The politics of need interpretation: discourse and the needs of disabled survivors of abuse

Abstract

The abuse of disabled women is an issue that has not historically been given a great deal of attention. More recently, efforts to raise awareness of this particular set of needs have been ongoing but largely limited to the specialised spheres of domestic violence and disability activism. This paper explores the types of discourse being put forward in these efforts, using Fraser's categorisation of needs talk within the process of politicisation. It finds evidence of oppositional, expert and reprivatisation discourses and suggests that these have emerged in a way that reflects the distinctive histories of disabled people as well as feminist explanations of domestic violence and abuse.

Keywords:

• social need
• domestic violence
• caregiver abuse
• disabled people's movement
• feminism
• activism