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The Pragmatics of Domestic Violence Discourse in Uruguay:

The Pragmatics of Domestic Violence Discourse in Uruguay: Domestic violence (DV) is a form of gender-based violence and a violation of human rights. As such, it was analyzed from the perspective of feminist theory in the dissertation this article is based on, by analyzing discourse pragmatics. Which are the socially accepted DV discourses in Uruguay? Which coincidences, contradictions, and paradoxes appear when we compare these discourses and those of everyday life? Which codes and subcodes should be modified by the sectors interested in the prevention and eradication of DV? The main hypothesis is that there are different types of opposition between the public discourse of different institutional sectors and that of everyday life. Describing these oppositions and, especially, unveiling the pragmatic paradoxes will enable us to develop a different type of discourse for the prevention and eradication of DV. As I am both a researcher and an activist on the topic, my epistemological choice was the autoethnography. This article provides some final reflections, included in the dissertation, on how the feminist movement needs to succeed in persuading decision makers and the mass media, and in building solid alliances to establish an information and monitoring system; the integration of the subject into the educational system; comprehensive legislation on gender-based violence; and new ways of communicating with all sectors, so as to create a new ideology on gender relations for the suitable prevention of DV. Keywords social sciences, communication, communication studies, race, gender, media, society, mass communication abuse, criminology, human rights, political sociology, sociology, sex, women’s studies Uruguay is not an island but a mere sample of a problem that Why Is It Necessary to Analyze extends to women in general: violence. Domestic Violence (DV) Discourse in As defined in the Convention of Belém do Pará (U.S. Uruguay From a Feminist Perspective? Organization of American States, Department of International This volume of Progress of the World’s Women starts with a Law, 1994), “violence against women shall be understood as paradox: The past century has seen a transformation in women’s any act or conduct, based on gender, which causes death or legal rights, with countries in every region expanding the scope physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to of women’s legal entitlements. Nevertheless, for most of the women, whether in the public or the private sphere.” It also world’s women the laws that exist on paper do not always states that “violence against women includes physical, sex- translate into equality and justice. In many contexts, in rich and ual and psychological violence.” poor countries alike, the infrastructure of justice—the police, the courts and the judiciary—is failing women, which manifests In this article, which presents my PhD research work, I itself in poor services and hostile attitudes from the very people will address DV, which, according to the above-mentioned whose duty is to fulfil women’s rights. As a result, although convention, is understood as violence “that occurs within the equality between women and men is guaranteed in the family or domestic unit or within any other interpersonal constitutions of 139 countries and territories, inadequate laws relationship, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has and loopholes in legislative frameworks, poor enforcement and shared the same residence with the woman, including, among vast implementation gaps make these guarantees hollow others, rape, battery and sexual abuse.” promises, having little impact on the day-to-day lives of women. (UN Women, 2012, p. 8) The introduction to this section was published in 2012, Universidad ORT Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay and it reached my hands when I was about to finish my PhD Corresponding Author: dissertation. I was truly moved by the similarity of our Teresa Herrera, Universidad ORT Uruguay, 1185 Montevideo, 11300 stances, and it strengthened my conviction regarding the Uruguay. need to address the issue from all possible perspectives. Email: teresa@teresaherrera.org Creative Commons CC-BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). 2 SAGE Open DV is a form of gender-based violence and a violation of The first discourse analysis examined the contradictions human rights. As such, it was analyzed in my dissertation between the letter and the application of Law 17.514 of DV, from the perspective of feminist theory by considering dis- taking into account the document review of two initiatives course pragmatics, which is understood as the analysis of of the Women’s Movement. The first initiative took place on contradictions and coincidences between hegemonic and October 28, 2010, when 20 Uruguayan civil organizations subaltern discourses in the public sphere, and the application denounced the Uruguayan government for DV and femicide of specific policies on the matter. in a public hearing of the Inter-American Commission on The dissertation set out to answer the following questions: Human Rights. The second initiative was the project “Time Gender Justice.” This project, which had several phases, Research Question 1: Which are the socially accepted was implemented in October 2010 by Organization of DV discourses in Uruguay? Women Now (member of the Uruguayan Network Against Research Question 2: Which coincidences, contradic- Domestic and Sexual Violence [RUCVDS]), with the sup- tions, and paradoxes appear when we compare these dis- port of UN Women. In October 2011, this project began its courses and those of everyday life? second phase, focused on requesting constitutional status Research Question 3: Which codes and subcodes should for the human rights of women to the highest ranking body be modified by those sectors that are interested in the pre- of the judiciary, the Supreme Court, and, particularly, inquir- vention and eradication of DV? ing into the justice system’s response to those situations of family or DV regulated by Law 17.514. The petition was The main hypothesis was as follows: signed by more than 90 organizations, groups, collectives, and networks that work in the field. The importance of this Hypothesis 1: There are different types of opposition initiative was ratified by the response of the Supreme Court between the public discourse of different institutional sec- itself, which recognized in its 7755 Agreed 2012, the verac- tors and that of everyday life. ity of the vast majority of the facts that were outlined by the petition. Describing these oppositions and, especially, unveiling The second objective was to reveal the contradictions their pragmatic paradoxes will enable us to develop a dif- between the “politically correct speeches regarding DV” and ferent type of discourse for the prevention and eradication pragmatic public policies that did not have the resources to of DV. prevent the scourge. One of the problems in Uruguay is that Clearly, this hypothesis reflects a stance on the role of institutions do not translate what is written or verbalized into sociology as a science that should contribute to changing the efficient and effective public policies. For a full understand- living conditions of people. In this case, it is not only about ing of the situation, the stage where these contradictions take analyzing discourse pragmatics but also about making rec- place needed to be considered. On one hand, my research ommendations, from evidence, to effect changes in dis- addressed the institutional structure dedicated to the preven- course, because discourse is a factor that contributes to tion and eradication of DV, and particularly the state of its socio-cultural change. It would hence contribute to reducing current situation, taking as a source the evaluation of the the prevalence of DV in Uruguay. In our country, 40 women First National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence 2004- are murdered every year, most in cases of DV, and ±20,000 2010, a plan that covers all actions carried out in that period. related reports are made, in a population of only 3,200,000 This evaluation, conducted by the author, assessed all the inhabitants. institutional aspects of DV in Uruguay, both structurally and As I am both a researcher and an activist on the topic, my functionally. On the other hand, my research also addressed epistemological choice was the autoethnography. the process carried out by the Women’s Movement in Uruguay, because their members have been major players in the placement of DV on the agenda of public problems, and The Objectives and Approach probably the ones responsible for the policies that have been To answer these questions, the first objective was to show developed in the matter, even if these policies are still weak. that, despite legislation about DV, its implementation has not This weakness is amply demonstrated by the growth in the had a true positive impact on the lives of sufferers. The dis- number of murders of women and the evaluation of the plan course of law and what has been really happening with its that was referred to earlier. Also, coinciding with the autoeth- application, and the prevailing ideology in members of the nographic option, the author participates and has participated judiciary, end up denying adequate protection to women and in this movement for almost two decades. revictimizing them. To demonstrate this, four different Third, ignorance and subservience on the topic of DV speeches were considered, in which we proceeded to check were demonstrated, particularly concerning the agenda of the dimensions established in the theoretical framework, most decision makers and opinion leaders. Twenty-seven using the tools of verisimilitude analysis, which are explained interviews were conducted in this regard during the second in section “Discourses Analyzed.” half of 2011 and early 2012. Most of them corresponded to Herrera 3 the institutions discussed in Evaluation of the National Plan obstacle to comprehension, but also a resource and/or a condition to such comprehension. (p. 3) to Combat Domestic and Sexual Violence (2004-2010). Others were made specifically for the dissertation, to com- In this case, autoethnography is the study where the plete the segment related to opinion leaders, which included researcher and author describes a cultural context where she members of civil society and journalists. is an active participant in more or less the same terms as the The fourth objective was to demonstrate how Uruguayan other participants whose discourse will be analyzed. public opinion, despite its condemnation of DV, is still far Autoethnography breaks away from positivist logics to from recognizing the scale of the problem and its real causes. account for the bias in the investigation. In this case, the There is no real empathy toward victims and important sec- researcher’s position crosses paths with what is researched, tors of society still justify violence. These statements were supported by the analysis of the main results of two national connecting personal experience with the social context where surveys of statistically representative public opinion directed it develops. by the author in 2010 to 2012, Herrera Sormano (2015). Both Therefore, it is important to point out the need to make the surveys were conducted under the project “Strengthening subjectivity of the researcher explicit in the research process. Articulation of the Uruguayan Network Against Domestic Autoethnography, a qualitative method, is a postmodernist and Sexual Violence and Groups Working on the Issue,” construct in that it combines autobiography with ethnography funded by the European Union. (Reed-Danahay, 1997). Ellis and Bochner (2000) posit that autoethnography displays multiple layers of consciousness in The Position of the Researcher and the mixing the personal with the cultural and includes dialogue, emotion, and self consciousness through first-person accounts. Epistemological Choice It is highly personalized writing “where authors draw on their According to Creswell (2007), to study this problem, we own experiences to extend understanding of a particular need to choose a qualitative research strategy to use new discipline or culture” (Holt, 2003). Pratt’s (1999) suggestion is techniques to collect evidence, in a natural environment that that alternative forms of meaning and power from those is sensitive for researchers, to analyze data that are inductive associated with the dominant culture could be explored in and to set out guidelines for addressing the different areas. Its autoethnographical texts. Buzzard (2003) saw autoethnography as the “perfect aegis under which every heretofore silenced final written presentation includes the participants’ voices, group might enunciate, from its own location and according to the reflexiveness of researchers, and a complex description its own agenda, its vision of itself and the world.” (Franklin & and interpretation of the problem, and literature is widened Todd, 2007, p. 169) or there is a call to action. “Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world. It consists of a This epistemological position is even more relevant, as set of interpretive, material practices that make the world this research is undertaken from a feminist perspective. visible” (p. 36). According to Bonder (1998), work undertaken from this In this respect, I believe I must make my epistemological perspective choice of autoethnography explicit. As I am both an aca- demic and a militant, my research falls within the tradition of would entail accepting that the existence of lines of flight the ethnography, but this ethnography is based on the idea regarding the docility of the prevailing models is essential for that as a researcher, I am at the same time a social actress, as the construction of subjectivities; accepting that, as Guattari I am part of the context under study. would say, we are traversed by desiring, semiotic, social and As Scribano and De Sena (2009) state, citing Bohman, material flows. We are both subjects and subjected, which gives us back a degree of freedom, and consequently, of responsibility. This author identifies indeterminacy as an intrinsic feature of Additionally, considering ourselves a heterogeneous set of social practices and of the central concepts of social science, like subject positions that in certain circumstances “harmonise,” in causality, rules, criticism, correct interpretation, etc. others crystallise and in others are in tension, allows us to Indeterminacy is not about impossibility and lack of explain “agency” without resorting to metaphysical voluntarism, understanding, but rather it is related to the reflexive character or reproducing the idea of a historical subject appointed of knowledge. It is an ontological feature of social reality. On theologically. However, it does allow us to acknowledge its the contrary, beyond all theories, social actors are not simple capacity to become an “ethical political” actor/actress in certain bearers of social forces or foolish decision-makers within a contexts and situations. (p. 13) cultural order. Agents, with the capacity to know and reflect, can alter their circumstances and the conditions of social life. If this Observing from this perspective also allows us to remain were the case, then the root cause of the problems of social on the lookout for risks: sciences is indeterminacy rather than their failure to produce a sole prediction as is the case of natural sciences (1994, p. 13). It is within this context that we can understand that the perspective Considering ourselves in this way entails an invitation or an of the subject involved in the analysis of the object is not only an obligation to act in the knowledge that it is impossible to remain 4 SAGE Open uninvolved with regard to power relationships; however, it also hand, multilateral organizations dealing with concerns about entails accepting that the rules of the game can be changed while discrimination toward women (e.g., CEDAW, Belém do playing, although the game could be in favour of some players Pará, the 2002). In Uruguay, this became a “legitimate” issue and against others. So, where should our “game” go in the when prevalence studies of DV were conducted in 1996 and feminism of the turn of the century? With which rules and 2003 (IADB, 1996 and 2003), with the creation of the against which rules should we play? (p. 13) Observatory of Violence and Criminality of the Ministro del Interior, and with the development of regulations: Law Regarding DV, the following questions were considered, 16.707 of Citizen Security of 1995, which modifies the trying to maintain the following ethical and professional Criminal Code and criminalizes DV; and Law 17.514 of DV position: of 2002, already mentioned as well. In Uruguay—in the private sphere—traditional discourse This implies taking as a political responsibility the habit of regarding gender relations and violence survives to this day, distancing, objectivation and problematisation of the chain of epitomized by the following statement: “One shouldn’t med- crystallised meanings, including those that we gradually build dle in the affairs of a couple.” It is in daily life where it is the from the feminist practice itself; keeping the “spark” of creative hardest to effect changes, and this is the problem that will be subversion alive in gender definitions and regulatory practices, analyzed in this article. but also accepting that all regulations are tentative, even the most “progressive” ones, and finally the affirmation of an ethics of hope as essential for intersubjective relations based on Analysis of Mass Discourse solidarity, diversity interplay and unity of action. (p. 17) The notion of discourse implies the idea of an interpretation of the world made reference to. That is to say, it expresses the From a Private Problem to a Public difference between the fact itself and the narrative of such a Problem fact. This difference, generally unseen by the receiver, is very important for the analysis of media discourses. One For this work, I chose a pragmatic analysis approach to study thing is the real fact, what and how it happened. Now, to DV discourse in the public sphere, whose relevance as a the- recount what happened is different. oretical approach I explain below. Neglecting this narrative instance means disregarding the As Fraser (1997) rightly says, Habermas’s idea of “public specific conditions where the discourse took place, be them sphere” as the setting “where participation takes place social, historical, or cultural. That is to say, the context. As a through discourse is the space in which citizens deliberate on consequence, what is actually a quality of the text is taken as common problems, therefore, an institutionalised space of a quality of the fact; thus, we forget that this is not the fact discursive interaction” (p. 97). itself but its representation. Ignoring this instance is one of According to Fraser (1997), an accurate conception of the the reasons that explains the power granted to media regard- public sphere should fulfill four conditions: ing the truth of the facts recounted. By analyzing the different social discourses, we can dis- 1. Elimination of social inequality (in this case, the sub- cover and systematize the elements that make up the percep- mission of women, girls, boys, and adolescents to tion different stakeholders have on a given subject. Social male violence). discourses organize reality to persuade through reasoning 2. Need to have multiple publics (in this case, to con- and to move through literary images, and they will do so, to quer the different strata of public opinion). a greater or lesser extent, depending on their power to be 3. It should favor the inclusion of the topics that the connected, implicit or explicitly, with the accepted values dominant sexist conception labels as private (no and the symbolic configurations of each place and each explanations needed). moment. 4. It should allow for the existence of strong publics and This idea implies that the object of study of semiotics is weak publics, and to favor interaction between them the text, leading to a textual or discursive semiotics. (creation of alliances). Following Verón (1987), discourse is the material mani- festation of sense production. “Whatever the storage medium, This consideration of the public sphere is relevant when what we call a discourse or a discourse set is but a time-space addressing DV, because in women’s discourse, the “subal- configuration of sense” (p. 127). Therefore, this medium can tern discourse,” this matter is paradigmatic. In modern and be an image, the linguistic text itself, or a combination of postmodern times, feminists have been a minority who have both. argued that this should be a public concern. In previous sections of this work, I have mentioned wom- Besides the committed action of women, it was necessary en’s discourse as a discourse that is subaltern to the dominant for their discourse to be deemed “legitimate” from two ideology. According to Verón (1987), sources: on one hand, international actions and, on the other Herrera 5 What is ideological is not the name of a dimension in the name For the purpose of this analysis, “any production of mean- of a discourse type (not even at a descriptive level), but the name ing, in fact, has a material manifestation” (Verón, 1987, of a dimension present in all the discourses which are internal to p. 126). Therefore, the object of discourse analysis is not a social group, to the extent that the fact that it is produced in this within or outside the discourses themselves, but rather they social group has left its marks on the discourse. (p. 17) are “systems of relations that every construct has with its generating conditions on the one hand, and also with its These statements define what Verón calls discourse anal- effects” (Verón, 1987, p. 128). ysis. In other words, it is not about analyzing the discourses From a methodological point of view, we should be able that explicitly refer to the object of analysis, but rather it is to represent this system of relations systematically: We necessary to disclose the meaning of those that probably should keep in mind generation rules as well as reading rules. account for the underlying ideology. For the topic at hand, it When we talk about generation rules, we refer to production has to do with the discursive expressions of gender relations grammars, in so far as reading rules refer to recognition beyond (or within) DV. Therefore, it is necessary to estab- grammars. lish fundamental concepts: the grammars of production, cir- Each discourse has elements in line with the receiver’s culation, and recognition. According to Verón (1987), concept of reality, with their view of the world, and with the grammars of production and recognition correspond to gen- public’s opinion. These elements ensure the verisimilitude of eration and reading rules. These rules are never identical to the discourse. each other, that is to say, grammars of production and recog- The credibility of each discourse exists in the receivers as nition never share the same conditions. In fact, “ . . . in dis- the acceptance of a conventionalized system of codes, there- course, once produced under certain conditions, such fore the significance of the stereotyped verbalizations of fac- conditions remain and will always remain unchanged. tors or situations involved. Reception and consumption, on the contrary, are ‘con- When we say stereotype, we are referring to a “partial and demned’ to be indefinitely modified” (p. 21). emotional view of reality” (Prieto Castillo, 1985). This concept has a correlate in Eco’s (2000) “resignifica- Stereotyping implies not viewing people as a whole, but tion” theory, which states that messages are decoded by from one specific characteristic, which stems from real or receivers in terms of their own codes and subcodes. imaginary attributes, which society usually considers When referring to the concept of “code,” it must be negative. defined according to the importance it will have for this The discrediting attributes that create first the prejudice work, and according to Bateson, Hall, Watzlawick, and and then the stereotype also include “labels” applied to the Goffman (1987): How ambiguous the term is . . . here person and which refer to just one aspect of their nature. This should be understood in the imprecise sense of “set of rules” (p. 7). However, I must state that the concept will label is usually so strong that it prevents the person from be developed according to Eco’s statement: A code is a being classified in a different category. way of modeling the world: Verbal languages are primary We believe, by definition, of course, that the person with a modeling systems, whereas secondary modeling systems stigma is not completely human. It is from this assumption that are all the other cultural structures, from mythology to we discriminate people in different ways. In practice, due to this art. discrimination, we reduce their chances in life, even if we are This concept of code as a system categorizes s codes, not aware of it. (Goffman, 1986, p. 177) which enables us to consider the institutions as such, because their compliance or non-compliance are not cases of truth or According to the above, reading or hearing a discourse falsehood, but of correctness or incorrectness. If we consider would be