Unit information: Gender and Violence: International and Global Perspectives in 2015/16

Unit name	Gender and Violence: International and Global Perspectives
Unit code	SPOLM1067
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Gangoli
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School for Policy Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will explore the nature and implications of gender violence in a global context. It will highlight problems of definition and measurement and will identify the most appropriate methodologies for research in this area. The form and incidence of gender violence will be reviewed in a number of different settings and cross-cultural similarities and differences will be discussed. Evidence will be reviewed on the causes and consequences of sexual abuse and domestic violence with particular attention being paid to the gendered nature of violence in the context of migration and trafficking. The unit will also explore a range of policy responses that have emerged in response to gender violence. Thsi will include a review of international initiatives in the context of a global human rights framework.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit students will be able to:

• Critically evaluate policies used to deal with a range of gender violence in different settings and country contexts

• Understand the scientific and ethical problems associated with research in this field

• Describe the patterns of gender-based violence reported in different parts of the world and in different communities

• Make sense of a range of explanations deployed to explain gender-based violence.

Teaching Information

Lectures

Assessment Information

One 4000 word essay

Reading and References

• Lorber, J. (2010) Gender Inequality: Feminist Theory and Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Merry, S.E. (2006). Human Rights and Gender Violence. Translating International Law into Local Justice. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press

• Bergoffen, D., Gilbert, P. R. Harvey, T. and McNeely C. L. (2011) Confronting global gender justice: women’s lives, human rights, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge

• Hester, M. (2012) Globalization, Activism and Local Contexts: Development of Policy on Domestic Violence in China and England. IN Segal, M.T., Demos, V. & Chow, E.N (Eds) Social Production and Reproduction at the Interface of Public and Private Spheres. Advances in Gender Research, Volume 16, 271–292, Bingley: Emerald.

• Stark, E. (2007) Coercive Control: How men entrap Women in Personal Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Tizro, Z. (2012) Domestic violence in Iran: women, marriage and Islam. Oxon: Routledge.