DAPHNE – Sexual and gender violence

Research projects

Research Group: Sexual and gender-based violence in language, family, social movements, and courts: possibilities for reform in the face of continued violence and evolving perspectives

Main Researcher: António Brito Neves, Jorge Duarte Pinheiro e Margarida Seixas

Researchers: António Brito Neves, Catarina Abegão Alves, Jorge Duarte Pinheiro, Margarida Seixas, Thiago Ávila

Project Status: Ongoing (2024-2028)

Description

Based on the investigation into the history of sexual violence phenomena, whether in the family context of the 18th and 19th centuries or in the association between forced marriage and slavery that frames the 1956 UN Convention, this study examines different contexts to understand whether ancient forms of violence have evolved to diminish or persist. The focus is primarily on the impact of social language codes on sexual freedom, the influence of that history and those codes in defining the violence implicated in crimes such as those related to child pornography, the operative causes in the interaction of phenomena like parental conflict, allegations of sexual abuse, and parental alienation in the family context, and the ways in which prevailing social gender biases limit access to the courts.

Objectives

By shedding light on biases and operative perspectives that are not always explicitly acknowledged across various social spheres—public discourse, family settings, forensic contexts—the Project aims to contribute to a more informed and value-driven legislative and decision-making reform.

Activities:

• Monthly Research Seminar (with researchers)
• Final Collective Conference (with researchers and invited experts)
• Publication of a collective work disseminating the results