"It's About Care as Much as It's About Feminism": Women's Personal and Political Motivations for Volunteering in Refuges and Rape Crisis Centres

Authors

  • Lesley McMillan University of Sussex

Keywords:

Community involvment, Control theory (Sociology), Rape crisis centers, Unpaid labor, Volunteerism, Women's shelters

Abstract

This paper discusses the motivations of women doing unpaid work in refuges and rape crisis centres at the international level. The limitations of existing literature are discussed and new data presented, concluding that women's motivations are multiple and complex with feminist political motivations and personal experience being significant factors in the decision to become involved.

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Author Biography

Lesley McMillan, University of Sussex

Lesley McMillan is a lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. She has conducted research on gendered violence and violence against women, the feminist anti-violence movement and women's health. She has ongoing research projects and interests in these areas, as well as the Sociology of Trauma, sexual health and voluntary working.

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Published

2004-04-01

Issue

Vol. 28 No. 2 (2004): Special Issue: Never Done: The Challenge of Unpaid Work

Section

Original Research

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