Screaming Underwater: Survivor Activism, Co-production and the Limits of Formal Engagement in Gender-Based Violence Policy

Abstract

Survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) are increasingly engaged in the co-production of public policies and services, yet marginalised survivors remain largely excluded from shaping the decisions that affect them most. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 11 survivor advocates and activists from First Nations, culturally and racially marginalised, LGBTQI+ and disability communities in Australia, this article examines what works for survivors in terms of driving policy change. We find that collective activism outside state structures is more empowering and effective than formal co-production within state structures. Participants are clear about what needs to change, demanding self-determined community solutions, a fundamental shift from “victim-fixing” to perpetration prevention and genuine transfer of resources and authority to those most affected. These demands go well beyond what existing co-production frameworks are designed to deliver and reveal those frameworks as potentially reproducing the colonial and patriarchal power relations they purport to address.