Research Projects
All researchers in the CERGU network are employed at their home departments, which means they can combine their research area of expertise with a multidisciplinary perspective on European research. Most researchers in the network choose to place their research projects at their home departments, but it is also possible to place research projects at CERGU.
European fathers’ rights movements: gender (in)equality discourses and politics
Members: Katarzyna Wojnicka
Funding: Vetenskapsrådet
Period: 2019-2024
The goal of this project is to conduct research on European fathers’ rights movements (FRMs), a particular facet of men’s social movements and their discourses on gender (in)equality as well as practices aimed at combating gender-based discrimination. Fathers’ rights groups exist in all EU countries and are the most recognisable and “powerful” phenomena among European men’s movements. However, to date, there has been a lack of sufficient research on these phenomena. Therefore, the aim of this research project is to fill the knowledge gap on European fathers’ rights movements by conducting a scientific investigation from national, comparative and transnational perspectives. The project draws on preliminary qualitative research on Polish, Swedish and British fathers' rights movements and will be enriched by new data gathered through several social research methods including quantitative and qualitative studies. Firstly, quantitative research, including groups mapping and internet-based surveys, will be conducted in all EU/EFTA states. Secondly, in-depth interviews will be conducted
with movement activists from a) Germany and Spain and b) transnational organisations, and this data will then be analysed. The project will combine and contribute to the literatures of social movements, critical men and masculinities studies and European studies. Aside from its theoretical, methodological and empirical significance, the project has significant societal relevance.