Kristen Bumiller, In an Abusive State: How Neoliberalism Appropriated the Feminist Movement against Sexual Violence

Abstract

How Neoliberalism Appropriated the Feminist Movement Against Sexual Violence, Kristin Bumiller provides a nuanced and compelling discussion of the evolution and often troubling consequences of these alliances.Ultimately, she argues that the conditions of neoliberalism have altered the feminist campaign against sexual violence, muting a strong commitment to empowering victims and reframing the problem in explicitly feminist terms. The topics covered in the book are also wide-ranging, and the six chapters include discussions of the cultural representations of sexual violence, criminal justice interpretations of sexual assault, professional and beaureacratic responses to addressing the needs of victims, and recent attempts to reframe sexual violence in a manner that connects it to an emerging international human rights discourse.