ABSTRACT
In the Caribbean, activism has been a catalyst for addressing women’s inequalities and confronting their experiences of injustice and domestic violence. While narratives often highlight formal feminist movements and their mobilization, such accounts overlook the histories of resistance, resilience, and advocacy that shape the everyday life of Caribbean women. These lived experiences not only inform but also shape the forms of activism that emerge from within communities. This chapter explores anti-domestic violence activism as embedded in the everyday lives of Caribbean women. It reflects on how women in their everyday experiences foster small-scale and grassroot activism. It interrogates the women’s use of orality (biographical self-narrations, theatre, and calypso) and cultural expression, matrifocal family units, and active participation in the workforce to produce social value as well as legal and political change. This chapter considers the impact of women’s everyday activism on the institutionalisation of gender, which drives discourse and legislative arrangements regarding domestic violence.