an encounter with reality, strengthened by the gender a social institution, any gender or DV-related dis- “complicity” of the receiver upon sharing the verisimilitude course, especially on DV, will follow this logic. Therefore, elements used, with the added recognition of the authority on its meaning should be analyzed, not from a perspective of the subject, in the case of media discourses. truth, but of verisimilitude, as I will explain below. However, in our analysis, we must consider that the deci- Verón (1987) further states that the theory of social dis- sion to say something implies not saying other things, and in courses is based on a double hypothesis: such a case, the unsaid does not exist, it is canceled out. This refers to two mainly ideological operations under- a. Every production of meaning is necessarily social: it cannot taken by the sender when creating a message: the selection and adequately describe nor explain a significant process, without combination of the units that make up said message, within a explaining its productive social conditions. repertoire of possibilities. This analysis is possible by compar- ing different actors’ discourses on the same subject. b. Any social phenomenon, in its constitution, is a meaning production process, whatever the analysis level (more or less Classification, the third operation, adds one more dimen- microsocial or macrosocial level). (p. 125) sion to the analysis in the case of media discourses if we 6 SAGE Open analyze where certain pieces of news have been laid out that end, we must remember that effective messages are when compared with other news on the pages of the based on the meanings of the problem for the target popula- newspapers. tions, and they are also designed according to the rules of After this reading, we have the elements that make up dis- social marketing; that is to say, they are attractive, positive course at the denotation level, that is to say, the level of what messages, and not just didactic or frightening messages. is perceived in the first reading. Then, we will need to reach Social marketing aims to change or modify attitudes to what is implicit, at the connotation level, which is concealed achieve welfare for the consumer and society in general behind denotation, and is received unconsciously. through the different means used by the company or institu- In this sense, it is also necessary to search for the terms in tion to effect change in the behavior of individuals; they the text that Verón (1991) calls “semantic operators.” They should go through different phases until the necessary change carry socially crystallized meanings that are highly stigma- takes place. tizing and that permeate the entire discourse. These semantic In this way, social marketing is defined as follows: A operators would be conceptualizing categories. This social change management technology that involves the approach can be easily applied to the subject under analysis, design, implementation, and control of programs aimed at mainly because this is, without a doubt, clearly considered as increasing the acceptability of a social idea or practice in one a social problem nowadays: DV has gone from the private to or more groups of target adopters. It utilizes concepts of mar- the public sphere in recent years; therefore, its meaning has ket segmentation, consumer research, product concept devel- changed and it is now connected to new dimensions, such as opment and testing, directed communication, facilitation, specific legislations. incentives, and exchange theory to maximize the target To conclude this section, I would like to summarize the adopter’s response (Kotler, Roberto, & Roberto, 1989). theoretical approach of my research. Therefore, the authors state that the degree of adjustment First, each discourse should be considered according to its between the social product and the market determines the relations with other discourses. This considers social life as value given by adopters to what the expert in social market- something dynamic, because discourses are created from ing is offering. Consequently, this adjustment has an impact their dialectical interrelations with other discourses. Their on the perception, the attitude, and the motivation of the tar- structure and content (in short, their specific elements of get group. The wrong adjustment can cause the target adopt- verisimilitude) are not created autonomously, in an isolated ers to show an insufficient response or the opposite response way; they are created following other discourses they are to what was expected. confronted to or that they want to align with. Second, the specific situations in which the discourses Discourses Analyzed analyzed are produced are also a reflection, at a microsocial level, of what happens at a macrosocial level. They are actual Different discourses were considered, using the tools of the instances of the global social process they belong to. analysis of verisimilitude. Therefore, among other things, this level of analysis aims to First, the legal hegemonic discourse was analyzed and a connect these moments to the process that affects them. strong contradiction was found between the Law of Domestic Third, every discourse is a form of social praxis, both Violence and its application. because it entails an ideological dimension, and because of A second analysis showed lack of knowledge and the the actor’s actual involvement in discourse actions in the dis- subordination of DV in the agenda of most decision makers course situation. and opinion leaders. Perceptions and evaluations were very different, often conflicting and, especially in the case of members of the institutional structure, their discourses, Discourse Alternatives for Persuasion from the perspective of logical verisimilitude, showed par- Regarding DV adoxes between what is said and what is done. Moreover, One last matter to discuss from the theoretical perspective is among the contradictions between politically correct dis- the characteristics of mass communication processes that are courses and the pragmatics of public policies, the research developed for public well-being. found that institutions do not have the necessary resources According to Mosquera Vásquez’s (2003) approach to to prevent this scourge. The term resources should be communication models and strategies, we can see that a understood here in its broadest meaning, that is to say, not healthy combination of mass media and interpersonal com- only in financial terms but also in terms of qualified human munication, media advocacy, social participation, social mar- resources. keting, and edu-entertainment can improve the chances of In the analysis of referential verisimilitude, what goes effecting changes in behavior in the mid and in the long term. unsaid is very important; therefore, for any authority, DV The tone of the message falls within proactive communi- should include the definition of DV as a concept. This con- cation, that is to say, the communication used when imple- ceptual gap becomes meaningful and it is related to public menting a public policy when trying to solve a problem. To policy deficiencies and the number of murders; the logical Herrera 7 conclusion is the lack of credibility regarding the importance this change is not just about being “politically correct” but it given to DV, beyond the “politically correct discourse.” has also been materialized in the legislation (despite the fail- The Uruguayan public opinion, despite a majority dis- ures, with regard to the latter, in the enforcement of the Law course that condemns DV, is very far from acknowledging and the lack of a more “comprehensive” legislation, as pres- the importance of the problem and its true causes. Many ent in other countries). myths about the relations between men and women still pre- Another major advance is the awareness of the victims on vail. Structural and cultural violence is not seen. the fact that they can report the violence, which has increased The issues analyzed, in line with the hypothesis, showed the number of police reports. But the visible failures in the us that the Uruguayan public opinion, in agreement with its protection of complainants entail a risk that can cause a leaders’ discourse, does not associate DV with the prevailing “boomerang” effect in the short term. In this regard, the gender relations, as many sectors still believe it can be Decree of the Supreme Court recognizing the deviations of justified. justice public officials in the application of Law 17.514 after To put it simply, there is solidarity with the dead, not with the constitutional petition of women’s organizations is a the living, and in this last interpretation, immanence is the major step toward achieving justice for the victims. prevailing rhetorical figure, because the notion of process is The great discourse failure is the failure to persuade both missing. The deaths of the women victims of DV, deep down, decision makers and the public opinion about the root causes for all the sectors analyzed, both hegemonic and subaltern, of DV as gender-based violence. Therefore, the pragmatics with the obvious exception of feminists, are seen as of men–women relations is still mostly about the subordina- inevitable. tion of women, and violent practices are seen as completely Despite the important role the women’s movement has natural. had in taking the issue of DV from the private to the public It is here that we find an explanation for the concept of sphere, no appropriate codes have been found in mass com- immanence of DV. As I stated above, it is clear that both munication to persuade people about its true causes. decision makers and most of the public opinion consider However, these organizations are the only ones the public these are “inevitable” deaths, given how “pathological” rela- opinion takes as referents on the topic. The lack of presence tionships can be or because of the “complicity” of the woman of the State with regard to DV is very clear, which is under- herself. standable, because most mass messages have been sent by These last two paragraphs summarize the conclusive civil society women’s organizations and protection services, interplay of my roles as researcher and activist, the experi- which are not only insufficient but also unknown. ence of this situation, heightened during my term (2007- My dissertation provides some final reflections on how 2010) as co-coordinator of RUCVDS, which led me to write the feminist movement needs to succeed in persuading deci- the dissertation. sion makers and the mass media, and to forge solid alliances It is true that nowadays nobody says that the women (and to establish information and a monitoring system on DV. It is sadly the few men) who fight DV are “crazy,” but it is also also necessary to integrate the subject into the educational true that being a feminist remains highly condemned. If I had system at all levels, and to have comprehensive legislation to propose a continuum of discourse legitimization, I would on gender-based violence and new ways of communicating say that the highest level is found at direct violence, espe- with all sectors, so as to create a new ideology on gender cially physical violence, followed by some aspects of struc- relations for an adequate prevention of DV. This point will be tural violence, mainly those that have become measurable: addressed in the following sections. gender wage gap, for example. Most structural violence remains invisible, both for the authorities and for the public Evaluation of “Successes” and opinion. I believe that in many cases, as other types of struc- tural violence are prioritized, such as socio-economic vio- “Failures” of Women’s Movements lence, and as there is not even an order of precedence, gender When Taking DV Discourse Into the inequality is simply not seen. I believe this results from the Public Sphere fact that cultural gender violence is the least visible violence, The subaltern discourse of the Women’s Movement, with and therefore, the corresponding discourse is not only not some support from communicators, is the one that contrasts legitimatized, but it also is many times the target of mockery the most with the hegemonic discourse. Hence, the inverted and disregard. If true, the corollary is that violence against commas in “failure”; this is really about a languages/power women is condemned in the hegemonic discourse as vio- struggle, and given the above, it is clear that we, feminist lence in general is condemned, but the reasons behind it are women, are far from holding a large proportion of the posi- not condemned. Hence the sense of “inevitability,” which is tions of power. what underlies, and therefore what explains, why the preven- Undoubtedly, the most significant progress made has tion and penalization of women’s deaths are not a priority. been the fact that DV has gone from being considered a pri- The road toward the resignification of this conceptualiza- vate problem to becoming a public problem. In other words, tion is long, as the tradition is deeply rooted. 