Putting the Body Into Justice

ABSTRACT Stories and images of the burned, mutilated, raped, and beaten female body have played and continue to play a central role in the antifemicide movement in Argentina. Feminist die‐ins and artistic performances that emphasized the physical and sexual violence perpetrated against women were central to the birth of the Ni Una Menos movement. But the harm done to the bodies of the living victims—the siblings, children, and parents of feminicide victims—often remains less visible, hidden behind the headlines of women's corpses. This article explores what happens to the bodies and embodied well‐being of the family members of victims of femicides and how their bodies respond to the physical violence and death that they witnessed and survived. It analyzes the ways in which they use their bodies to imagine, perform, and enforce justice for their loved ones and themselves. Taken together, this article argues that injustice can be located within the human body, as it is often made manifest through physical and emotional suffering, which can be deadly. Because injustice takes root in the human body, the work of “doing justice” is therefore done through embodied acts.

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Publication Details

Journal
PoLAR Political and Legal Anthropology Review
Published
2025-04-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/plar.70007
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
38.00

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article

Putting the Body Into Justice

Claire Branigan
1 citations
PoLAR Political and Legal Anthropology Review
Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics
38.00
article

Putting the Body Into Justice

Claire Branigan
article en
1 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Stories and images of the burned, mutilated, raped, and beaten female body have played and continue to play a central role in the antifemicide movement in Argentina. Feminist die‐ins and artistic performances that emphasized the physical and sexual violence perpetrated against women were central to the birth of the Ni Una Menos movement. But the harm done to the bodies of the living victims—the siblings, children, and parents of feminicide victims—often remains less visible, hidden behind the headlines of women's corpses. This article explores what happens to the bodies and embodied well‐being of the family members of victims of femicides and how their bodies respond to the physical violence and death that they witnessed and survived. It analyzes the ways in which they use their bodies to imagine, perform, and enforce justice for their loved ones and themselves. Taken together, this article argues that injustice can be located within the human body, as it is often made manifest through physical and emotional suffering, which can be deadly. Because injustice takes root in the human body, the work of “doing justice” is therefore done through embodied acts.

PoLAR Political and Legal Anthropology ReviewVol. 48(1)
Rice University (US)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics
38.00
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Putting the Body Into Justice — Claire Branigan · PoLAR Political and Legal Anthropology Review (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS