Emeritus Professor Gill Hague in conversation with Miriam Merkova, University of Bristol

I feel honoured to be invited to hold a seminar and discussion with you, as I was a founder of the Centre 34 years ago with Ellen Malos.  I am proud of how the Centre has developed and of the work you are doing.  I will talk about the history of our movement, most specifically on domestic violence, and honour the activists who got it going in the late 1960s and since.  It is important for us to remember our past and our history, and to celebrate all we have achieved in this and other countries, as time passes.  I will refer to my recent book:  History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement: We’ve come further than you think. which remains the only such history we have.  It includes material on the history and politics of refuges since the 1970s, on policy and research developments, and on the struggle of black and minoritised women.  Although primarily focussing on domestic abuse, there are sections on sexual violence and violence in the name of ‘honour’.  Many activists in the field contributed to the book and, while it focuses on the UK, it also covers the struggle internationally.  It contains quotes from activists, anecdotes and poems.  It will be a pleasure to share it with you.

Professor Emerita Gill Hague, Professor of Violence Against Women Studies, has been an activist on violence against women for fifty years since the early 1970s, a trainer, campaigner, researcher and professor.  She founded the Centre for Gender and Violence Research 34 years ago with Ellen Malos and has conducted many key research projects in the UK and trans-nationally.  Gill has more than 150 publications on VAWG including nine books.  She has been awarded a Special life achievement Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize and a high National Honour for work with survivors.  She is the author of the new ground-breaking book, History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement: We’ve come further than you think. She has also produced 4 poetry books. 

Miriam Merkova has worked in the violence against women and girls’ sector for over 20 years in roles that included establishing the first project in Wales for women trafficked for sexual exploitation and managing a pan-Wales service supporting women in conflict with the criminal justice system. Throughout her career, she has observed  that the voices of practitioners are seldom heard, especially in relation to their personal experiences of abuse. Her PhD study explores their unique experiences and examines how survivorship is constituted in policy and practice within a context of encroaching neoliberal values, competitive commissioning, hierarchical and professionalised services and individualised discourses of trauma.

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