8 SAGE Open They have found converging and divergent lines of action: Determining These “Successes” or Both institutions put forward reporting to the police and aware- “Failures” According to the Evaluation ness raising; both do it using accessible and clear language; of the Relevance of the Codes Used to RUCVDS has chosen a strategic road of “positive” testimonies Persuade Interlocutors through the tone of the messages and colorful iconic codes (with the exception of “ECG”) to get interlocutors to identify According to Nancy Fraser (1997), the feminist movement with the cause; Mujeres de Negro, however, has chosen a dif- “should promote the inclusion of the subjects that the domi- ferent strategy, to impact using aesthetic codes related to death nant male sexist conception labels as private” (p. 97): This or other expressions of violence, seeking to cause outrage. battle seems to have been won. However, it is important to According to the results of the Public Opinion Survey, we highlight this label, which is what I consider this to be, just a know that the highest impact was achieved by Mujeres de Negro. label. For the verbalization of the hegemonic discourse, it is a Regarding the relevance of codes, it is not possible to give public issue. For its pragmatics, it remains a private problem. a conclusive opinion, because although “failure” is clear Before referring to the relevance or irrelevance of codes, I when a gender order is de-constructed, lack of frequency of must state that even the most relevant codes need to be used the message is a clear obstacle to success. more frequently, that is to say, the message must be sent In turn, trying to change an ideology that is accepted in repeatedly, and not in an isolated way or just on November 25. people’s everyday life is a very long process that cannot be In this sense, the first great “failure” of the Women’s successful through media campaigns alone: Media cam- Movement has been its inability to persuade institutional deci- paigns are necessary but not sufficient. sion makers to fulfill their commitment signed in the 2004-2010 Plan to Combat DV, whereby they agreed to organize frequent Discursive Strategies That Could be and systematic public campaigns in the mass media. Quoting Successful for the Prevention and Fraser (1997) again, it has not been possible to create alliances Eradication of DV, to Contribute to between “strong publics” (institutional decision makers) and Cultural Change “weak publics” (feminist women) to persuade “strong” inter- locutors to comply with their commitments. On the contrary, the Taking over the rules of a hegemonic discourse and using the messages sent by the institutional structure have been fragmen- rules of marketing and, therefore, of publicity is not a bad idea, tary, scarce, and lacking in definition. Television, the most as long as it is not done in a simplistic way, as was the case of important means, has not been used, let alone social networks. the United Nations campaign (NO-ON). Quite the opposite is This lack of communication with citizens is clearly seen true: Social marketing has proven to be more successful when when people are asked to identify institutions that deal with or it comes to modifying behavior patterns. This is true if the fight against DV; according to the results of the national strategies are properly applied. What does this mean? It means Public Opinion Survey conducted for the RUCVDS (Herrera finding messages that motivate people positively, that show Sormano, 2015), State institutions are not known to people models of alternative behavior, and that make them appealing. (with the obvious exception of the police). On the contrary, it Motivation and appeal are essential components. is civil society organizations that are considered references: In fact, to find these messages, it is necessary to follow a tech- At least in this respect, we have achieved Fraser’s (1997) aim: nical process that covers research, creation, testing, and system- “to conquer the different strata of public opinion” (p. 97). atic campaigns and their monitoring. As in any marketing This result is the most conclusive communicational evi- process, we must also consider the multimedia and multi-gender dence of the lack of action of the Uruguayan State regarding focus, which seeks to establish the parameters needed for the DV. This omission becomes more significant when we remem- communication strategy to be effective and efficient. From this ber that most members of the public opinion consider (rightly viewpoint, it is necessary to segment audiences and messages. so, may I add) that the State should be in charge of this issue. I The great master of communication in Latin America, ask myself, how can a State protect when it does not comply Mario Kaplún, wrote numerous works reclaiming the role with the most basic element, which is providing information? media could play as “educators” through fiction by compil- Regarding communication in civil society organizations, ing the needs and codes of “learners.” two institutions were analyzed: RUCVDS and Colectivo According to what I have said above, it will be necessary to Mujeres de Negro (Women in Black Group), the most salient design messages and to use different media depending on the institutions regarding DV communication: The RUCVDS is target audiences. I especially would like to address the impor- an organization of civil society second-degree founded in tant role played by social networks in this process. Any current 1992 and composed of 34 NGOs. Women in Black is a mem- communication campaign should consider them in the top ber of the network, and its objective is the public denuncia- position, particularly keeping in mind young people and the tion. It is an international organization that is 12 years old in new possibility of developing new types of gender relations. Uruguay. It was founded by Israeli and Palestinian women Is this enough? Of course not, if it is not done within a more than 20 years ago. comprehensive design of public policies to fight DV, which, Herrera 9 as I have stated several times here, should begin at the earli- from the “post-socialist” position]. Bogotá, Colombia: Facultad de Derecho, Siglo del Hombre, Universidad de los Andes. est ages in the educational system. However, the educational Goffman, E. (1986). Estigma: la identidad deteriorada [Stigma: The system is insufficient on its own if the gender division of deteriorated identity]. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Amorrortu. work remains the same, where women do most of the unpaid Herrera Sormano, T. (2015). Violencia Doméstica. El discurso work, and if the socially accepted model of interpersonal y la realidad [Domestic Violence. The discourse and real- relations is that of the dominance of men over women, and as ity]. Montevideo: Universidad ORT Uruguay, Palabra Santa long as the deaths of women are considered inevitable. To Editorial. make this possible, as I have said before, we need to train IADB. (1996, 2003). Inter-American Development Bank, Prevalence students systematically at universities and in teacher training Studies of Domestic Violence in Montevideo and Canelones, centers on the issue, as well as those delivering justice: for Citizen Security Program, unpublished. judges and prosecutors. The issue of DV within gender-based Kotler, P., Roberto, E., & Roberto, N. (1989). Social marketing: violence cannot be just an optional subject or graduate course Strategies for changing public behavior. Rockland, NY: Free Press. any longer. It is necessary to learn new types of gender rela- Mosquera Vásquez, M. (2003, July 23). Comunicación en salud: tions, and this issue should be a priority. Conceptos, teorías y experiencias. Retrieved from http://www. A final reflection is as follows: The Women’s Movement comminit.com/la/drum_beat_52.html should be able to create an alliance to achieve these aims as Prieto Castillo, D. (1985). El diagnóstico en comunicación. Quito, Fraser (1997) called for. It needs to really persuade institutional Ecuador: Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de decision makers, the mass media, the union, and business Comunicación para América Latina Diagnosis in communica- worlds, the public opinion in general, that gender equality will tion (CIESPAL). not only make us better people and a better society but happier Scribano, A., & De Sena, A. (2009, March). Construcción de cono- as well. What is life but the search for happiness? This funda- cimiento en Latinoamérica: Algunas reflexiones desde la auto- mental human right is being denied to so many female humans. etnografía como estrategia de investigación [Construction of knowledge in Latin America: Some reflections from auto- Declaration of Conflicting Interests ethnography as a research strategy]. Cinta Moebio, 34, 1-15. Retrieved from http://www2.facso.uchile.cl/publicaciones/ The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect moebio/34/scribano.html to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. (2013). In pursuit of justice, (p. 3). Annual report UN woman Funding 2011-2012. Retrieved from http://www.unwomen.org/en/digi- The author(s) received no financial support for the research and/or tal-library/publications/2012/8/annual-report-2011-2012 authorship of this article. U.S. Organization of American States, Department of International Law. (1994). Definition and scope of application. In Inter- References American convention on the prevention, punishment and eradica- Belém do Pará. (2002). Convencion interamericana para prevenir, tion of violence against women “convention of Belém do Pará.” sancionar y erradicar la violencia contra la mujer “conven- Retrieved from www.oas.org/juridico/english/treaties/a-61.html cion de belem do para”. Retrieved from http://www.oas.org/ Verón, E. (1987). La semiosis social [The social semiosis]. Buenos juridico/spanish/tratados/a-61.html Aires, Argentina: Gedisa. Bateson, G., Hall, E., Watzlawick, P., & Goffman, E. (1987). La Verón, E. (1991). La semantización de la violencia política. nueva comunicación. Barcelona, Spain: Kairós. Lenguaje y comunicación [The semantization of political vio- Bonder, G. (1998). Género y subjetividad: Avatares de una relación lence. Language and communication]. Buenos Aires, Argentina: no evidente [Gender and subjectivity: Avatars of a non-evident Nueva Visión. relationship]. In S. Montecino Aguirre & A. Obach (Eds.), Género y epistemología., mujeres y disciplinas: ponencias Author Biography presentadas al Encuentro de Universidades de Latinoamérica y el Caribe “Género y Epistemología: Mujeres y Disciplinas. Teresa Herrera, Argentina, resident in Uruguay, PhD in Social Programa Interdisciplinario de Estudios de Género (PIEG), Sciences (UBA). Currently, she is a researcher at Universidad ORT Universidad de Chile. Retrieved from http://programaedusex. Uruguay University in the School of Communication of the Faculty edu.uy/biblioteca/opac_css/articulosprontos/GENERO_Y_ of Communication and Design, Director of Consultant Teresa SUBJETIVIDAD_BONDER.pdf Herrera & Asociados and Coordinator of the NGO air .uy. For more Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: than 30 years she has been consulting and researching for numerous Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. international organizations: IADB, UNDP, UNFPA, BICE, USAID, Eco, U. (2000). Semiótica y filosofía del lenguaje [Semiotics and as well as national institutions in Argentina and Uruguay. She has philosophy of language]. Barcelona, Spain: Lumen. been invited as a lecturer at universities and institutions in Argentina Franklin, J., & Todd, R. (2007). Two autoethnographies: A search and the USA. Professor of Research Methodology at the Universidad for understanding of gender and age. The Qualitative Report, de la República, Universidad Católica y Universidad ORT Uruguay 12, 166-183. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/ from 1981 to 2014. She has published several books of his specialty QR12-2/klinker.pdf and participated as a panelist in numerous media. She is former co- Fraser, N. (1997). Iustitia Interrupta: Reflexiones críticas desde la coordinator of the Uruguayan Network against Domestic and Sexual posición “postsocialista” [Justice interrupted: Critical reflections Violence and currently serves as the spokeswoman for the same. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png SAGE Open SAGE

The Pragmatics of Domestic Violence Discourse in Uruguay:

SAGE Open , Volume 7 (1): 1 – Jan 1, 2017

