Citation

Hemment J. Signs 2004; 29(3): 815-840.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, University of Chicago Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

his article contributes to scrutiny of feminist transnationalism by providing an ethnographic investigation of one of its most prominent campaigns. Thanks to the efforts of feminist activists, violence against women is now an international development issue, backed by the UN and prioritized by international donors and NGOs. I consider this success from the perspective of postsocialist Russia, where the first crisis centers have been set up in recent years. I argue that the campaigns have troubling effects: the framing of violence against women screens out local constructions of events, and deflects attention from issues of social justice. Presenting insights gained in the context of an action research project undertaken with one group, this article highlights local contestation about the campaigns, exploring the competing conceptions of the “crisis” facing Russian women that they have displaced. In highlighting these alternative constructions, it examines the extent to which activists have been able to translate the issue and to root it in their concerns.