SOCY 325 Week 5 Gender Based Violence Discussion Questions

Gender-based violence is a persistent problem all over the world.

The readings this week outline the wide variety of presentations of gender-based violence. We frequently focus on one type of violence at a time: domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual assault at colleges or in the military, honor killings, or rape as an instrument of war, for example. It is more instructive, however, to think of all of these types of violence as connected.

Recently, there has also been a greater focus on the rate of violence (and self-harm) among transgender people, particularly young people, and also on the extent of under-reported gendered violence against men, much of it also perpetrated by men.

Based on your reading for this week, respond to the following:

First, define what we mean by “gender-based violence.” Why not just “violence?”

Why have we focused primarily on gender-based violence against women? Do you agree with adding violence against men and transgender people, or do you see these as separate phenomena? What (if anything) connects all of these types of violence?

• How do intersectional identities such as age, sexuality, gender non-conformity, or race affect experiences of gender-based violence?
• What purposes does gender-based violence serve in a society? Provide at least two examples.