Empowering and disempowering women in times of conflict and social strife

This event has ended.

Due to unforeseeable circumstances, one of our speakers, Alice MacLeod will not be presenting at this event. Our other speaker, Katherine Pickering, will now be joined by Dr Charlotte Walmsley, a former PhD student from Cardiff’s School of Modern Languages. Please note the changes to the title of the event and to one of the abstracts below.

Paper 1 by Katherine Pickering:
‘Money Vs Morals: The role of the economy in the abortion debate in Argentina and Brazil’

Abstract
Abortion is an emotionally charged issue but there is evidence that a more pragmatic, economically and financially focused argument can lead to desired policy outcomes. Within the already existing literature exploring the way pro-choice and pro-life activists frame their arguments, there is some acknowledgement of the role of the economy and perceptions of financial security. However, little has been done to put a specific focus on the way campaigners use the economy and financial matters within their rhetoric. Campaigners who have successfully framed their arguments in this way have seen the 2020 passing of law No 27.610 to legalise abortion in the case of feminist advocates in Argentina and in the case of conservative religious activists in Brazil, the suppression and even regression of pro-choice legislation during the Bolsonaro presidency. This paper explores the use of a pragmatic, financial argument both in favour of and against abortion in Argentina and Brazil, demonstrates how its effective deployment leads to successful policy outcomes, and suggests how this model could be reproduced elsewhere in the fight for women’s bodily autonomy.

Biography
Katherine Pickering is a first-year PhD student across MLANG and Law and Politics looking at culture wars in South America with a focus on feminist and neoconservative lobby groups in Argentina and Brazil. She holds a MSc in Social Science Research Methods from Cardiff University, a MSc in International Relations of the Americas from UCL, and a BA in Portuguese and Spanish from Cardiff University. Previously, she has investigated the effects of violence against women in politics and the implementation of gender-sensitive legislation. Currently she is interested in the dynamics between feminist and LGBTQIA+ activists and neoconservative/religious counter-activism.

New paper by Dr Charlotte Walmsley:
‘Civil war as fratricidal conflict? The case of violence against women in Liberation France’

Commentators and historians discussing civil war have often focused on the role of male participation and have theorised these conflicts using a framework of fratricidal violence. These interpretations appear to overlook the significance of violence against women during times of civil conflict and brutal upheaval. With reference to Liberation France, this paper seeks to situate the role of violence against women, including head shaving, humiliation, and sexual violence, with a view to expanding gendered interpretations of civil war and civil conflict.

The paper first explores definitions of civil war and civil conflict, considering the extent to which these definitions apply to France during the Liberation. It then assesses the role that is understood to be played by gender in these civil war contexts. With reference to primary sources, including press and judicial records relating to the violence experienced by the femmes tondues, the paper then points to the ways these narratives strengthen the argument for reframing Liberation France as a civil conflict. It finishes by asking what light the French case sheds more generally on the relationship between gender and civil war: is a more comprehensive definition of civil war, which theorises the role played by violence against women, now required?

Biography
Charlotte Walmsley completed her PhD in 2021, which analysed the phenomenon of gender-based violence following the Spanish Civil War and the Liberation of France, focusing particularly on comparative practices of female head shaving and humiliation. This project was co-supervised by Professor Hanna Diamond at Cardiff University and Professor Nuria Capdevila-Argüelles at the University of Exeter. Charlotte’s research interests include gender, violence, conflict and memory. She is now working as a policy adviser.

Event format & recording
The event will take place online as a Zoom webinar and will be recorded for publication after the event.

Simultaneous Translation
The event will be delivered in the medium of English. You are welcome to ask questions in the medium of Welsh during the Q&A session. If you intend to do this, please contact mlang-events@cardiff.ac.uk by Wednesday 1 February to request simultaneous translation. Please note that 10% or more of those planning to attend will need to request this provision in order for it to be sourced and will be subject to resource availability.

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