Women and Gender Studies

 Prompt #8: GENDER VIOLENCE Theme – Stories we share do indeed heal and free ourselves from violence/abuse and can serve as a catalyst to inspire other women and girls to act. See the power/control wheel and cycle of violence diagram [in READER Part #1] that set the framework for this week’s readings. • C. Rath: “Transforming Communities” – where we educated and mobilized community members (from teens to police officers) to take concrete actions to promote safety and justice for women and girls [in READER Part #2] • F. Polletta: “How to tell a new story about Battering” [in READER and on ilearn] – this is long, please focus on the section that discusses ‘the stories’ – how victims use their stories to free and save their lives. • Several news articles about gender violence across nation and globe [on ilearn] Assignment: Write your story of either being a victim or knowing someone who is/has been, or if you don’t know anyone, then something you’ve seen, read, or witnessed. As you write this story, please integrate at least two of the reading examples that most resonated for you. Analyze the ways entrenched social norms continue to justify violence against women, and finally include an example of a strategy used by Transforming Communities’ project to shift the victim blaming paradigm. Include one open-ended question as part of the assignment (not written in during class)