Citation

Willis PK, Roskos LH. Peace Change 2007; 32(4): 520-545.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Peace History Society; Peace and Justice Studies Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-0130.2007.00466.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Since its inauguration in January 2001, the World Social Forum has gained importance as a venue for strengthening alternatives to the neoliberal agenda for globalization. Many feminist organizations are struggling to find ways to plug into this arena. This article describes the efforts of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom to participate in a regional social forum in Boston, Massachusetts, by collaborating with various women's organizations in mounting a tribunal on violence against women. This collaboration of feminist organizations encountered a number of barriers arising from contradictions within the social forum principles themselves as well as significant resistance from the core organizers of the event. The dynamics that played out around the Women's Tribunal at the Boston Social Forum distill some of the dilemmas faced by women's organizations seeking to impact the social forum arena and raise important questions about the usefulness of these forums as sites through which a transnational feminist movement can build momentum.