Campaigning against violence against women from the women's and feminist movement : a case study of the Cuidado! El Machismo Mata campaign in Chile

Abstract

The last decade has seen a wave of national campaigns against violence against women in Latin America, yet little research exists on the topic. Based on fieldwork and using grounded theory, this thesis offers a case study of the national, multi-year, Chilean campaign ¡Cuidado! El Machismo Mata (Caution! Machismo Kills). Designed and implemented by the Chilean Women's Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the campaign is an effort to address femicide, the killing or death of a woman as a result of her gender, and to address all forms of violence against women. The case study builds upon the concept of feminist space to analyze the campaign's successes and challenges, as well as its contributions to the country's women's and feminist movement. A model for change through social movement campaigns is proposed and implications for research in the fields of both Women's and Communications Studies are discussed.