Research Institute on Population and Social Policies

August 1, 2024

Intersectional approach in anti-violence centers – audio abstract

In the article Intersectional Approach within Italian Anti-violence Centres. Challenges for Research and Policies, Angela Toffanin, IRPPS researcher, analyzes whether and how anti-violence centers in Italy are able to respond to the needs of women victims of violence with an intersectional approach, i.e. considering how different levels of vulnerability interact with each other.

The empirical part of the article discusses some of the representations of "women in situations of violence" and "women who access services" shared by operators of anti-violence centers and shelters in Italy, collected in a qualitative research from 2019-20 . At the same time, the article discusses some quantitative findings on the training and professional practices of AVCs on intervening with women who embody multiple vulnerabilities.

The article questions the relational dimension that is at the center of the debate on intersectionality and its potential in research activities. The objective is to contribute to the scientific debate on intersectionality as a theoretical and empirical tool, useful for avoiding the unconscious reproduction of inequalities and privileges during research activities and professional practices, through a reflective approach on the categories used and on one's own position in a specific social context.

Listen to the author's audio abstract.

ToffaninA. M. (2023). Intersectional Approach within Italian Antiviolence Centres. Challenges for Research and Policies. Fuori Luogo Journal of Sociology of Territory, Tourism, Technology16(3), 75-88. https://doi.org/10.6093/2723-9608/9511