Work

The Unascended Pyramid the Limits of State Response to IPV in Rural Michoacán

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study examines how rural women in Michoacán, Mexico understand and navigate intimate partner violence (IPV) amid poverty, limited state presence, and institutional promotion of legal intervention. Drawing on 64 qualitative interviews and embedded observation, the findings show a disconnect between institutional and community definitions of harm, strategic disengagement from legal systems, and reliance on relational, community-based responses often shaped by extended kin. Reframing the Dispute Pyramid through feminist criminology and decolonial feminist theory, the study highlights how survivors weigh competing harms and underscores the need for culturally grounded, non-carceral approaches aligned with local realities.

Source: Feminist Criminology

DOI: 10.1177/15570851261430901

Author: Veronica Valencia Gonzalez

Language: English

Topic: Intimate Partner and Family Violence

Subfield: Health

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650

Funders: Division of Social and Economic Sciences, Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine