Políticas de género locales y capacidades estatales: la lógica de rompecabeza en el abordaje de la violencia contra las mujeres

Abstract

Local governments are a fundamental institution for women’s demands and citizenship participation. Regarding violence against women, these governments adopted prevention measures, anticipating national policies in several cases. Considering violence against women, this article reflects on the institutional conditions and interpretive power of the State for designing and implementing policies that seek to prevent and eradicate violence against women. The objective is to identify to what extent and how much the State can be extended to prevent and attend to women in situations of violence, based on feasible scenarios, for which I use an empirical case of the gender local (Montevideo) with heuristic purposes. This exercise serves to recognize the complexities of public action in tackling gender-based violence even under relatively favorable conditions. The policy to combat violence demands a fundamental reconfiguration of the institutional shape of the State on a large scale, as well as a modification of the symbolic bases of State power.