Safe spaces of refuge, shelter and contact: introduction

Abstract

State and societal responses to a diverse range of abuses, injustices and exclusions often take the form of providing designated spaces of temporary shelter from the hostility. This introduction to the themed section on Safe Spaces of refuge, shelter and contact outlines the five contributions on such gendered spaces in Australia, Cambodia, England, India and USA. Across the varying rationales and regimes of refuge, shelter and contact, three key themes emerge: the boundary work necessary to carve out safe spaces in a hostile world, the practices within designated safe spaces, and what is achieved in terms of safety and autonomy from gender-based violence.

Keywords:

• autonomy
• boundaries
• domestic violence
• freedom
• safety
• service provision

Acknowledgements

The contributions in this themed section were initially presented at the sessions on the theme of ‘Safe Spaces’ at the Royal Geographical Society with Institute of British Geographers Conference in London in September 2017. They have benefitted from the discussion in those sessions, and from the very constructive feedback from the editor of Gender, Place and Culture and the anonymous referees.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor

Janet C. Bowstead is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, with a professional background in frontline, policy and coordination work on domestic violence issues. Her research is interdisciplinary in nature, across geography, social policy and sociology; integrating quantitative, spatial, qualitative and creative methods. Publications include: with M. Coy et al. (2011) Roads to nowhere? Mapping violence against women services, Violence Against Women 17(3): 404–425; Bowstead JC. 2013. What – if anything – is local about domestic violence? Safe 47: 10–13; Bowstead JC. 2016. Women on the move: theorising the geographies of domestic violence journeys in England. Gender, Place and Culture 24: 108–121; Bowstead JC. 2017. Segmented journeys, fragmented lives: Women’s forced migration to escape domestic violence. Journal of Gender-Based Violence 1: 43–58. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0194-7688