Penal populism: Negotiating the feminist agenda. Evidence from Spain and Poland

Abstract

It is interesting to observe how penal populism intersects with feminism when it comes to gender-based violence, as regards both anti-rape and domestic abuse reforms. There is a vast scholarship (Bumiller, 2008; Gottschalk, 2006; Gruber, 2007) in the US explaining how feminist activism turned to state power to demand more protection and more criminalization, and little focus on the European context.

This article aims to analyse the development of what might be called feminist penal populist discourse in Spain and Poland. Whereas penal populist discourse has been conspicuous in Spain, and the authorities there ally themselves with domestic feminist groups and scholars to combat gender-based violence, Poland has never embraced the feminist agenda, despite the widespread influence and effectiveness of penal populism in that country. The article attempts to answer the general question: Why are feminist demands likely to be addressed in some countries where penal populism discourse has emerged in the political and public sphere, but not in others? The analysis demonstrates that the proclivity for penal populism and selection of topics are strongly related not only to some structural factors or political culture, but also to the historical and social context of each country. In Spain, the feminist movement was incorporated and politicized by left-wing parties into mainstream politics, whereas in Poland there was no grass-roots movement for women’s liberation for a long time, and the emancipatory politics during the communist era was superficial.