What are the social structures that make violence possible?

Violence is not evenly distributed. Studies have shown that communities riddled by violence are not only poorer, but they also hold a social stigma that portrays them as naturally violent and incorrigible. Researchers have tried to understand how violence affects marginalized communities by looking at different forms of violence, such as urban and gender violence, as isolated phenomena and doing case studies of criminalized communities or men without sufficient analysis of the context that makes violence possible. My research moves away from these two frameworks by examining the interconnectedness of different forms of violence through a critical feminist perspective. 

My research agenda examines the relationship between social inequality, violence, and resistance by studying the social structures that make violence possible. First, my work explores the cultural ideas and processes that allow people to make sense of violence. I look at the meaning-making processes and discourses used by all social actors who define the limits of violence (what is recognized and experienced as violence). Second, I focus on how class, race, and gender affect people’s experiences of violence. My work shows that class, race, and gender structures condition social relations marked by violence. Last, my work also examines how people respond, resist, and heal from violence. Together, these focus areas contribute to understanding the dynamics of violence and how state and non-actors respond to violence.