Umeå universitets logga

In the 1990s, some segments of Latin American feminist movements shifted to advocacy strategies to influence government policies. Long-standing social movement theories predict that this tactical change to institutional means has two possible consequences for a movement: either it gains greater influence over policy arenas and becomes more effective in achieving outcomes, or it loses capacity to carry out protest tactics and becomes less effective in achieving outcomes. However, empirical studies on Latin American feminist organizations intervening in policies, and recent social movement theorizing, indicate that the relationship between social movements and policy influence is more complex. Moreover, these theories have been formulated based on empirical studies in contexts with established democratic frameworks and institutions. The study presented here employed Grounded Theory to examine inductively the research questions of how reproductive rights organizations carry out advocacy to influence government policies in Peru. Data was collected through participant observation and focus group discussions among two reproductive rights coalitions in the regions of Arequipa and Cusco. The findings indicate that the reproductive rights coalitions develop a multiplicity of interactions with government officials, as a means to influence policies through various channels and handle constraints on their ability to act as independent pressure groups. In addition, the findings show that the coalitions deal with a wide range of factors to influence policies: organizational capacity, advocacy strategies, issue frames, relationships with other policy actors as well as political and social aspects that facilitate or hinder advocacy. The study concludes that the relationship between social movements and policy influence is more complex than portrayed by long-standing theories. Instead, the findings are consistent with, and enhance the scholarship on Latin American feminist organizations involved in policies, as well as recent social movement theorizing that takes into account how various factors affect social movement influence on policies.

The paper examines how two reproductive rights coalitions in Peru adjust their framing by way of regular interactions with other collective actors. Qualitative data were gathered from the coalitions in the regions of Arequipa and Cusco. The findings demonstrate how the coalitions engage in framing practices not only among their members as they select and refine advocacy goals and strategies, but also by means of interaction, communication, and negotiation with a range of organized social and political actors. Through these interactions, coalition members adjust their own framing of reproductive rights in response to what they perceive from other actors, taking frames from them and directing frames back to them. These interactions occur within broader political and cultural contexts consisting of stable and variable opportunity structures. Thus, the coalitions’ framing practices entail stretching favorable interpretations among allies and neutral actors, while pushing back the boundaries in which the Catholic Church leadership attempts to transmit its own interpretations.

Emotions clearly matter in social movements, but it is less apparent how social movement participants actively handle emotions in their line of activities. In this article, the authors address this question by examining how two reproductive rights coalitions in Peru employ and manage emotions in relation to different actors who they must deal with to influence policies. Empirical materials consist of participant observation, focus groups, and individual interviews conducted with the coalitions and their members. Grounded theory was used to analyze the data. The authors distinguish relationships with five relevant actors: the internal members of the coalitions, allies, the general public, the Catholic Church as the major opponent, and government officials as the main target. As each relationship requires distinct emotion work, coalition members simultaneously adjust to contradictory emotional expectations while actively evoking and coordinating emotions. The authors refer to this as the orchestration of emotion work.

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.