The ninth dimension of critical information literacy in praxis and the advocacy coalition: analysis of Brazilian gender initiatives

Abstract

Critical Information Literacy is of paramount importance in the instances of contemporary life that are faced with technological changes and proliferation of information resources. In the field of Information Science, studies on Critical Information Literacy have been developed since 2015 in Brazil. The construction in levels, previously carried out, was brought under a new approach in ten dimensions by Anna Brisola, in her doctoral thesis, in 2021. The ninth dimension, which deals with gender, feminisms, and sexuality, allows the expansion of the debate on information, literacy, critical theories, and gender. In this context, the research intends, from the foundations of the Critical Information Literacy and based on the Advocacy Coalition, to answer the following question: What are the main Defense Coalitions, in Brazil, that aim to resolve the vulnerabilities of women and stimulate the development of equality of genre? Are any of them in line with the objectives of the Critical Information Literacy and its ninth dimension? For responsive purposes, the general objective of the study is to verify the existence of organized Brazilian political groups aimed at improving and expanding access to information for the development and protection of women, in line with the Critical Information Literacy and knowledge about their rights. The methodology is bibliographic and exploratory, with an interest in the theories of the Critical Information Literacy and the Advocacy Coalition, with a qualitative approach that seeks the intersections between theories and praxis with a focus on advocacy actions for the dissemination of information about women, according to the gender feminisms and sexuality dimension, with the performance of informational activism. The results present several Brazilian initiatives represented by groups, networks, platforms, institutes, associations, and organizations that carry out advocacy for the causes of gender equity. When checking the descriptions of Defense Coalitions and considering the political, economic, and social dimensions with a view to the concerns of criticality, each one with its specificities, has the potential to foster Critical Information Literacy for women. Among them, some with actions that are already proposed for objectives awfully close to those of the Critical Information Literacy. It is concluded that in Brazil there is a real movement driven by the Advocacy Coalition in favor of advances in public policies that empower and defend women with significant potential to foster Critical Information Literacy as a knowledge strategy and fight against all forms of violence, racism, differences, and the non-participation of women in politics.