Feminist and quantitative? Measuring the extent of domestic violence in Georgetown, Guyana

Abstract

The vast majority of Anglo-American feminist research in Geography eschews quantitative methods despite the understanding that all data are forms of representation. As a consequence feminist geographers have refrained from pursuing certain research questions and epistemological paths of investigation. In this article I explore the arguments feminists have raised against using quantitative methods and the consequences of this impasse while raising the possibilities of adopting a critical approach to quantitative methods of analysis that incorporates feminist practices. I then turn to a case study to discuss the methods employed and the results obtained from a (multi-level cluster) survey of 360 women conducted with the Guyanese womens organisation, Red Thread, on the extent and nature of domestic violence, a topic that does not lend itself easily to quantification. I conclude by assessing the importance of opening up feminist enquiry in Geography to the possibilities unleashed by the uncoupling of quantitative methods from masculinist versions of positivism and of the particular importance of quantitative methods in the transference of skills in north-south alliances.