In the past few decades, awareness around gender-based violence (GBV) has expanded on a global scale with increased attention in global treaties, organizations, and conferences. Previously a taboo topic, it is now viewed as a human rights violation in the broader world culture. Drawing on a quantitative analysis of 568 textbooks from 76 countries from across the world, we examine the extent to which this growing global attention to GBV has filtered down into national educational curricula. We find that textbook discussions of GBV are more prevalent in the post-1993 period and are linked to discussions of women’s rights. In addition, discussions of GBV are more common in countries with more linkages to the global women’s movement. Findings from our study underscore the influence of the women’s rights movement and the radical feminist perspective on the reframing of GBV as a human rights issue.
AhmedAziza. 2011. Feminism, power, and sex work in the context of HIV/AIDS: Consequences for women’s health. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network.
2.
Al-KhalidiNaseema. 2012. Gender images in Jordanian textbooks in the subject field of social education. In The politics of education reform in the Middle East: Self and other in textbooks and curricula, edited by AlayanS.RohdeA.DhouibS.New York: Berghahn Books.
3.
AndersenMargaret L.2014. Thinking about women: Sociological perspectives on sex and gender, 10th ed.London: Pearson Education.
4.
AppleMichael W.1992. The text and cultural politics. Educational Researcher21 (7): 4-19.
5.
BayesJaneTohidiNayereh, eds. 2001. Globalization, gender, and religion: The politics of women’s rights in Catholic and Muslim contexts. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
6.
BerkovitchNitza. 1999. From motherhood to citizenship: Women’s rights and international organizations. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
7.
BlumbergRae Lesser. 2007. Gender bias in textbooks: A hidden obstacle on the road to gender equality in education. Paris: UNESCO.
8.
BlumbergRae Lesser. 2008. The invisible obstacle to educational equality: Gender bias in textbooks. Prospects38 (3): 345-61.
9.
BromleyPatricia. 2014. Legitimacy and the contingent diffusion of world culture: Diversity and human rights in social science textbooks, divergent cross-national patterns (1970-2008). Canadian Journal of Sociology39 (1): 1-44.
10.
BromleyPatriciaMeyerJohn W.RamirezFrancisco O.2011. The worldwide spread of environmental discourse in social studies, history, and civics textbooks, 1970–2008. Comparative Education Review55 (4): 517-45.
11.
BrownmillerSusan. 1975. Against our will: Men, women, and rape. New York: Fawcett Columbine.
12.
BrugellesCaroleCromerSylvie. 2009. Promoting gender equality through textbooks: A methodological guide. Paris: UNESCO.
13.
BunchCharlotte. 1990. Women’s rights as human rights: Toward a re-vision of human rights. Human Rights Quarterly12 (4): 486-98.
14.
BussDoris E.2009. Rethinking “rape as a weapon of war.”Feminist Legal Studies17 (2): 145-63.
15.
CaputiJane. 1989. The sexual politics of murder. Gender & Society3 (4):437-56.
16.
ChenMartha Alter. 1996. Engendering world conferences: The international women’s movement and the UN. In NGOs, the UN and global governance, edited by WeissT. G.GordenkarL.Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
17.
CommeyrasMichelleAlvermannDonna E.1996. Reading about women in world history textbooks from one feminist perspective. Gender and Education8 (1): 31-48.
18.
CoppedegeMichaelGerringJohnLindbergStaffan I.SkaaningSvend-Erik. 2016. Varieties of democracy (V-Dem) codebook: Version 6.
19.
CrenshawKimberle. 1991. Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review43 (6):1241-99.
20.
De MesquitaBruce BuenoDownsGeorge W.SmithAlastairCherifFeryal Marie. 2005. Thinking inside the box: A closer look at democracy and human rights. International Studies Quarterly49 (3): 439-58.
21.
DennyKathleen E.2011. Gender in context, content, and approach: Comparing gender messages in Girl Scout and Boy Scout handbooks. Gender & Society25 (1): 27-47.
22.
