The Chicago domestic violence movement is very active, well established, and enjoys a certain level of governmental recognition. Composed of a strong, cohesive network of organizations, it has been somewhat successful at shaping discourses in the diversity of institutions in which it is active (courts, hospitals, schools, social services, police departments, etc.) However, domestic violence activists seem to be struggling to arrive at a common narrative that would ground their political project as well as reflect the work that they are doing in terms of providing services to victims. Conflicts arise when activists attempt to describe the causes of violence, and the way in which it shapes the social experiences of victims, and tensions seem to be heightened when issues of diversity are at stake. Of course, literature that looks at the challenges posed to feminist praxis by diversity and intersectionality abounds. In fact, scholars have described the way in which different categories of oppression interact with gender to create specific experiences, and explained how the political interests of minority women have been excluded in feminist politics. However, little is known about how concerns about diversity and inclusion have impacted the discourse that allowed activists to make domestic violence a recognized social problem. In fact, these concerns have shaped the way in which activists construct survivors, perpetrators, and acts of violence as a structural problem. Using interview data from 30 leaders and staff members of domestic violence organizations, supplemented by data from participant observation, I look at the way in which domestic violence activists define violence, explain its social sources and develop political claims, paying particular attention to the way in which discourses reflect concerns about diversity and the inclusion of different identities.
