Specialised (in)security: violence against women, criminal courts, and the gendered presence of the state in Ecuador

This article asks what the reliance on criminal law and policy to address violence against women (VAW) reveals about the gendered interaction between law, development, and security. Using empirical research on Ecuador’s specialised courts for VAW, we argue that the state’s turn to criminal law—ofte...

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Main Authors: Silvana Tapia Tapia, Kate Bedford
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Derecho 2021-08-01
Series:Latin American Law Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/index.php/lar/article/view/4701
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author Silvana Tapia Tapia
Kate Bedford
author_facet Silvana Tapia Tapia
Kate Bedford
author_sort Silvana Tapia Tapia
collection DOAJ
description This article asks what the reliance on criminal law and policy to address violence against women (VAW) reveals about the gendered interaction between law, development, and security. Using empirical research on Ecuador’s specialised courts for VAW, we argue that the state’s turn to criminal law—often presented as evidence of taking violence seriously—has in practice resulted in reduced protection for women. The use of penality to address VAW allows courts to prove that women’s safety and security are being taken seriously while concealing–and in some respects fuelling–state abandonment regarding effective protection and services for survivors. We conclude with a call to gender discussions of the turn to criminal law within development and security studies.
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language English
publishDate 2021-08-01
publisher Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Derecho
record_format Article
series Latin American Law Review
spelling doaj-art-685be2eb162f4f88965ace40fb7769a72025-08-20T01:48:02ZengUniversidad de los Andes, Facultad de DerechoLatin American Law Review2619-48802021-08-011710.29263/lar07.2021.02Specialised (in)security: violence against women, criminal courts, and the gendered presence of the state in EcuadorSilvana Tapia Tapia0Kate Bedford1Universidad del Azuay (Ecuador)University of Birmingham (United Kingdom) This article asks what the reliance on criminal law and policy to address violence against women (VAW) reveals about the gendered interaction between law, development, and security. Using empirical research on Ecuador’s specialised courts for VAW, we argue that the state’s turn to criminal law—often presented as evidence of taking violence seriously—has in practice resulted in reduced protection for women. The use of penality to address VAW allows courts to prove that women’s safety and security are being taken seriously while concealing–and in some respects fuelling–state abandonment regarding effective protection and services for survivors. We conclude with a call to gender discussions of the turn to criminal law within development and security studies. https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/index.php/lar/article/view/4701Violence against womenEcuadorgender and developmentcriminal lawcitizen securityLatin America
spellingShingle Silvana Tapia Tapia
Kate Bedford
Specialised (in)security: violence against women, criminal courts, and the gendered presence of the state in Ecuador
Latin American Law Review
Violence against women
Ecuador
gender and development
criminal law
citizen security
Latin America
title Specialised (in)security: violence against women, criminal courts, and the gendered presence of the state in Ecuador
title_full Specialised (in)security: violence against women, criminal courts, and the gendered presence of the state in Ecuador
title_fullStr Specialised (in)security: violence against women, criminal courts, and the gendered presence of the state in Ecuador
title_full_unstemmed Specialised (in)security: violence against women, criminal courts, and the gendered presence of the state in Ecuador
title_short Specialised (in)security: violence against women, criminal courts, and the gendered presence of the state in Ecuador
title_sort specialised in security violence against women criminal courts and the gendered presence of the state in ecuador
topic Violence against women
Ecuador
gender and development
criminal law
citizen security
Latin America
url https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/index.php/lar/article/view/4701
work_keys_str_mv AT silvanatapiatapia specialisedinsecurityviolenceagainstwomencriminalcourtsandthegenderedpresenceofthestateinecuador
AT katebedford specialisedinsecurityviolenceagainstwomencriminalcourtsandthegenderedpresenceofthestateinecuador