Violence towards women in the political agenda, society and the media

Abstract

This paper discusses some issues regarding the implementation of public policies in Spain addressing violence against women. One peculiarity of these public policies in Spain is that the problem of violence against women is framed as a gender issue. This perspective, devised in an academic context, conceives violence against women as a result of a structural inequality between men and women. Firstly, we analyze the penetration of the concept of gender in the political agenda and public debate, and thus, how academic concepts nurture political action. Then we discuss how violence against women has come to be viewed as a social problem rather than only an individual issue occurring in private, and we consider the role of the media in this process. Finally, we examine political and social reactions against these public policies in the context of an extension of new forms of sexism.