Gender-Based Violence
in the Caribbean: Historical Roots, Contemporary Continuities is a landmark
collection that addresses one of the region’s most pressing crises. Edited by
Dalea Bean and Verene A. Shepherd, the volume traces the historical roots of gender-based
violence, showing how enslavement, colonial domination and systemic
inequalities became embedded in cultural norms and everyday life. Contributors
draw on court records, literature, music, oral histories and archival sources
to uncover how violence - physical, psychological and symbolic - was normalized
and perpetuated across generations.
Spanning six sections,
the book brings together pioneering feminist scholars and new voices to examine
gender-based violence through intersecting frameworks of race, class, religion,
sexuality and nationhood. The essays reveal both the persistence of violent
structures and the spaces where resistance, agency and transformation take
shape. While unsparing in confronting injustice, the collection also highlights
resilience, activism and movements for change. This volume offers indispensable
insights for scholars, policymakers, advocates and communities committed to
ending gender-based violence in the Caribbean.