THE LIMITS OF REFORM: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND PUBLIC POLICY IN LATIN AMERICA

Abstract

This article analyses the public policy to prevent and confront violence against women, developed in Latin America during the last two decades. It also analyses the role of the feminist movement and its contributions to the re-conceptualization of violence against women, as well as its influence on the passing of legal norms and public policy on the subject. Finally, the article also discusses the effectiveness of those legal norms and policy and the problematic relations between the feminist movement and the State in this area.