FallonKathleen M.SwissLiamViternaJocelyn. 2012. Resolving the democracy paradox: Democratization and women’s legislative representation in developing nations, 1975 to 2009. American Sociological Review77 (3): 380-408.
23.
FrankDavid JohnHardingeTaraWosick-CorreaKassia. 2009. The global dimensions of rape-law reform: A cross-national study of policy outcomes. American Sociological Review74 (2): 272-90.
24.
Garcia-MorenoClaudiaHeiseLoriJansenHenrica A. F. M.EllsbergMaryWattsCharlotte. 2005. Violence against women. Science310 (5752): 1282-83.
GriffinSusan. 1971. Rape: The all-American crime. Ramparts (Magazine)10 (3): 26-35.
27.
HeiseL.EllsbergM.GottmoellerM.2002. A global overview of gender-based violence. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics78:S5-14.
28.
HughesMelanie M.PaxtonPamelaQuinsaatSharonReithNicholas. 2018. Does the global north still dominate the international women’s movement? A network analysis of women’s international nongovernmental organizations, 1978-2008. Mobilization: An International Quarterly23 (1): 1-21.
29.
HunnicuttGwen. 2009. Varieties of patriarchy and violence against women: Resurrecting “patriarchy” as a theoretical tool. Violence against Women15 (5): 553-73.
30.
InglehartRonaldNorrisPippa. 2003. Rising tide: Gender equality and cultural change around the world. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
31.
InkelesAlexSmithDavid Horton. 1974. Becoming modern: Individual change in six developing countries. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
32.
LaurenPaul Gordon. 2011. The evolution of international human rights: Visions seen. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
33.
LeachFionaDunneMáiréadSalviFrancesca. 2014. A global review of current issues and approaches in policy, programming and implementation responses to school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) for the education sector. Paris: UNESCO.
34.
LeburuGoitseonePhetlho-ThekishoNomonde. 2015. Reviewing gender-based violence against women and HIV/AIDS as intersecting issues. Social Work51 (3): 399-420.
35.
LundgrenRebeckaAminAvni. 2015. Addressing intimate partner violence and sexual violence among adolescents: Emerging evidence of effectiveness. Journal of Adolescent Health56 (1suppl): S42-50.
36.
MacKinnonCatherine A.1982. Violence against women: A perspective. Aegis33:51-57.
37.
MacKinnonCatharine A.1983. Feminism, Marxism, method, and the state: Toward feminist jurisprudence. Signs8 (4): 635-58.
38.
MaclureRichardDenovMyriam. 2009. Reconstruction versus transformation: Post-war education and the struggle for gender equity in Sierra Leone. International Journal of Educational Development29 (6): 612-20.
39.
MarshallMonty GurrGurrTed RobertJaggersKeith. 2013. Polity IV project: Dataset users’ manual. Center for Systemic Peace. http://www.systemicpeace.org/polity/polity4.htm (retrieved December 18, 2017).
40.
MatthewsNancy A.2005. Confronting rape: The feminist anti-rape movement and the state. London: Routledge.
41.
McCabeJaniceFairchildEmilyGrauerholzLizPescosolidoBernice A.TopeDaniel. 2011. Gender in twentieth-century children’s books: Patterns of disparity in titles and central characters. Gender & Society25 (2): 197-226.
42.
MertonRobert K.1949. Discrimination and the American creed. In Discrimination and national welfare: A series of addresses and discussions, edited by MacIverR. M.New York: Institute for Religious and Social Studies
43.
MeyerJohn W.BoliJohnThomasGeorge M.RamirezFrancisco O.1997. World society and the nation-state. American Journal of Sociology103 (1): 144-81.
44.
MeyerJohn W.BromleyPatriciaRamirezFrancisco O.2010. Human rights in social science textbooks: Cross-national analyses, 1970–2008. Sociology of Education83 (2): 111-34.
45.
NakagawaManaWotipkaChristine Min. 2016. The worldwide incorporation of women and women’s rights discourse in social science textbooks, 1970–2008. Comparative Education Review60 (3): 501-29.
46.
ParkesJenny, ed. 2015. Gender violence in poverty contexts: The educational challenge. London: Routledge.
47.
ParkesJennyUnterhalterElaine. 2015. Hope and history: Education engagements with poverty, inequality and gender violence. In Gender violence in poverty contexts: The educational challenge, edited by ParkesJenny. London: Routledge.
48.
ParsonsTalcott. 1991. The social system. London: Psychology Press.
49.
PierottiRachael S.2013. Increasing rejection of intimate partner violence: Evidence of global cultural diffusion. American Sociological Review78 (2): 240-65.
50.
PigozziMary Joy. 1999. Education in emergencies and for reconstruction: A developmental approach. New York: UNICEF.
51.
PoeSteven C.TateC. NealKeithLinda Camp. 1999. Repression of the human right to personal integrity revisited: A global cross-national study covering the years 1976–1993. International Studies Quarterly43 (2): 291-313.
52.
RamirezFrancisco O.2001. World society and the political incorporation of women. Kölner Zeitschrift Für Soziologie Und Sozialpsychologie41:356-74.
53.
RamirezFrancisco O.2006. From citizen to person? Rethinking education as incorporation. In The impact of comparative education research on institutional theory, vol. 7, International perspectives on education and society. Bigley, UK: Emerald Group.
54.
RamirezFrancisco O.BromleyPatriciaRussellSusan Garnett. 2009. The valorization of humanity and diversity. Multicultural Education Review1 (1): 29-54.
55.
RamirezFranciscoSuárezDavidMeyerJohn. 2007. The worldwide rise of human rights education. In CERC studies in comparative education, vol. 18, edited by BenavotA.BraslavskyC.TruongN.Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.
56.
RaudenbushStephen W.BrykAnthony S.2002. Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
57.
RidgewayCecilia L.CorrellShelley J.2004. Unpacking the gender system: A theoretical perspective on gender beliefs and social relations. Gender & Society18 (4): 510-31.
58.
RussellSusan Garnett. 2016. Global gender discourses in education: Evidence from post-genocide Rwanda. Comparative Education52 (4): 492-515.
59.
RussellSusan GarnettTiplicDijana. 2014. Rights-based education and conflict: A cross-national study of rights discourse in textbooks. Compare44 (3): 314-34.
60.
SchraderCorbin ElizabethWotipkaChristine Min. 2011. History transformed? Gender in World War II narratives in U.S. history textbooks, 1956–2007. Feminist Formations23 (3): 68-88.
61.
SnijdersTom A. B.BoskerRoel J.2011. Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
62.
SohC. Sarah. 2008. The comfort women: Sexual violence and postcolonial memory in Korea and Japan. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
63.
StromquistNelly P.1995. Romancing the state: Gender and power in education. Comparative Education Review39 (4): 423-54.
64.
SundströmAkselPaxtonPamelaWangYi-TingLindbergStaffan I.2017. Women’s political empowerment: A new global index, 1900–2012. World Development94 (suppl C): 321-35.
65.
ThompsonKaren Brown. 2002. Women’s rights are human rights. In Restructuring world politics: Transnational social movements, networks, and norms, edited by KhagramS.RikerJ. V.SikkinkK.Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
66.
TorreyMorrison. 1995. Feminist legal scholarship on rape: A maturing look at one form of violence against women essay. William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law2:35-50.
67.
UIA (Union of International Associations). 2016. Yearbook of international organizations. Munich, DE: UIA and K.G. Saur Verlag.
68.
United Nations. 1993. Declaration on the elimination of violence against women. New York: United Nations.
69.
United Nations. 2008. Secretary-General says violence against women never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable, as he launches global campaign on issue. February25. http://www.un.org/press/en/2008/sgsm11437.doc.htm.
WongSuk-Ying. 1991. The evolution of social science instruction, 1900-86: A cross-national study. Sociology of Education64 (1): 33-47.
78.
WotipkaChristine MinRamirezFrancisco O.2008. World society and human rights: An event history analysis of the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In The global diffusion of markets and democracy, edited by SimmonsB. A.DobbinF.GarrettG.Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
79.
ZimmermanJonathan. 2015. Too hot to handle: A global history of sex education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