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Abstract

Domestic violence (DV) is a form of gender-based violence and a violation of human rights. As such, it was analyzed from the perspective of feminist theory in the dissertation this article is based on, by analyzing discourse pragmatics. Which are the socially accepted DV discourses in Uruguay? Which coincidences, contradictions, and paradoxes appear when we compare these discourses and those of everyday life? Which codes and subcodes should be modified by the sectors interested in the prevention and eradication of DV? The main hypothesis is that there are different types of opposition between the public discourse of different institutional sectors and that of everyday life. Describing these oppositions and, especially, unveiling the pragmatic paradoxes will enable us to develop a different type of discourse for the prevention and eradication of DV. As I am both a researcher and an activist on the topic, my epistemological choice was the autoethnography. This article provides some final reflections, included in the dissertation, on how the feminist movement needs to succeed in persuading decision makers and the mass media, and in building solid alliances to establish an information and monitoring system; the integration of the subject into the educational system; comprehensive legislation on gender-based violence; and new ways of communicating with all sectors, so as to create a new ideology on gender relations for the suitable prevention of DV. Keywords social sciences, communication, communication studies, race, gender, media, society, mass communication abuse, criminology, human rights, political sociology, sociology, sex, women’s studies Uruguay is not an island but a mere sample of a problem that Why Is It Necessary to Analyze extends to women in general: violence. Domestic Violence (DV) Discourse in As defined in the Convention of Belém do Pará (U.S. Uruguay From a Feminist Perspective? Organization of American States, Department of International This volume of Progress of the World’s Women starts with a Law, 1994), “violence against women shall be understood as paradox: The past century has seen a transformation in women’s any act or conduct, based on gender, which causes death or legal rights, with countries in every region expanding the scope physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to of women’s legal entitlements. Nevertheless, for most of the women, whether in the public or the private sphere.” It also world’s women the laws that exist on paper do not always states that “violence against women includes physical, sex- translate into equality and justice. In many contexts, in rich and ual and psychological violence.” poor countries alike, the infrastructure of justice—the police, the courts and the judiciary—is failing women, which manifests In this article, which presents my PhD research work, I itself in poor services and hostile attitudes from the very people will address DV, which, according to the above-mentioned whose duty is to fulfil women’s rights. As a result, although convention, is understood as violence “that occurs within the equality between women and men is guaranteed in the family or domestic unit or within any other interpersonal constitutions of 139 countries and territories, inadequate laws relationship, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has and loopholes in legislative frameworks, poor enforcement and shared the same residence with the woman, including, among vast implementation gaps make these guarantees hollow others, rape, battery and sexual abuse.” promises, having little impact on the day-to-day lives of women. (UN Women, 2012, p. 8) The introduction to this section was published in 2012, Universidad ORT Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay and it reached my hands when I was about to finish my PhD Corresponding Author: dissertation. I was truly moved by the similarity of our Teresa Herrera, Universidad ORT Uruguay, 1185 Montevideo, 11300 stances, and it strengthened my conviction regarding the Uruguay. need to address the issue from all possible perspectives. Email: teresa@teresaherrera.org Creative Commons CC-BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). 2 SAGE Open DV is a form of gender-based violence and a violation of The first discourse analysis examined the contradictions human rights. As such, it was analyzed in my dissertation between the letter and the application of Law 17.514 of DV, from the perspective of feminist theory by considering dis- taking into account the document review of two initiatives course pragmatics, which is understood as the analysis of of the Women’s Movement. The first initiative took place on contradictions and coincidences between hegemonic and October 28, 2010, when 20 Uruguayan civil organizations subaltern discourses in the public sphere, and the application denounced the Uruguayan government for DV and femicide of specific policies on the matter. in a public hearing of the Inter-American Commission on The dissertation set out to answer the following questions: Human Rights. The second initiative was the project “Time Gender Justice.” This project, which had several phases, Research Question 1: Which are the socially accepted was implemented in October 2010 by Organization of DV discourses in Uruguay? Women Now (member of the Uruguayan Network Against Research Question 2: Which coincidences, contradic- Domestic and Sexual Violence [RUCVDS]), with the sup- tions, and paradoxes appear when we compare these dis- port of UN Women. In October 2011, this project began its courses and those of everyday life? second phase, focused on requesting constitutional status Research Question 3: Which codes and subcodes should for the human rights of women to the highest ranking body be modified by those sectors that are interested in the pre- of the judiciary, the Supreme Court, and, particularly, inquir- vention and eradication of DV? ing into the justice system’s response to those situations of family or DV regulated by Law 17.514. The petition was The main hypothesis was as follows: signed by more than 90 organizations, groups, collectives, and networks that work in the field. The importance of this Hypothesis 1: There are different types of opposition initiative was ratified by the response of the Supreme Court between the public discourse of different institutional sec- itself, which recognized in its 7755 Agreed 2012, the verac- tors and that of everyday life. ity of the vast majority of the facts that were outlined by the petition. Describing these oppositions and, especially, unveiling The second objective was to reveal the contradictions their pragmatic paradoxes will enable us to develop a dif- between the “politically correct speeches regarding DV” and ferent type of discourse for the prevention and eradication pragmatic public policies that did not have the resources to of DV. prevent the scourge. One of the problems in Uruguay is that Clearly, this hypothesis reflects a stance on the role of institutions do not translate what is written or verbalized into sociology as a science that should contribute to changing the efficient and effective public policies. For a full understand- living conditions of people. In this case, it is not only about ing of the situation, the stage where these contradictions take analyzing discourse pragmatics but also about making rec- place needed to be considered. On one hand, my research ommendations, from evidence, to effect changes in dis- addressed the institutional structure dedicated to the preven- course, because discourse is a factor that contributes to tion and eradication of DV, and particularly the state of its socio-cultural change. It would hence contribute to reducing current situation, taking as a source the evaluation of the the prevalence of DV in Uruguay. In our country, 40 women First National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence 2004- are murdered every year, most in cases of DV, and ±20,000 2010, a plan that covers all actions carried out in that period. related reports are made, in a population of only 3,200,000 This evaluation, conducted by the author, assessed all the inhabitants. institutional aspects of DV in Uruguay, both structurally and As I am both a researcher and an activist on the topic, my functionally. On the other hand, my research also addressed epistemological choice was the autoethnography. the process carried out by the Women’s Movement in Uruguay, because their members have been major players in the placement of DV on the agenda of public problems, and The Objectives and Approach probably the ones responsible for the policies that have been To answer these questions, the first objective was to show developed in the matter, even if these policies are still weak. that, despite legislation about DV, its implementation has not This weakness is amply demonstrated by the growth in the had a true positive impact on the lives of sufferers. The dis- number of murders of women and the evaluation of the plan course of law and what has been really happening with its that was referred to earlier. Also, coinciding with the autoeth- application, and the prevailing ideology in members of the nographic option, the author participates and has participated judiciary, end up denying adequate protection to women and in this movement for almost two decades. revictimizing them. To demonstrate this, four different Third, ignorance and subservience on the topic of DV speeches were considered, in which we proceeded to check were demonstrated, particularly concerning the agenda of the dimensions established in the theoretical framework, most decision makers and opinion leaders. Twenty-seven using the tools of verisimilitude analysis, which are explained interviews were conducted in this regard during the second in section “Discourses Analyzed.” half of 2011 and early 2012. Most of them corresponded to Herrera 3 the institutions discussed in Evaluation of the National Plan obstacle to comprehension, but also a resource and/or a condition to such comprehension. (p. 3) to Combat Domestic and Sexual Violence (2004-2010). Others were made specifically for the dissertation, to com- In this case, autoethnography is the study where the plete the segment related to opinion leaders, which included researcher and author describes a cultural context where she members of civil society and journalists. is an active participant in more or less the same terms as the The fourth objective was to demonstrate how Uruguayan other participants whose discourse will be analyzed. public opinion, despite its condemnation of DV, is still far Autoethnography breaks away from positivist logics to from recognizing the scale of the problem and its real causes. account for the bias in the investigation. In this case, the There is no real empathy toward victims and important sec- researcher’s position crosses paths with what is researched, tors of society still justify violence. These statements were supported by the analysis of the main results of two national connecting personal experience with the social context where surveys of statistically representative public opinion directed it develops. by the author in 2010 to 2012, Herrera Sormano (2015). Both Therefore, it is important to point out the need to make the surveys were conducted under the project “Strengthening subjectivity of the researcher explicit in the research process. Articulation of the Uruguayan Network Against Domestic Autoethnography, a qualitative method, is a postmodernist and Sexual Violence and Groups Working on the Issue,” construct in that it combines autobiography with ethnography funded by the European Union. (Reed-Danahay, 1997). Ellis and Bochner (2000) posit that autoethnography displays multiple layers of consciousness in The Position of the Researcher and the mixing the personal with the cultural and includes dialogue, emotion, and self consciousness through first-person accounts. Epistemological Choice It is highly personalized writing “where authors draw on their According to Creswell (2007), to study this problem, we own experiences to extend understanding of a particular need to choose a qualitative research strategy to use new discipline or culture” (Holt, 2003). Pratt’s (1999) suggestion is techniques to collect evidence, in a natural environment that that alternative forms of meaning and power from those is sensitive for researchers, to analyze data that are inductive associated with the dominant culture could be explored in and to set out guidelines for addressing the different areas. Its autoethnographical texts. Buzzard (2003) saw autoethnography as the “perfect aegis under which every heretofore silenced final written presentation includes the participants’ voices, group