State management of gender-based violence from a local perspective: historical waves and institutional retrenchment

Abstract

This article reconstructs the process of institutionalization of gender policies at the municipal level in the city of Comodoro Rivadavia, in the province of Chubut, with particular attention to state responses to gender-based violence. The analysis identifies significant advances, such as the upgrading of the institutional status of the area, the formalization of staff employment, and the incorporation of women’s rights into the municipal agenda. At the same time, it reveals processes of increasing functional isolation, bureaucratization, and declining capacities for innovation. Based on documentary analysis and interviews with current and former officials and feminist activists, the article highlights the value attributed to the existence of a hierarchically positioned gender institution, while underscoring the need to advance effective mechanisms of gender mainstreaming and interinstitutional coordination. Finally, it argues for the importance of moving beyond approaches centered exclusively on victims of violence in order to promote comprehensive strategies that strengthen women’s autonomy and state and social co-responsibility.