This book examines how feminist movements have contested the dominant discourses and state politics that have impeded women's autonomy over their bodies since the late 1960s. It deals with two important facets of this struggle, prostitution and the right to abortion, as they relate to the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden.

Most Western democracies established women's policy agencies to improve the status of women by the 1990s. However, the political context has changed drastically: developments such as welfare state reform, multilevel governance, regionalization and decentralization have impinged on opportunities for agencies and women's movements to mobilize. One of the book's key questions is how have women's policy agencies been able to develop, maintain or enhance their roles in the transformed political context and how have women's movements adapted to change in twelve states.

Most Western democracies established women's policy agencies to improve the status of women by the 1990s. One of the book's key questions is how have women's policy agencies been able to develop, maintain or enhance their roles in the transformed political context and how have women's movements adapted to change in twelve states.

The most effective way to deal with prostitution has always been hotly debated by governments and women's movements alike. Feminists want it abolished or regulated as sex work; governments have to safeguard public health and order. This book, first published in 2004, shows how women's movements in Western Europe, North America and Australia have affected politics on prostitution and trafficking of women since the 1970s, asking what made them successful in some countries but a failure in others. It also assesses whether government institutions to advance the status of women - so-called women's policy agencies - have played a key role in achieving policy outcomes favourable to movement demands. Written by an international team of experts and based on original sources, all chapters follow the same framework to ensure comparability. The final chapter offers an overall comparison identifying what makes women's movements successful and women's agencies effective, presenting the case for 'state feminism'.