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Violence against Women and Girls: Causes, Consequences and Interventions

Module description

This module provides an opportunity to reflect on the challenge of violence against women and girls. It will focus on understanding the magnitude, the causes of violence, as well as health consequences. We will also explore what can be done to prevent and respond to violence, reflecting on contemporary debates in the field. This module will primarily look at research and evidence from the ‘global south’. We’ll draw on a range of theories to understand the issue and how it can be prevented. Teaching will be a mix of lectures, a group activity over the term and individual work.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to enable you to apply your prior learnings to the real world challenge of violence against women and girls. Drawing on a range of theories, including social psychology, economics and public health this module will explore the causes of violence against women, its consequences and importantly how we can work to prevent it through structured programmes. Each week we will explore a different aspect of violence against women. The module will be a mixture of lectures, a group activity allowing you to apply your knowledge over the term, and individual reflection and work. This module will be relevant to those of you who are thinking of applying psychology outside of formal clinical practice, as the lessons and concepts applied here, are useful for thinking about social change more widely.

Through attending the weekly seminars and completing the assessments, you will further develop the following academic and professional skills:

• Audience awareness (presenting ideas effectively in multiple formats and to different audiences, persuading others of the importance and relevance of your views, responding positively and effectively to questions)
• Problem solving (developing own ideas with confidence, identifying and using appropriate sources of information, selectively collecting and collating appropriate information)
• Managing structure (identifying key demands of the task, setting clearly defined goals, conceptualising central issues within the task, developing strategies to ensure individual and group progress)
• Time management (managing time effectively individually and within a group), and
• Collaboration (respecting the views and values of others, taking initiative and leading others, supporting others in their work, maintaining group cohesiveness and purpose).

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Describe how different theories can be applied to understand the causes of violence against women
• 2. Describe the health impacts of violence against women
• 3. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of current examples of violence prevention programmes and provide theoretically informed suggestions about how these might be improved

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Acquire detailed, systematic and comprehensive knowledge within the discipline, with in-depth specialisation at the forefront of the discipline in certain areas, and demonstrate advanced critical understanding of this knowledge and of the limits and provisional nature of this knowledge
• 5. Address systematically complex problems at an advanced level which may be framed within unpredictable contexts, think critically, creatively and independently, and fully appreciate the complexities of the issues
• 6. Understand and apply essential principles in designing novel research, and critically evaluate and analyse empirical evidence, and assess the reliability of empirical evidence using a range of defined techniques at an advanced level

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Interact effectively and supportively within a learning group context
• 8. Manage your own learning using the full range of resources of the discipline and with minimum guidance
• 9. Engage effectively in debate in a professional manner and produce detailed and coherent written work
• 10. Communicate effectively to different audiences
• 11. Select and manage information, and competently undertake study tasks with minimum guidance
• 12. Manage time effectively to meet deadlines

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will be split into two broad sections. The first half will explore the scale and multiple causes of violence against women and girls. The second half will reflect on interventions to address violence against women (e.g. small groups, community mobilisation) and why they work (or do not). We will also work as a group during class time to identify and design an evidence-based intervention to address violence, and present this proposal to the class. While drawing on social psychology, the module will also bring in theories and concepts from other areas of work, including community psychology, economics and global public health.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Two assessments are required for this module. Where you have been referred/deferred in the examination you will have the opportunity to take a second examination in the August/September re-assessment period. Where you have been referred/deferred in the research proposal you will be required to resubmit the research proposal. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%; deferred marks are not capped.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Brown et al., (2023) High-Risk Contexts for Violence Against Women: Using Latent Class Analysis to Understand Structural and Contextual Drivers of Intimate Partner Violence at the National Level. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Vol. 38(1-2) 1007–1039
• Ellsberg et al., (2015) Prevention of violence against women and girls: what does the evidence say? Lancet 385: 1555–66 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(14)61703-7   
• Stubbs et al. (2023) The Effect of Intimate Partner Violence on the Physical Health and Health-Related Behaviors of Women: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Trauma, Violence & Abuse. 23(4) 1157-1172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020985541

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://ele.exeter.ac.uk/

Key words search

Violence, intervention, gender, evaluation