Natural Resource Extraction and Violence against Women in Rural Places

The phenomenon of boomtowns and of various impacts from resource extraction is global in the sense that it affects many, but certainly not all, rural communities throughout the world. However, it is not a single, homogenous influence, but one with a diversity of effects, including violence against women (VAW).

Driven by a sophisticated theoretical framework, one that integrates three discrete bodies of knowledge (VAW, green criminology, and rural criminology), this book (1) describes the nature, extent, and distribution of VAW in rural boomtowns around the world, (2) critiques what the authors refer to as an anomie/social disorganization model of VAW in rural boomtown communities, and (3) introduces the concept of patriarchal social reorganization and demonstrates that globalization and natural resource extraction did not bring VAW to rural communities, but rather intensified an existing problem.

The authors call upon the criminological community, especially feminist and rural criminologists, to stretch their theoretical imaginations to examine linkages between localized expressions of patriarchy, natural resource extraction, and VAW. Moreover, heavily informed by a combination of sound research and theoretical work and progressive practices designed and implemented by left realists, human rights activists, Indigenous coalitions, and by feminists, this book recommends forward-thinking and timely ways of curbing the types of violence identified throughout it.

This is essential reading for all engaged in rural and feminist criminology, violence against women, and natural resource extraction.