Exploring interaction between two distinct spheres of activism: Gender, disability and abuse

This article, which draws from semi-structured interviews with activists, advocates and professionals engaged in addressing the needs of disabled women experiencing violence and abuse, explores the extent and nature of interaction between organisations affiliated to the movement against domestic violence and the disability movement. It takes a comparative approach to qualitative data, exploring how activism around the needs of this particular group of survivors in England and North Carolina, U.S.A. has resulted in interaction between individuals and organisations associated to these two movements. The article draws out some of the key differences in how the needs of this particular group of survivors are being articulated and politicised across two different social movements and within two different socio-cultural contexts. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.