Abstract:
Research on the prevention of gender-based violence is undertaken in both the public health sector and education sector. Public health approaches (primary prevention) call for long-term social and cultural change, addressing the drivers of violence before it occurs. A feminist framework underpins primary prevention and violence response work, recognizing gender inequality, adherence to rigid gender stereotypes and violence supportive attitudes as key drivers of gender-based violence (Our Watch, 2015). A wealth of educational research has established the potential role schools can play in creating social change (McLeod & Yates, 2006) and public health professionals and primary prevention frameworks (Vic Health, 2007) have consistently identified school-based programs as one of the most effective strategies in the emerging primary prevention space. Recent research suggests that while young people in Australia are likely to support gender equality in the public sphere (pay gap, leadership positions; they are less likely to support equality in interpersonal relationships - such as in decision-making (Harris, Honey,Webster, Diemer, Politoff, 2015). This paper examines a growing literature related to the primary prevention of gender based violence, specifically considering research related to the role of schools in this space. It argues that there is a need for an intersectoral approach to address this urgent issue, and further proposes that insights/lessons from public health can usefully inform school-based reform. I will present a critical reading of the literature and practice that engages with young people’s perspectives, and for example, interrogate binaries between, private and public. I draw on an intersectional feminist lens, that seeks to bring together public health, education and feminist activist discourses, with a view to illuminate ways forward for working with young people to address the gendered drivers of GBV.