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Chapter 1: ‘They wanted to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds’ - Resisting intersectional and gendered violence against women in cities
This chapter, by Cathy McIlwaine & Moniza Rizzini Ansari, examines urban violence in Latin America through a feminist and intersectional lens highlighting how women in the margins are affected by armed urban violence. It highlights women’s agency in building their own practices of resistance through individual short-term coping mechanisms as well as longer term collective initiatives that place a feminist ethics of care at their centre. It showcases the activities of the Casa das Mulheres in the favelas of Maré in Rio de Janeiro, which runs a range of projects to challenge gender-based violence and provide support for women survivors of violence.
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Related podcast episode
Women Resisting Violence: 2. Rio’s Trailblazing Women’s House
‘If Black women in Brazil are the ones who suffer the most from gender-based violence, it is these women that have to be there drawing up public policy’
Located in one of the largest favelas in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, and led by Eliana Sousa Silva and her colleagues from the Redes da Maré, the Casa Das Mulheres provides much needed education around gender violence, and support for those leaving abusive relationships, in an area where the police refuse to intervene. It’s been a lifeline for many during COVID when many favela residents lost their jobs, providing work and distributing food to starving families as well as dealing with a huge rise in domestic violence.
English audio
Áudio em português
Chapters
Click through to learn more, find extra information, and access online references:
Women Resisting Violence: Voices and Experiences from Latin America
Chapter 1. ‘They wanted to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds’: Resisting intersectional and gendered violence against women in cities – Cathy McIlwaine and Moniza Rizzini Ansari
Chapter 2. ‘Care for those who care’: Domestic workers fight back against violence – Marilyn Thomson
Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix: Women Resisting Violence, the multilingual podcast
Press release
For press enquiries contact wrv@lab.org.uk. You can view and download press materials here.