might enunciate, from its own location and according to the reflexiveness of researchers, and a complex description its own agenda, its vision of itself and the world.” (Franklin & and interpretation of the problem, and literature is widened Todd, 2007, p. 169) or there is a call to action. “Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world. It consists of a This epistemological position is even more relevant, as set of interpretive, material practices that make the world this research is undertaken from a feminist perspective. visible” (p. 36). According to Bonder (1998), work undertaken from this In this respect, I believe I must make my epistemological perspective choice of autoethnography explicit. As I am both an aca- demic and a militant, my research falls within the tradition of would entail accepting that the existence of lines of flight the ethnography, but this ethnography is based on the idea regarding the docility of the prevailing models is essential for that as a researcher, I am at the same time a social actress, as the construction of subjectivities; accepting that, as Guattari I am part of the context under study. would say, we are traversed by desiring, semiotic, social and As Scribano and De Sena (2009) state, citing Bohman, material flows. We are both subjects and subjected, which gives us back a degree of freedom, and consequently, of responsibility. This author identifies indeterminacy as an intrinsic feature of Additionally, considering ourselves a heterogeneous set of social practices and of the central concepts of social science, like subject positions that in certain circumstances “harmonise,” in causality, rules, criticism, correct interpretation, etc. others crystallise and in others are in tension, allows us to Indeterminacy is not about impossibility and lack of explain “agency” without resorting to metaphysical voluntarism, understanding, but rather it is related to the reflexive character or reproducing the idea of a historical subject appointed of knowledge. It is an ontological feature of social reality. On theologically. However, it does allow us to acknowledge its the contrary, beyond all theories, social actors are not simple capacity to become an “ethical political” actor/actress in certain bearers of social forces or foolish decision-makers within a contexts and situations. (p. 13) cultural order. Agents, with the capacity to know and reflect, can alter their circumstances and the conditions of social life. If this Observing from this perspective also allows us to remain were the case, then the root cause of the problems of social on the lookout for risks: sciences is indeterminacy rather than their failure to produce a sole prediction as is the case of natural sciences (1994, p. 13). It is within this context that we can understand that the perspective Considering ourselves in this way entails an invitation or an of the subject involved in the analysis of the object is not only an obligation to act in the knowledge that it is impossible to remain 4 SAGE Open uninvolved with regard to power relationships; however, it also hand, multilateral organizations dealing with concerns about entails accepting that the rules of the game can be changed while discrimination toward women (e.g., CEDAW, Belém do playing, although the game could be in favour of some players Pará, the 2002). In Uruguay, this became a “legitimate” issue and against others. So, where should our “game” go in the when prevalence studies of DV were conducted in 1996 and feminism of the turn of the century? With which rules and 2003 (IADB, 1996 and 2003), with the creation of the against which rules should we play? (p. 13) Observatory of Violence and Criminality of the Ministro del Interior, and with the development of regulations: Law Regarding DV, the following questions were considered, 16.707 of Citizen Security of 1995, which modifies the trying to maintain the following ethical and professional Criminal Code and criminalizes DV; and Law 17.514 of DV position: of 2002, already mentioned as well. In Uruguay—in the private sphere—traditional discourse This implies taking as a political responsibility the habit of regarding gender relations and violence survives to this day, distancing, objectivation and problematisation of the chain of epitomized by the following statement: “One shouldn’t med- crystallised meanings, including those that we gradually build dle in the affairs of a couple.” It is in daily life where it is the from the feminist practice itself; keeping the “spark” of creative hardest to effect changes, and this is the problem that will be subversion alive in gender definitions and regulatory practices, analyzed in this article. but also accepting that all regulations are tentative, even the most “progressive” ones, and finally the affirmation of an ethics of hope as essential for intersubjective relations based on Analysis of Mass Discourse solidarity, diversity interplay and unity of action. (p. 17) The notion of discourse implies the idea of an interpretation of the world made reference to. That is to say, it expresses the From a Private Problem to a Public difference between the fact itself and the narrative of such a Problem fact. This difference, generally unseen by the receiver, is very important for the analysis of media discourses. One For this work, I chose a pragmatic analysis approach to study thing is the real fact, what and how it happened. Now, to DV discourse in the public sphere, whose relevance as a the- recount what happened is different. oretical approach I explain below. Neglecting this narrative instance means disregarding the As Fraser (1997) rightly says, Habermas’s idea of “public specific conditions where the discourse took place, be them sphere” as the setting “where participation takes place social, historical, or cultural. That is to say, the context. As a through discourse is the space in which citizens deliberate on consequence, what is actually a quality of the text is taken as common problems, therefore, an institutionalised space of a quality of the fact; thus, we forget that this is not the fact discursive interaction” (p. 97). itself but its representation. Ignoring this instance is one of According to Fraser (1997), an accurate conception of the the reasons that explains the power granted to media regard- public sphere should fulfill four conditions: ing the truth of the facts recounted. By analyzing the different social discourses, we can dis- 1. Elimination of social inequality (in this case, the sub- cover and systematize the elements that make up the percep- mission of women, girls, boys, and adolescents to tion different stakeholders have on a given subject. Social male violence). discourses organize reality to persuade through reasoning 2. Need to have multiple publics (in this case, to con- and to move through literary images, and they will do so, to quer the different strata of public opinion). a greater or lesser extent, depending on their power to be 3. It should favor the inclusion of the topics that the connected, implicit or explicitly, with the accepted values dominant sexist conception labels as private (no and the symbolic configurations of each place and each explanations needed). moment. 4. It should allow for the existence of strong publics and This idea implies that the object of study of semiotics is weak publics, and to favor interaction between them the text, leading to a textual or discursive semiotics. (creation of alliances). Following Verón (1987), discourse is the material mani- festation of sense production. “Whatever the storage medium, This consideration of the public sphere is relevant when what we call a discourse or a discourse set is but a time-space addressing DV, because in women’s discourse, the “subal- configuration of sense” (p. 127). Therefore, this medium can tern discourse,” this matter is paradigmatic. In modern and be an image, the linguistic text itself, or a combination of postmodern times, feminists have been a minority who have both. argued that this should be a public concern. In previous sections of this work, I have mentioned wom- Besides the committed action of women, it was necessary en’s discourse as a discourse that is subaltern to the dominant for their discourse to be deemed “legitimate” from two ideology. According to Verón (1987), sources: on one hand, international actions and, on the other Herrera 5 What is ideological is not the name of a dimension in the name For the purpose of this analysis, “any production of mean- of a discourse type (not even at a descriptive level), but the name ing, in fact, has a material manifestation” (Verón, 1987, of a dimension present in all the discourses which are internal to p. 126). Therefore, the object of discourse analysis is not a social group, to the extent that the fact that it is produced in this within or outside the discourses themselves, but rather they social group has left its marks on the discourse. (p. 17) are “systems of relations that every construct has with its generating conditions on the one hand, and also with its These statements define what Verón calls discourse anal- effects” (Verón, 1987, p. 128). ysis. In other words, it is not about analyzing the discourses From a methodological point of view, we should be able that explicitly refer to the object of analysis, but rather it is to represent this system of relations systematically: We necessary to disclose the meaning of those that probably should keep in mind generation rules as well as reading rules. account for the underlying ideology. For the topic at hand, it When we talk about generation rules, we refer to production has to do with the discursive expressions of gender relations grammars, in so far as reading rules refer to recognition beyond (or within) DV. Therefore, it is necessary to estab- grammars. lish fundamental concepts: the grammars of production, cir- Each discourse has elements in line with the receiver’s culation, and recognition. According to Verón (1987), concept of reality, with their view of the world, and with the grammars of production and recognition correspond to gen- public’s opinion. These elements ensure the verisimilitude of eration and reading rules. These rules are never identical to the discourse. each other, that is to say, grammars of production and recog- The credibility of each discourse exists in the receivers as nition never share the same conditions. In fact, “ . . . in dis- the acceptance of a conventionalized system of codes, there- course, once produced under certain conditions, such fore the significance of the stereotyped verbalizations of fac- conditions remain and will always remain unchanged. tors or situations involved. Reception and consumption, on the contrary, are ‘con- When we say stereotype, we are referring to a “partial and demned’ to be indefinitely modified” (p. 21). emotional view of reality” (Prieto Castillo, 1985). This concept has a correlate in Eco’s (2000) “resignifica- Stereotyping implies not viewing people as a whole, but tion” theory, which states that messages are decoded by from one specific characteristic, which stems from real or receivers in terms of their own codes and subcodes. imaginary attributes, which society usually considers When referring to the concept of “code,” it must be negative. defined according to the importance it will have for this The discrediting attributes that create first the prejudice work, and according to Bateson, Hall, Watzlawick, and and then the stereotype also include “labels” applied to the Goffman (1987): How ambiguous the term is . . . here person and which refer to just one aspect of their nature. This should be understood in the imprecise sense of “set of rules” (p. 7). However, I must state that the concept will label is usually so strong that it prevents the person from be developed according to Eco’s statement: A code is a being classified in a different category. way of modeling the world: Verbal languages are primary We believe, by definition, of course, that the person with a modeling systems, whereas secondary modeling systems stigma is not completely human. It is from this assumption that are all the other cultural structures, from mythology to we discriminate people in different ways. In practice, due to this art. discrimination, we reduce their chances in life, even if we are This concept of code as a system categorizes s codes, not aware of it. (Goffman, 1986, p. 177) which enables us to consider the institutions as such, because their compliance or non-compliance are not cases of truth or According to the above, reading or hearing a discourse falsehood, but of correctness or incorrectness. If we consider would be an encounter with reality, strengthened by the gender a social institution, any gender or DV-related dis- “complicity” of