Museums and violence against women: raising awareness of symbolic violence

Abstract

Art museums today face the challenge of opening themselves up as institutions to a changing society. This publication offers new perspectives on museological trends that are developing in various countries and cultures. Through increasingly flexible, inclusive and unexpected museum typologies, institutions aim to give their visitors greater access to art. The essays define the role of the museum as a medium of social change, as a protagonist in an education process and as a technologically innovative platform. Art historians, but also practitioners from the museum world – including curators, architects and psychologists – examine what is expected of art museums using case studies and against the background of the humanities and social sciences.

In this chapter, the concept of violence against women is addressed, exploring the components of symbolic and structural violence. We will see how works of art have served to transmit and legitimize this violence, and we will discover what art museums should do to prevent and avoid perpetuating messages or inequality.