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CSS Gender Studies Gender-Based Violence Syllabus
The Gender-Based Violence syllabus for CSS Gender Studies in full: 2 chapters and 4 topics, every one listed below, plus 50 Gender-Based Violence flashcards with answers.
Gender-Based Violence syllabus: all 2 chapters
Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.
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Concepts and Theories
2 topics- Defining Gender-Based Violence
- Theories of Violence Against Women
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Forms and Responses
2 topics- Structural and Direct Forms of Violence
- Strategies to Eliminate Violence Against Women
CSS Gender Studies Gender-Based Violence flashcards — 50 questions with answers
What is the definition of Gender-Based Violence (GBV)?
Any harmful act directed against an individual based on their gender, rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power, and harmful norms. It includes physical, sexual, psychological, and economic harm, whether in public or private life.
How does the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (1993) define violence against women?
Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, in public or private life.
What three broad spheres does the 1993 UN Declaration identify as sites of violence against women?
Violence in the family, violence within the general community, and violence perpetrated or condoned by the State.
Distinguish between 'violence against women' and 'gender-based violence' as terms.
GBV is the broader term covering violence rooted in gender norms against anyone (women, men, transgender/non-binary people), while violence against women specifically targets women and girls; in practice the terms are often used interchangeably because women are disproportionately affected.
What does the term 'femicide' (or feminicide) mean?
The intentional killing of women or girls because they are female; it is the most extreme form of gender-based violence and includes 'honour' killings, dowry deaths, and intimate-partner homicide.
Define 'intimate partner violence' (IPV).
Behaviour by a current or former partner that causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse, and controlling behaviours.
What is meant by 'honour-based violence'?
Violence (including killing, mutilation, or forced marriage) committed to defend or restore the perceived honour of a family or community, usually against women accused of bringing shame through behaviour such as choosing a marriage partner.
Define 'dowry-related violence'.
Abuse, harassment, or killing of a woman by her husband or in-laws over disputes about dowry payments, common in parts of South Asia including Pakistan.
What is 'economic violence' or economic abuse as a form of GBV?
Controlling a person's ability to acquire, use, or maintain economic resources — e.g., denying access to money, preventing employment, or seizing earnings — to create financial dependence and limit autonomy.
What does the WHO estimate as the global lifetime prevalence of physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence against women?
Approximately 1 in 3 (about 30%) of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner or non-partner violence in their lifetime.
What is 'structural violence' as theorised by Johan Galtung?
Harm built into the structure of society — through unequal institutions, laws, and distribution of resources — that prevents people from meeting basic needs, even with no identifiable perpetrator. It is indirect and often invisible.
What is 'direct violence' in Galtung's typology?
Visible, intentional physical or verbal harm with an identifiable actor and victim — e.g., beating, rape, or murder — as opposed to indirect structural violence.
What is 'cultural violence' in Galtung's framework?
Aspects of culture (religion, ideology, language, art) that legitimise and justify direct and structural violence, making them appear natural or acceptable.
How do Galtung's three forms of violence relate to one another?
They form a 'violence triangle': cultural violence legitimises direct and structural violence; structural violence creates conditions for direct violence; direct violence is the visible expression. Each reinforces the others.
What is the core claim of feminist theory regarding violence against women?
That violence against women is a product of patriarchy and unequal gender power relations, functioning as a means to maintain male dominance and female subordination, not as isolated individual pathology.
What does the 'patriarchy' theory explain about GBV?
That a social system organised around male authority and control normalises men's power over women, making violence a tool to enforce gendered hierarchies and discipline women's behaviour.
What does the 'cycle of violence' theory (Lenore Walker) describe?
A recurring three-phase pattern in abusive relationships: (1) tension-building phase, (2) acute battering/explosion incident, and (3) honeymoon/reconciliation phase, which then repeats.
What is 'learned helplessness' in the context of domestic violence?
A psychological state, described by Lenore Walker, in which a victim subjected to repeated, unpredictable abuse comes to believe escape is impossible and stops trying to leave or resist.
What does Social Learning Theory say about the causes of violence?
That violent behaviour is learned through observation, imitation, and reinforcement — e.g., children who witness domestic violence are more likely to perpetrate or accept it as adults (intergenerational transmission).
What is the 'ecological model' of violence against women?
A framework (used by WHO) explaining GBV through four interacting levels: individual, relationship, community, and societal — recognising that no single factor causes violence.
Show the other 30 Gender-Based Violence flashcards
List the four levels of the ecological model of GBV.
1. Individual (personal history/biology), 2. Relationship (family, partners, peers), 3. Community (schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods), 4. Societal (laws, norms, gender inequality).
What does Resource Theory (William Goode) propose about domestic violence?
That violence is one resource a person can use to maintain power; those who lack other resources (income, status, education) may resort to force to assert dominance within the family.
What does the 'power and control' model (Duluth Model) illustrate?
Through the 'Power and Control Wheel,' that abuse is a systematic pattern of tactics — intimidation, isolation, coercion, economic abuse, using children, male privilege — used to gain and maintain control, with physical/sexual violence as the rim.
What is intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw) and its relevance to GBV?
The idea that overlapping identities — gender, race, class, caste, disability, religion — combine to produce distinct experiences of discrimination and violence, so some women face compounded vulnerability.
Contrast the feminist and the individual/psychopathology explanations of GBV.
The psychopathology view locates the cause in an abuser's mental illness or individual deviance; the feminist view locates it in structural gender inequality and patriarchy, treating individual abuse as an expression of systemic power relations.
