Vulnerability, violence against women and university contexts

"There is a growing international evidence base documenting that universities are significant sites for violence against women and therefore important sites for prevention. In the US, bystander programmes are mandated where federal funding is required and legislation and specific duties exist for universities even if they are nonetheless problematic in their interpretation. Yet, in the UK, there is no specific mandate or legislation and many universities do not have specific policies to prevent or respond to sexual violence. Whilst law purports to tackle gender inequality it does so remedially rather than preventively. This book argues that it is prevention that is required to bring about genuine change in gender equality and achieve a social justice whereby violence against women in society is significantly diminished. The work draws on the results of the UK’s only bystander intervention, and empirical research conducted within schools. It also draws on vulnerability theory to explore whether, in its quest for actual equality as opposed to formal equality, it can be utilised as a powerful tool to call for a responsive state, which recognises, and has a mandate to address, the systemic and historical patterns of gender inequality that lead to violence against women. The interaction of prevention and law is under-theorised and this book seeks to explore how they might work together in the quest for social justice in a responsive state. Primarily concerned with UK university contexts in that the data is UK based, the study draws extensively upon US research in US universities for comparison and similitude, and has a wider international relevance."--Provided by publisher.