Border Criminology: 16 Days of Activism Against Gendered Violence

Guest post by Professor Marie Segrave & Dr Siru Tan. Marie and Siru lead the Border Criminologies' Gender, Violence and Exploitation thematic group. This is the introductory post for the occasional thematic series on the 16 Days of Activism Against Gendered Violence. 

Occasional series introduction

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It marks the beginning of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. 

In the midst of ongoing significant global violence, we can recognize that in every setting, from the familial to the state, there is gendered violence that is targeting and impacting the safety of women and girls. 

UN women share data on the rates of women experiencing violences in their lifetime (1 in 3), rates of violence from current or former partners (1 in 4 adolescent girls) and the persistently high rates of femicide (the intentional killing of a woman or girl because of her gender) globally.

There are ongoing calls for prevention and action.

For Border Criminologies scholars, activists and advocates, this is a moment to recognize that border regimes in design and operation are a significant contributor to the conditions that produce and sustain gender-based violence. We draw on the expertise of colleagues across the world who are a part of the Gender, Violence and Exploitation, thematic group to bring a critical border lens to the conversation around gender-based violence.

Over the next sixteen days, this occasional series of blog posts seeks to highlight the various ways in which bordering practices and policies are at the forefront of a significant component of gendered violence across the globe. In this series we bring research from across many locations, to interrogate the relationship between bordering and gender-based violence, and to highlight that we must hold state systems and processes to account if we are to make any progress on reducing or preventing violence against women. This includes considering how we do research, the intersections of detention and deportation practices and gendered violence, and the ways in which specific crossborder offences can obfuscate the role of the state in enacting gendered violence.

Please share widely and please get in touch if you want to be a part of and connected to the ongoing work of the members of this thematic group.