the receiver upon sharing the verisimilitude course, especially on DV, will follow this logic. Therefore, elements used, with the added recognition of the authority on its meaning should be analyzed, not from a perspective of the subject, in the case of media discourses. truth, but of verisimilitude, as I will explain below. However, in our analysis, we must consider that the deci- Verón (1987) further states that the theory of social dis- sion to say something implies not saying other things, and in courses is based on a double hypothesis: such a case, the unsaid does not exist, it is canceled out. This refers to two mainly ideological operations under- a. Every production of meaning is necessarily social: it cannot taken by the sender when creating a message: the selection and adequately describe nor explain a significant process, without combination of the units that make up said message, within a explaining its productive social conditions. repertoire of possibilities. This analysis is possible by compar- ing different actors’ discourses on the same subject. b. Any social phenomenon, in its constitution, is a meaning production process, whatever the analysis level (more or less Classification, the third operation, adds one more dimen- microsocial or macrosocial level). (p. 125) sion to the analysis in the case of media discourses if we 6 SAGE Open analyze where certain pieces of news have been laid out that end, we must remember that effective messages are when compared with other news on the pages of the based on the meanings of the problem for the target popula- newspapers. tions, and they are also designed according to the rules of After this reading, we have the elements that make up dis- social marketing; that is to say, they are attractive, positive course at the denotation level, that is to say, the level of what messages, and not just didactic or frightening messages. is perceived in the first reading. Then, we will need to reach Social marketing aims to change or modify attitudes to what is implicit, at the connotation level, which is concealed achieve welfare for the consumer and society in general behind denotation, and is received unconsciously. through the different means used by the company or institu- In this sense, it is also necessary to search for the terms in tion to effect change in the behavior of individuals; they the text that Verón (1991) calls “semantic operators.” They should go through different phases until the necessary change carry socially crystallized meanings that are highly stigma- takes place. tizing and that permeate the entire discourse. These semantic In this way, social marketing is defined as follows: A operators would be conceptualizing categories. This social change management technology that involves the approach can be easily applied to the subject under analysis, design, implementation, and control of programs aimed at mainly because this is, without a doubt, clearly considered as increasing the acceptability of a social idea or practice in one a social problem nowadays: DV has gone from the private to or more groups of target adopters. It utilizes concepts of mar- the public sphere in recent years; therefore, its meaning has ket segmentation, consumer research, product concept devel- changed and it is now connected to new dimensions, such as opment and testing, directed communication, facilitation, specific legislations. incentives, and exchange theory to maximize the target To conclude this section, I would like to summarize the adopter’s response (Kotler, Roberto, & Roberto, 1989). theoretical approach of my research. Therefore, the authors state that the degree of adjustment First, each discourse should be considered according to its between the social product and the market determines the relations with other discourses. This considers social life as value given by adopters to what the expert in social market- something dynamic, because discourses are created from ing is offering. Consequently, this adjustment has an impact their dialectical interrelations with other discourses. Their on the perception, the attitude, and the motivation of the tar- structure and content (in short, their specific elements of get group. The wrong adjustment can cause the target adopt- verisimilitude) are not created autonomously, in an isolated ers to show an insufficient response or the opposite response way; they are created following other discourses they are to what was expected. confronted to or that they want to align with. Second, the specific situations in which the discourses Discourses Analyzed analyzed are produced are also a reflection, at a microsocial level, of what happens at a macrosocial level. They are actual Different discourses were considered, using the tools of the instances of the global social process they belong to. analysis of verisimilitude. Therefore, among other things, this level of analysis aims to First, the legal hegemonic discourse was analyzed and a connect these moments to the process that affects them. strong contradiction was found between the Law of Domestic Third, every discourse is a form of social praxis, both Violence and its application. because it entails an ideological dimension, and because of A second analysis showed lack of knowledge and the the actor’s actual involvement in discourse actions in the dis- subordination of DV in the agenda of most decision makers course situation. and opinion leaders. Perceptions and evaluations were very different, often conflicting and, especially in the case of members of the institutional structure, their discourses, Discourse Alternatives for Persuasion from the perspective of logical verisimilitude, showed par- Regarding DV adoxes between what is said and what is done. Moreover, One last matter to discuss from the theoretical perspective is among the contradictions between politically correct dis- the characteristics of mass communication processes that are courses and the pragmatics of public policies, the research developed for public well-being. found that institutions do not have the necessary resources According to Mosquera Vásquez’s (2003) approach to to prevent this scourge. The term resources should be communication models and strategies, we can see that a understood here in its broadest meaning, that is to say, not healthy combination of mass media and interpersonal com- only in financial terms but also in terms of qualified human munication, media advocacy, social participation, social mar- resources. keting, and edu-entertainment can improve the chances of In the analysis of referential verisimilitude, what goes effecting changes in behavior in the mid and in the long term. unsaid is very important; therefore, for any authority, DV The tone of the message falls within proactive communi- should include the definition of DV as a concept. This con- cation, that is to say, the communication used when imple- ceptual gap becomes meaningful and it is related to public menting a public policy when trying to solve a problem. To policy deficiencies and the number of murders; the logical Herrera 7 conclusion is the lack of credibility regarding the importance this change is not just about being “politically correct” but it given to DV, beyond the “politically correct discourse.” has also been materialized in the legislation (despite the fail- The Uruguayan public opinion, despite a majority dis- ures, with regard to the latter, in the enforcement of the Law course that condemns DV, is very far from acknowledging and the lack of a more “comprehensive” legislation, as pres- the importance of the problem and its true causes. Many ent in other countries). myths about the relations between men and women still pre- Another major advance is the awareness of the victims on vail. Structural and cultural violence is not seen. the fact that they can report the violence, which has increased The issues analyzed, in line with the hypothesis, showed the number of police reports. But the visible failures in the us that the Uruguayan public opinion, in agreement with its protection of complainants entail a risk that can cause a leaders’ discourse, does not associate DV with the prevailing “boomerang” effect in the short term. In this regard, the gender relations, as many sectors still believe it can be Decree of the Supreme Court recognizing the deviations of justified. justice public officials in the application of Law 17.514 after To put it simply, there is solidarity with the dead, not with the constitutional petition of women’s organizations is a the living, and in this last interpretation, immanence is the major step toward achieving justice for the victims. prevailing rhetorical figure, because the notion of process is The great discourse failure is the failure to persuade both missing. The deaths of the women victims of DV, deep down, decision makers and the public opinion about the root causes for all the sectors analyzed, both hegemonic and subaltern, of DV as gender-based violence. Therefore, the pragmatics with the obvious exception of feminists, are seen as of men–women relations is still mostly about the subordina- inevitable. tion of women, and violent practices are seen as completely Despite the important role the women’s movement has natural. had in taking the issue of DV from the private to the public It is here that we find an explanation for the concept of sphere, no appropriate codes have been found in mass com- immanence of DV. As I stated above, it is clear that both munication to persuade people about its true causes. decision makers and most of the public opinion consider However, these organizations are the only ones the public these are “inevitable” deaths, given how “pathological” rela- opinion takes as referents on the topic. The lack of presence tionships can be or because of the “complicity” of the woman of the State with regard to DV is very clear, which is under- herself. standable, because most mass messages have been sent by These last two paragraphs summarize the conclusive civil society women’s organizations and protection services, interplay of my roles as researcher and activist, the experi- which are not only insufficient but also unknown. ence of this situation, heightened during my term (2007- My dissertation provides some final reflections on how 2010) as co-coordinator of RUCVDS, which led me to write the feminist movement needs to succeed in persuading deci- the dissertation. sion makers and the mass media, and to forge solid alliances It is true that nowadays nobody says that the women (and to establish information and a monitoring system on DV. It is sadly the few men) who fight DV are “crazy,” but it is also also necessary to integrate the subject into the educational true that being a feminist remains highly condemned. If I had system at all levels, and to have comprehensive legislation to propose a continuum of discourse legitimization, I would on gender-based violence and new ways of communicating say that the highest level is found at direct violence, espe- with all sectors, so as to create a new ideology on gender cially physical violence, followed by some aspects of struc- relations for an adequate prevention of DV. This point will be tural violence, mainly those that have become measurable: addressed in the following sections. gender wage gap, for example. Most structural violence remains invisible, both for the authorities and for the public Evaluation of “Successes” and opinion. I believe that in many cases, as other types of struc- tural violence are prioritized, such as socio-economic vio- “Failures” of Women’s Movements lence, and as there is not even an order of precedence, gender When Taking DV Discourse Into the inequality is simply not seen. I believe this results from the Public Sphere fact that cultural gender violence is the least visible violence, The subaltern discourse of the Women’s Movement, with and therefore, the corresponding discourse is not only not some support from communicators, is the one that contrasts legitimatized, but it also is many times the target of mockery the most with the hegemonic discourse. Hence, the inverted and disregard. If true, the corollary is that violence against commas in “failure”; this is really about a languages/power women is condemned in the hegemonic discourse as vio- struggle, and given the above, it is clear that we, feminist lence in general is condemned, but the reasons behind it are women, are far from holding a large proportion of the posi- not condemned. Hence the sense of “inevitability,” which is tions of power. what underlies, and therefore what explains, why the preven- Undoubtedly, the most significant progress made has tion and penalization of women’s deaths are not a priority. been the fact that DV has gone from being considered a pri- The road toward the resignification of this conceptualiza- vate problem to becoming a public problem. In other words, tion is long, as the tradition is deeply rooted. 