Transnational Feminism in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence in Ghana

In this Article, I am concerned not so much with a definition of transnational feminism as with how it is accomplished. In particular, I am interested in the specific ways in which legal scholars and activists in the United States and Africa concerned with intimate partner violence (“IPV”) in Africa have interacted, influenced one another, and worked together to try to effect remedies for this substantial problem. In other words, I focus on how transnational feminism is done. I examine the development of thinking about IPV in Ghana as a case study.

My argument is that the current state of domestic violence law in Ghana, as well as scholarship and opinions about appropriate remedies for IPV, reflect this process of transnational feminism, involving exchanges of information and experience, both personally and through the publication of studies, scholarly collaboration, and international support of research and activist projects. I conclude from this case study that transnational feminism is carried out by talking to one another, listening to one another, learning from, supporting, and working with one another around topics that affect women in different areas of the globe, but with deep sensitivity to the importance of differing contexts.