A good deal of attention is placed on issues of sexual violence. True reflects on the “culture of impunity” which exists in most societies. It is the culture of impunity which defines masculinity as a form of entitlement. In addition when “masculinity” is defined as a hegemonic symbol of “breadwinner,” any intrusion on the breadwinning role creates a need for men to demonstrate their position of superiority. Sexual violence, physical violence, any form of domestic violence against the women in their lives serves to increase feelings of control. This process is repeated in times of financial crisis, conflict, natural disasters, and in post-conflict periods. True provides more than sufficient evidence that any loss of control/manhood will surely result in consequences for women associated with those individuals. True suggests that the case is typically men lose, women lose. There is evidence to support this outcome, but the important application of the political economy approach is to examine both the political and economic arrangements of the community in question. The included examples of both Iceland and Liberia provide research that demonstrates the possibilities for men lose, women gain. Obviously the desired outcome is men and women gain in both equality and in acceptance.

True provides a clearly stated and well researched treatise on the political economy approach in explaining issues of violence against women. She is making a case using macro-, meso- and micro-level analysis, freely using many different countries and communities. Her research is thorough and reflects a wide variety of sources. The text is clearly organized and each chapter builds on the previous ones. As is a problem with many texts today, there is a lack of copy-editing (several misspelled words). I expect more from Oxford University Press.

One of the other issues I had was with the formulaic approach to the chapters. In almost every chapter, True reports that the organization of the chapter is divided into three or four parts: a tiring formula after reading several chapters—in addition to telling us what we will read or have read in other chapters. Otherwise, I thoroughly appreciated the solutions suggested. There are only so many ways one can say women suffer because men are in charge. The difference is that True provides research evidence as well as different contexts for her myriad examples.

It was a pleasure to review this text. I definitely would use it in a class on gender, migration, and/or globalization. With its emphasis on trafficking as a form of violence against women and several discussions of criminal justice processes, it could be used easily in criminal justice and gender courses, and it is appropriate for both graduate and undergraduate level courses. As a fascinating examination of transnational gendered relations, conflict, non-conflict, disaster, financial crises, globalized sex trafficking as well as free trade zones, The Political Economy of Violence Against Women provides a roadmap for many lines of research as well as grounds for debate, policy questions, and protocols.