Intersectional Approach in Antiviolence Centers – Audio Abstract

In the article Intersectional Approach within Italian Antiviolence Centres. Challenges for Research and Policies, Angela Toffanin, IRPPS researcher, analyzes whether and how antiviolence centers in Italy manage to respond to the needs of women victims of violence with an intersectional approach, 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 accessing services” shared by operators of antiviolence centers and shelters in Italy, collected in qualitative research conducted in 2019-20. At the same time, the article discusses some quantitative results on the training and professional practices of antiviolence centers regarding intervention with women who embody multiple vulnerabilities.

The article examines 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 in professional practices, through a reflexive approach to the categories used and one’s position in a specific social context.

Listen to the author’s audio abstract.

Toffanin A. M. (2023). Intersectional Approach within Italian Antiviolence Centres. Challenges for Research and Policies. Fuori Luogo Journal of Sociology of Territory, Tourism, Technology, 16(3), 75-88. https://doi.org/10.6093/2723-9608/9511