Gender, Sexuality, and State Violence: International Perspectives on Institutional and Intersectional Justice

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite interested academics working in the field of gender- and sexuality-based state violence to submit abstracts for this Special Issue titled “Gender, Sexuality, and State Violence: International Perspectives on Institutional and Intersectional Justice”.

In this Special Issue, we are interested in international contributions that engage with how states cause harm and suffering to individuals and groups (partly) because of their gender and sexuality. State violence in the form of harmful policies and discourses, direct forms of (institutional) brutality, or juridical harm are sources of violence inflicted on women and LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities. We approach violence broadly, including physical, psychological, sexual, and symbolic violence—among others—as forms of violence induced or perpetuated by states. We are specifically interested in intersectional analyses of gender- and sexuality-based state violence committed in relation to age, race, color, migration, (dis)ability, and class. The guest editors invite academics from institutions around the globe to submit article proposals using diverse research methods and theoretical frameworks, belonging to any disciplinary background. We invite researchers to submit an abstract of no more than 500 words (without references and bibliography). The abstract should outline the paper’s topic, methods, main theories and concepts and reference to potential empirical data. In this Special Issue, we would like to bring together international scholars. Therefore, there is no specific geographical focus. All contributions are thus welcome as long as the works have been written in English. Abstract submission closes on February 28, 2023.

The papers may be bibliographic, theoretical, or empirical-studies-focused and may draw on the following, or other, research lines:

• Newly developed feminist perspectives on of gender- and sexuality-based violence in relation to (undemocratic) states,
• Empirical studies of gender- and sexuality-based violence in different legal, policy and political contexts,
• Critical, theoretical and/or empirical analysis of the relationships between states, gender and acts of violence,
• Exploration of gendered and sexually motivated violence committed by state institutions,
• Historical and intersectional analysis of gender-based violence committed by the state in relation to age, race, color, migration, (dis)ability, etc.,
• State violence against LGBTQIA+,
• Exploring gendered and sexualized state violence in digital spheres,
• Scrutinizing how states induce or perpetuate misogyny and gender-based violence,
• Exploring policy discourses that indirectly or directly facilitate gender-based violence,
• Examining the role of the media in sustaining or challenging gendered and sexualized state violence,
• Exploring strategies of resistance (including digital practices) against gender- and sexuality- based state violence.

Feel free and encouraged to suggest subjects in relation to gender-based and sexuality-related violence by the state.

What and how to submit:

The author(s) should email their abstract proposal as a Word file to all of the three following email addresses: l.rahbari@uva.nl, kolbe@eshcc.eur.nl, c.m.roggeband@uva.nl

Submission timeline

January 2, 2023: Abstract submission opens.

February 28, 2023: Abstract submission deadline.

The editors will review all submissions and will invite potential contributions.

March 18, 2023: Notification of the decision to submit the full manuscript.

Please note that the initial acceptance of an abstract does not guarantee acceptance of the full manuscript.

September 1, 2023: The full manuscript submission deadline.

September 1, 2023 – February 1, 2024: Review process (1–2 rounds).

March 1, 2024: Provisional date of decision on manuscripts.

May 2024: Provisional date of completion of the editorial process.

Dr. Ladan Rahbari
Dr. Conny Roggeband
Dr. Kristina Kolbe
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.