Organisation, Structure and Function of the Feminist Movement Working Around Violence

Abstract

Feminist organisations are often associated with collective organisation. Historically this has been the case, largely to do with feminist politics and finding alternative ways of working that challenge existing and accepted bureaucratic values. However, this research has found, as literature suggests, that feminism is not necessarily synonymous with collective working and that women’s refuges and crisis centres take a variety of organisational forms. Although the majority of centres in Sweden and the UK did continue to organise collectively, and stated that this was in line with their feminist politics, a significant minority also organised hierarchically or traditionally, and a smaller number indicated alternative forms of organisation such as democratic or cooperative.