ABSTRACT
As with all of Just Associates's (JASS) work, this chapter draws on theoretical work of various scholars and on both JASS’s direct experiences and my own with movements. Making Change Happen 3 (MCH3) argued that in taking so enthusiastically to the technocratic terrain of policy advocacy, activists had unwittingly contributed to the depoliticisation of social justice struggles, and disconnections between advocacy and social movements. Power, however, is complex and, as MCH3 noted, often a difficult and unsettling topic to address. Many people have had negative experiences with power, and thus perceive it as monolithic and entrenched. Power can be created and used for positive change. JASS recognises that without addressing the power dynamics that impact women’s private lives – the relationships and roles in families, sexual partnerships and marriage, and in the intimate realm of one’s sense of self and body – there will be no real progress for women.
