Panel H.08 — Sexist stereotypes and the public sphere: institutional responsibilities and educational challenges for a democratic society
Convenors Flaminia Saccà (Università Sapienza di Roma, Italy)
Keywords Gender-based violence, stereotypes and prejudices, public sphere, democracy
Gender-based violence is based on unequal relationships between genders, that are introjected by individuals from childhood through socialization, and that are reflected, legitimized, and reproduced by a culture permeated with sexist stereotypes, prejudices, and discriminations.
When these latter become part of the public and institutional discourse (political system, media, judicial field), they contribute to the construction of a public sphere that shapes the social attitudes towards gender roles and the relationships between genders and human rights, thus affecting the living conditions of millions of people that are always exposed to gender-based discriminations, gender-based violence and, in this last case, to secondary and tertiary victimization.
The consequence is a weakening of the citizen’s rights and of democracy that the educational system – schools and public institutions – is called to face by providing learning and cultural tools aimed at deconstructing the sexist stereotypes and prejudices on which male violence against women is based, in order to contribute to a more equal, respectful and democratically stronger society.
This session aims to host contributions – based both on theoretical analysis and empirical research – that reflect on the relationship between gender-discriminations and the public sphere, in particular by identifying the sexist stereotypes and prejudices that affect and reproduce gender power- relations and on the way through which they are vehiculated in the public sphere, as well as on the role of the educational system in combating and deconstructing them.
We therefore welcome abstracts that focus on:
– The role of educational institutions in the deconstruction of sexist stereotypes and prejudices;
– Sexist stereotypes and prejudices in public discourse;
– The relation between sexist stereotypes and prejudices and gender-based violence;
– Stereotypes and prejudices affecting victims of gender-based violence;
The political and educational sphere and the prevention of gender-based violence.