Policy change as one piece of the picture: outcomes among reproductive rights advocates in Peru

Abstract

In the 1990s, feminist movements in Peru began to shift strategies from a focus on community training to an emphasis on policy advocacy. Since then, they have seen many of their demands translated into public policies favoring gender equity and reproductive rights. Some scholars argue that such policy changes have a limited impact on women's daily life in Latin America and it is necessary to conceptualize the outcomes of social movements more broadly to include their cultural and political effects as well as the links between these. Findings are presented from a study of two coalitions engaged in reproductive rights advocacy in Arequipa and Cusco, Peru. The approach for evaluating the materials included participant observation, focus group discussions and individual interviews with coalition members. The study found that coalition members perceive the effects of their advocacy on government policies in terms of five dimensions: coalition-government interactions, issue visibility and recognition, policy enactments, policy implementation, and policy position. I conclude that a broader definition of social movement outcomes is needed to evaluate efficacy and models for future action and that this should take into account the complexities of social and political change, particularly concerning reproductive rights and gender equity.

State‐Level Determinants of Hate Crime Reporting: Examining the Impact of Structural and Social Movement Influences

“…Because various actors within law enforcement may view certain policies as merely symbolic, ongoing social movement efforts are necessary to ensure policy implementation (Amenta et al ). Previous research on the relationship between policy implementation and SMOs indicates that SMOs are needed to support and monitor stakeholder consultation (Sturdy, Smith‐Merry, and Freeman ), capacity‐building (Coe ; Gibson ), and program funding. These efforts are strengthened by strong SMO infrastructures, including leadership, preexisting social networks, and access to resources (Andrews ).…”

“…Social movement and sociolegal scholarship generally focuses on the passage of legislation as a measure of movement outcomes, examining how underlying structural conditions and the capacity of and choices made by social movements might explain differential policy success (Jenness and Grattet 1996; Boutcher, Kronberg, and Werum ). While this research has typically treated policy passage as the outcome of interest, social movements themselves often focus on how well those policies are implemented , recognizing that legal change is only half the battle (Andrews ; Coe ; Sturdy, Smith‐Merry, and Freeman ; Gibson )…”

Activist framing of abortion and use for policy change in Peru

“… 11 Framing is used both to engender support in the general population and to influence policymakers to change policy. 12 Framing is thus changed, not only based on overall context, but also on who the activists’ audience or public is.…”

“I Am Not Just a Feminist Eight Hours a Day”

“…In the 1990s, this sector shifted its goals and strategies to seek legal changes using policy advocacy targeted at state institutions (Barrig 2002; Lind 2003, 2004). Feminist policy advocacy resulted in key policy gains, such as free reproductive health services, laws criminalizing rape and domestic violence, quotas for women political candidates, and state agencies charged with advancing gender equality (Barrig 2001; Coe 2012; Lind 2003). However, it also prompted opposition from the Catholic Church leadership and its lay allies (Coe 2011; Lind 2012) and heightened gaps between different groups of mobilized women (Lind 2004; Rousseau 2006).…”