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The Politics of Intersectionality in Activism against Gender-based Violence in Romania

Europe (Central and Eastern)
Gender
Social Movements
Women
Raluca Maria Popa
Central European University
Raluca Maria Popa
Central European University

Abstract

Activism against gender-based violence in Romania has developed gradually over the span of more than twenty years, since the UN Conference on Women in Beijing (1995). While initially focused almost exclusively on domestic violence, women’s organizations and their allies have broadened the mobilization to address other forms of gender-based violence. An increasing awareness of intersectionality has also emerged in the women’s movement against violence. At the same time, the adopted legislation ad policies show little sensitivity to intersectional disadvantages (Krizsan and Popa 2014). This paper traces intersectional practices in the processes around several main policy outputs: changes in the Criminal Code in 2000 to recognize marital rape; adoption of the 2003 Law on Preventing and Combating Violence in the Family; amendment of the Law to include protection orders and funding for shelters, in 2012; and the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, in 2016. The aim is to understand what factors are favorable to intersectionality praxis and claim making in gender-based violence activism and what factors are inhibiting meaningful integration of multiple inequalities. Some practices of political intersectionality (Crenshaw 1991) bring complexity and enriched equality content to activism; others are reductionist, resulting in exclusionary objectives and claims. The paper looks at the development of intersectional capacities, emergence of intersectional voices (in particular Roma women’s organizations), forging of intersectional coalitions, and inclusion/ exclusion dynamics in acting politically as dimensions of the practice of intersectionality. It finds that, despite the growing inclusivity of mobilizations against gender-based violence, the intersectional content of movement claims remains weak. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential and limitations of intersectional solidarity (Lepinard 2014) for activism against gender-based violence in Romania.