From Feminist Activism to Academia? Fifty Years of Research on Gender-Based Violence in France

In France, knowledge production about gender-based violence (GBV) has evolved alongside the gradual formation of a dedicated GBV cause field, progressing through three key phases. GBV was initially framed through the lens of 1970s materialist feminism and conceptualized using the notion of domination. Feminist research expanded through increased engagement with public institutions-many of which were not originally concerned with violence or gender issues. Statistical hybridization played a crucial role in legitimizing GBV both as a subject of scholarly inquiry and as a public policy concern. Since the mid-2010s, research explicitly using the GBV framework has continued to grow rapidly, elevating the issue's public legitimacy. Paradoxically, though, recognition of this issue in France has remained limited.