8 SAGE Open They have found converging and divergent lines of action: Determining These “Successes” or Both institutions put forward reporting to the police and aware- “Failures” According to the Evaluation ness raising; both do it using accessible and clear language; of the Relevance of the Codes Used to RUCVDS has chosen a strategic road of “positive” testimonies Persuade Interlocutors through the tone of the messages and colorful iconic codes (with the exception of “ECG”) to get interlocutors to identify According to Nancy Fraser (1997), the feminist movement with the cause; Mujeres de Negro, however, has chosen a dif- “should promote the inclusion of the subjects that the domi- ferent strategy, to impact using aesthetic codes related to death nant male sexist conception labels as private” (p. 97): This or other expressions of violence, seeking to cause outrage. battle seems to have been won. However, it is important to According to the results of the Public Opinion Survey, we highlight this label, which is what I consider this to be, just a know that the highest impact was achieved by Mujeres de Negro. label. For the verbalization of the hegemonic discourse, it is a Regarding the relevance of codes, it is not possible to give public issue. For its pragmatics, it remains a private problem. a conclusive opinion, because although “failure” is clear Before referring to the relevance or irrelevance of codes, I when a gender order is de-constructed, lack of frequency of must state that even the most relevant codes need to be used the message is a clear obstacle to success. more frequently, that is to say, the message must be sent In turn, trying to change an ideology that is accepted in repeatedly, and not in an isolated way or just on November 25. people’s everyday life is a very long process that cannot be In this sense, the first great “failure” of the Women’s successful through media campaigns alone: Media cam- Movement has been its inability to persuade institutional deci- paigns are necessary but not sufficient. sion makers to fulfill their commitment signed in the 2004-2010 Plan to Combat DV, whereby they agreed to organize frequent Discursive Strategies That Could be and systematic public campaigns in the mass media. Quoting Successful for the Prevention and Fraser (1997) again, it has not been possible to create alliances Eradication of DV, to Contribute to between “strong publics” (institutional decision makers) and Cultural Change “weak publics” (feminist women) to persuade “strong” inter- locutors to comply with their commitments. On the contrary, the Taking over the rules of a hegemonic discourse and using the messages sent by the institutional structure have been fragmen- rules of marketing and, therefore, of publicity is not a bad idea, tary, scarce, and lacking in definition. Television, the most as long as it is not done in a simplistic way, as was the case of important means, has not been used, let alone social networks. the United Nations campaign (NO-ON). Quite the opposite is This lack of communication with citizens is clearly seen true: Social marketing has proven to be more successful when when people are asked to identify institutions that deal with or it comes to modifying behavior patterns. This is true if the fight against DV; according to the results of the national strategies are properly applied. What does this mean? It means Public Opinion Survey conducted for the RUCVDS (Herrera finding messages that motivate people positively, that show Sormano, 2015), State institutions are not known to people models of alternative behavior, and that make them appealing. (with the obvious exception of the police). On the contrary, it Motivation and appeal are essential components. is civil society organizations that are considered references: In fact, to find these messages, it is necessary to follow a tech- At least in this respect, we have achieved Fraser’s (1997) aim: nical process that covers research, creation, testing, and system- “to conquer the different strata of public opinion” (p. 97). atic campaigns and their monitoring. As in any marketing This result is the most conclusive communicational evi- process, we must also consider the multimedia and multi-gender dence of the lack of action of the Uruguayan State regarding focus, which seeks to establish the parameters needed for the DV. This omission becomes more significant when we remem- communication strategy to be effective and efficient. From this ber that most members of the public opinion consider (rightly viewpoint, it is necessary to segment audiences and messages. so, may I add) that the State should be in charge of this issue. I The great master of communication in Latin America, ask myself, how can a State protect when it does not comply Mario Kaplún, wrote numerous works reclaiming the role with the most basic element, which is providing information? media could play as “educators” through fiction by compil- Regarding communication in civil society organizations, ing the needs and codes of “learners.” two institutions were analyzed: RUCVDS and Colectivo According to what I have said above, it will be necessary to Mujeres de Negro (Women in Black Group), the most salient design messages and to use different media depending on the institutions regarding DV communication: The RUCVDS is target audiences. I especially would like to address the impor- an organization of civil society second-degree founded in tant role played by social networks in this process. Any current 1992 and composed of 34 NGOs. Women in Black is a mem- communication campaign should consider them in the top ber of the network, and its objective is the public denuncia- position, particularly keeping in mind young people and the tion. It is an international organization that is 12 years old in new possibility of developing new types of gender relations. Uruguay. It was founded by Israeli and Palestinian women Is this enough? Of course not, if it is not done within a more than 20 years ago. comprehensive design of public policies to fight DV, which, Herrera 9 as I have stated several times here, should begin at the earli- from the “post-socialist” position]. Bogotá, Colombia: Facultad de Derecho, Siglo del Hombre, Universidad de los Andes. est ages in the educational system. However, the educational Goffman, E. (1986). Estigma: la identidad deteriorada [Stigma: The system is insufficient on its own if the gender division of deteriorated identity]. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Amorrortu. work remains the same, where women do most of the unpaid Herrera Sormano, T. (2015). Violencia Doméstica. El discurso work, and if the socially accepted model of interpersonal y la realidad [Domestic Violence. The discourse and real- relations is that of the dominance of men over women, and as ity]. Montevideo: Universidad ORT Uruguay, Palabra Santa long as the deaths of women are considered inevitable. To Editorial. make this possible, as I have said before, we need to train IADB. (1996, 2003). Inter-American Development Bank, Prevalence students systematically at universities and in teacher training Studies of Domestic Violence in Montevideo and Canelones, centers on the issue, as well as those delivering justice: for Citizen Security Program, unpublished. judges and prosecutors. The issue of DV within gender-based Kotler, P., Roberto, E., & Roberto, N. (1989). Social marketing: violence cannot be just an optional subject or graduate course Strategies for changing public behavior. Rockland, NY: Free Press. any longer. It is necessary to learn new types of gender rela- Mosquera Vásquez, M. (2003, July 23). Comunicación en salud: tions, and this issue should be a priority. Conceptos, teorías y experiencias. Retrieved from http://www. A final reflection is as follows: The Women’s Movement comminit.com/la/drum_beat_52.html should be able to create an alliance to achieve these aims as Prieto Castillo, D. (1985). El diagnóstico en comunicación. Quito, Fraser (1997) called for. It needs to really persuade institutional Ecuador: Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de decision makers, the mass media, the union, and business Comunicación para América Latina Diagnosis in communica- worlds, the public opinion in general, that gender equality will tion (CIESPAL). not only make us better people and a better society but happier Scribano, A., & De Sena, A. (2009, March). Construcción de cono- as well. What is life but the search for happiness? This funda- cimiento en Latinoamérica: Algunas reflexiones desde la auto- mental human right is being denied to so many female humans. etnografía como estrategia de investigación [Construction of knowledge in Latin America: Some reflections from auto- Declaration of Conflicting Interests ethnography as a research strategy]. Cinta Moebio, 34, 1-15. Retrieved from http://www2.facso.uchile.cl/publicaciones/ The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect moebio/34/scribano.html to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. (2013). In pursuit of justice, (p. 3). Annual report UN woman Funding 2011-2012. Retrieved from http://www.unwomen.org/en/digi- The author(s) received no financial support for the research and/or tal-library/publications/2012/8/annual-report-2011-2012 authorship of this article. U.S. Organization of American States, Department of International Law. (1994). Definition and scope of application. In Inter- References American convention on the prevention, punishment and eradica- Belém do Pará. (2002). Convencion interamericana para prevenir, tion of violence against women “convention of Belém do Pará.” sancionar y erradicar la violencia contra la mujer “conven- Retrieved from www.oas.org/juridico/english/treaties/a-61.html cion de belem do para”. Retrieved from http://www.oas.org/ Verón, E. (1987). La semiosis social [The social semiosis]. Buenos juridico/spanish/tratados/a-61.html Aires, Argentina: Gedisa. Bateson, G., Hall, E., Watzlawick, P., & Goffman, E. (1987). La Verón, E. (1991). La semantización de la violencia política. nueva comunicación. Barcelona, Spain: Kairós. Lenguaje y comunicación [The semantization of political vio- Bonder, G. (1998). Género y subjetividad: Avatares de una relación lence. Language and communication]. Buenos Aires, Argentina: no evidente [Gender and subjectivity: Avatars of a non-evident Nueva Visión. relationship]. In S. Montecino Aguirre & A. Obach (Eds.), Género y epistemología., mujeres y disciplinas: ponencias Author Biography presentadas al Encuentro de Universidades de Latinoamérica y el Caribe “Género y Epistemología: Mujeres y Disciplinas. Teresa Herrera, Argentina, resident in Uruguay, PhD in Social Programa Interdisciplinario de Estudios de Género (PIEG), Sciences (UBA). Currently, she is a researcher at Universidad ORT Universidad de Chile. Retrieved from http://programaedusex. Uruguay University in the School of Communication of the Faculty edu.uy/biblioteca/opac_css/articulosprontos/GENERO_Y_ of Communication and Design, Director of Consultant Teresa SUBJETIVIDAD_BONDER.pdf Herrera & Asociados and Coordinator of the NGO air .uy. For more Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: than 30 years she has been consulting and researching for numerous Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. international organizations: IADB, UNDP, UNFPA, BICE, USAID, Eco, U. (2000). Semiótica y filosofía del lenguaje [Semiotics and as well as national institutions in Argentina and Uruguay. She has philosophy of language]. Barcelona, Spain: Lumen. been invited as a lecturer at universities and institutions in Argentina Franklin, J., & Todd, R. (2007). Two autoethnographies: A search and the USA. Professor of Research Methodology at the Universidad for understanding of gender and age. The Qualitative Report, de la República, Universidad Católica y Universidad ORT Uruguay 12, 166-183. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/ from 1981 to 2014. She has published several books of his specialty QR12-2/klinker.pdf and participated as a panelist in numerous media. She is former co- Fraser, N. (1997). Iustitia Interrupta: Reflexiones críticas desde la coordinator of the Uruguayan Network against Domestic and Sexual posición “postsocialista” [Justice interrupted: Critical reflections Violence and currently serves as the spokeswoman for the same.

Journal

SAGE OpenSAGE

Published: Jan 1, 2017

Keywords: social sciences; communication; communication studies; race; gender; media; society; mass communication abuse; criminology; human rights; political sociology; sociology; sex; women’s studies

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