Give three examples of structural violence against women.
Unequal pay and economic exclusion; denial of education and property/inheritance rights; discriminatory laws and lack of political representation that institutionalise female subordination.
Give three examples of direct violence against women.
Rape and sexual assault; domestic battering/intimate partner violence; acid attacks, 'honour' killings, and female genital mutilation.
How does structural violence differ from direct violence in terms of visibility and perpetrator?
Direct violence is visible with an identifiable perpetrator and immediate harm; structural violence is invisible, built into institutions, slow-acting, and lacks a single identifiable actor.
What is 'symbolic violence' (Pierre Bourdieu)?
The imposition of dominant norms and meanings that the dominated accept as legitimate, leading women to internalise their own subordination as natural — a subtle, non-physical reinforcement of male domination.
What is sexual harassment as a form of GBV?
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, or other verbal/physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment, especially in workplaces and public spaces.
Define 'forced/child marriage' as gender-based violence.
A marriage entered without the free and full consent of one or both parties, or involving a person below 18; it denies autonomy and often leads to early pregnancy, abuse, and curtailed education.
What is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)?
The partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons; recognised internationally as a harmful traditional practice and a violation of human rights.
What is 'trafficking' as a form of gender-based violence?
The recruitment, transport, or harbouring of persons through force, fraud, or coercion for exploitation — including sexual exploitation, forced labour, or forced marriage — which disproportionately affects women and girls.
What is an acid attack and why is it considered gendered violence?
The deliberate throwing of acid on a person to disfigure, maim, or kill; it is gendered because victims are predominantly women targeted over refused marriage/sexual advances, dowry, or 'honour' disputes.
What is 'psychological/emotional violence'?
Acts such as threats, humiliation, isolation, constant criticism, intimidation, and controlling behaviour that harm a person's mental health and self-worth without physical contact.
Name the landmark international convention addressing discrimination against women adopted in 1979.
CEDAW — the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, often called the international bill of rights for women; Pakistan ratified it in 1996.
What is CEDAW General Recommendation No. 19 (1992) significant for?
It explicitly recognised gender-based violence as a form of discrimination against women that seriously inhibits their ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on an equal basis with men.
What did the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) contribute to combating GBV?
It identified 'violence against women' as one of 12 critical areas of concern and set strategic objectives for states to prevent and eliminate it through legal, social, and institutional measures.
What is the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goal target for eliminating violence against women?
SDG 5 (Gender Equality), particularly Target 5.2: eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual exploitation.
What primary-prevention strategy targets the root causes of GBV?
Transforming harmful gender norms and patriarchal attitudes through education, awareness campaigns, and engaging men and boys — preventing violence before it occurs rather than only responding after.
Distinguish primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of GBV.
Primary: stop violence before it starts (changing norms/education). Secondary: immediate response to limit harm (helplines, crisis services). Tertiary: long-term care for survivors and rehabilitation of perpetrators to prevent recurrence.
What is the role of legal reform in eliminating violence against women?
Enacting and enforcing laws that criminalise GBV, removing discriminatory provisions, ensuring access to justice, protection orders, and punishment of perpetrators, thereby deterring violence and protecting victims.
What is women's economic empowerment as a strategy against GBV?
Improving women's access to education, employment, income, credit, and property rights to reduce financial dependence on abusers and lower their vulnerability to violence.
How does engaging men and boys help eliminate violence against women?
By challenging toxic masculinity and harmful norms, modelling non-violent behaviour, and making men allies and agents of change rather than only targets of blame — e.g., the HeForShe campaign.
What support services are central to a survivor-centred response to GBV?
Shelters/safe houses, helplines, free legal aid, medical and psychosocial counselling, and one-stop crisis centres that provide integrated support while respecting survivors' choices and confidentiality.
Name two key Pakistani laws addressing gender-based violence.
The Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act 2006; the Anti-Honour Killing Laws (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act 2016; and the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act 2016 (any two).
What did Pakistan's Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021 introduce?
Special courts for speedy rape trials, anti-rape crisis cells, a national sex-offender register, protection of victim identity, and provisions for using DNA and modern evidence.
What is the significance of the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act 2016?
It established protection centres, GBV helplines, protection/residence/monitoring orders, and women protection officers, offering a civil-remedy framework against domestic violence in Punjab.
Why are awareness and education considered foundational strategies against GBV?
Because GBV is sustained by social acceptance and silence; education and awareness shift attitudes, empower victims to report, reduce stigma, and build community intolerance toward violence.
What is a 'multi-sectoral approach' to eliminating violence against women?
A coordinated strategy integrating the legal/justice, health, education, social welfare, and police sectors — plus civil society — so prevention, protection, prosecution, and provision of services work together rather than in isolation.
CSS Gender Studies Gender-Based Violence FAQ
What is in the CSS Gender Studies Gender-Based Violence syllabus?
CSS Gender Studies Gender-Based Violence is split into 2 chapters: Concepts and Theories and Forms and Responses. Together they contain 4 topics.
How many chapters are in CSS Gender Studies Gender-Based Violence?
2 chapters, containing 4 topics. The largest chapter is Concepts and Theories, with 2 topics.
Are there flashcards for CSS Gender Studies Gender-Based Violence?
Yes — a 50-card Gender-Based Violence deck, printed in full in the flashcards section of this page and available in the Examius app with spaced repetition. The free plan covers one exam of your choice, including its flashcards; Examius Pro, a one-time purchase, unlocks every other exam and deck.