The course will examine contemporary issues in gender-based violence (GBV) from both theoretical and applied viewpoints. We will discuss topics including understandings of gender and gendered violence, GBV in the media, intersectional experiences of GBV, and evolving areas of research, including the effect of the climate crisis (e.g., on migration), social justice and advocacy movements, and radical right-wing populism. The course will take a global and interdisciplinary perspective toward GBV and will pull from critical feminist, post-colonial, and intersectional scholarships. We will also use concepts from criminology, sociology, and psychology. The applied portions of this course will examine public policy as well as community-driven approaches to confronting GBV. The goal for the course is that students will be able to apply these diverse literatures to analyze and address GBV.
Last update: Horáčková Karolína, Mgr. (16.08.2026)
Course completion requirements
Attendance and active participation in class discussion (maximum 2 absences can be excused if you inform the teacher before the beginning of the class via email).
In-class group presentation on required reading.
Writing an acceptable research paper or policy brief on a topic related to gender-based violence. For bachelor’s-level students, the final paper must be 2,000 words excluding the bibliography. For master’s-level students, the final paper must be 3,000 words excluding the bibliography.
Assessment:
Attendance: 30%
Presentations: 30%
Final Paper: 40%
Last update: Hanson Emily Julia, Ph.D. (08.01.2026)
Syllabus
1) Introduction
2) Criminological, Sociological, and Psychological Theories of Gender-Based Violence
Reading:Ali, P., & Rogers, M. M. (Eds.). (2023). Gender-based violence: A comprehensive guide. Springer. Chapters 1 and 2.
3) Intersectional and Post-Colonial Perspectives on GBV
Readings: Lokot, M., Pichon, M., Kalichman, B., Nardella, S., Falconer, J., Kyegombe, N., & Buller, A. M. (2024). Decolonising the field of violence against women and girls: A scoping review and recommendations for research and programming. Social Science & Medicine, 117168.
Gill, A. (2018). Survivor-centered research: Towards an intersectional gender-based violence movement. Journal of family violence, 33(8), 559-562.
4) Public Policy to Address GBV
Readings: Sullivan, C. M., & Goodman, L. A. (2019). Advocacy with survivors of intimate partner violence: What it is, what it isn’t, and why it’s critically important. Violence Against Women, 25(16), 2007-2023.
Lombardo, E., & Rolandsen Agustín, L. (2016). Intersectionality in European Union policymaking: the case of gender-based violence. Politics, 36(4), 364-373.
5) GBV as a public vs. private matter
Readings: Zhang, D. (2023). From Private Matter to Public Problem: Relocating Gender-Based Violence in China. In International Responses to Gendered-Based Domestic Violence (pp. 135-143).
Dunn, Suzie, Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: An Overview (December 7, 2020).
6) Social Justice Movements to Address GBV
Readings: Hester, M., Williamson, E., Eisenstadt, N., Abrahams, H., Aghtaie, N., Bates, L., ... & Mulvihill, N. (2025). What is justice? Perspectives of victims-survivors of gender-based violence. Violence against women, 31(2), 570-597.
Alvarez, S. E. (1999). Advocating feminism: the Latin American feminist NGO'boom'. International feminist journal of politics, 1(2), 181-209.
7) GBV and Menstruation, Pregnancy, and Menopause
Note: Three readings because these chapters are quite short
Readings: Whitecross, R. (2023). Menstruation and Gender-Based Violence. In Gender-Based Violence: A Comprehensive Guide (pp. 311-321). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Rowlands, S., & Walker, S. (2023). Reproductive coercion and abuse. In Gender-Based Violence: A Comprehensive Guide (pp. 441-454). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
van der Waal, R., & Mayra, K. (2023). Obstetric violence. In Gender-Based Violence: A Comprehensive Guide (pp. 413-425). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
8) GBV and LGBTQ+ Communities
Readings: Woulfe, J. M., & Goodman, L. A. (2021). Identity Abuse as a Tactic of Violence in LGBTQ Communities: Initial Validation of the Identity Abuse Measure. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(5-6), 2656-2676.
Lanham, M., Ridgeway, K., Dayton, R., Castillo, B. M., Brennan, C., Davis, D. A., ... & Evens, E. (2019). “We're going to leave you for last, because of how you are”: Transgender women's experiences of gender-based violence in healthcare, education, and police encounters in Latin America and the Caribbean. Violence and Gender, 6(1), 37-46.
Katsuba, S. (2023). The Decade of Violence: A Comprehensive Analysis of Hate Crimes Against LGBTQ in Russia in the Era of the “Gay Propaganda Law” (2010–2020). Victims & Offenders, 19(3), 395–418. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2023.2167142
9) GBV and Housing Insecurity
Readings:Newberry, M. (2017). Pets in danger: Exploring the link between domestic violence and animal abuse. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 34, 273-281.
Bretherton, J. (2017). Reconsidering gender in homelessness. European Journal of Homelessness, 11(1).
10) Trafficking and Sex Work
Readings: Klaassen, M. J., & Peter, J. (2015). Gender (in) equality in internet pornography: A content analysis of popular pornographic internet videos. The Journal of Sex Research, 52(7), 721-735.
Evens, E., Lanham, M., Santi, K., Cooke, J., Ridgeway, K., Morales, G., ... & Dayton, R. (2019). Experiences of gender-based violence among female sex workers, men who have sex with men, and transgender women in Latin America and the Caribbean: a qualitative study to inform HIV programming. BMC international health and human rights, 19, 1-14.
Stöckl, H., Fabbri, C., Cook, H., Galez-Davis, C., Grant, N., Lo, Y., ... & Zimmerman, C. (2021). Human trafficking and violence: Findings from the largest global dataset of trafficking survivors. Journal of migration and health, 4, 100073.
11) Migration and Disasters (e.g., Climate, Covid)
Readings: van Daalen, K. R., Kallesøe, S. S., Davey, F., Dada, S., Jung, L., Singh, L., ... & Nilsson, M. (2022). Extreme events and gender-based violence: a mixed-methods systematic review. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6(6), e504-e523.
Reilly, N., Bjørnholt, M., & Tastsoglou, E. (2022). Vulnerability, precarity and intersectionality: A critical review of three key concepts for understanding gender-based violence in migration contexts. Gender-based violence in migration: Interdisciplinary, feminist and intersectional approaches, 29-56.
12) GBV and Right-Wing Populism
Readings: Chapter 1 - Mudde, C., & Kaltwasser, C. R. (2017). Populism: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
Chp 16-17, Chp 18 is optional: Oswald, M. (Ed.). (2022). The Palgrave Handbook of Populism (p. 3). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Last update: Horáčková Karolína, Mgr. (16.08.2026)
