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Title: Unmasking Violence

Unmasking Violence

Campus Sexual and Gender-Based Violence During COVID-19

by JJ Wright (Volume editor) Emily Colpitts (Volume editor) Alexandra Zidenberg (Volume editor)
©2026 Textbook X, 228 Pages
Education

Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing social inequities and produced a ‘shadow pandemic’ of gender-based violence, including on post-secondary campuses where rates of gender-based violence are already exceptionally high. The shadow pandemic came at a time when post-secondary institutions were already facing unprecedented pressure to respond to gender-based violence—and sexual violence in particular—on campus. Drawing on insights from researchers, practitioners, and student activists from across North America and the United Kingdom, and grounded in an anti-oppressive, feminist abolitionist, intersectional feminist framework, this book reflects on the ways that the pandemic impacted gender-based violence on campus and highlights the generative methods, both conceptually and practically, that those in the field are using to respond. The insights in each chapter provide lessons from the pandemic that inform how we can reject a "return to normal" and, instead, imagine new possibilities for more just campuses and worlds moving forward.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Contents
  • Tables
  • Abbreviations
  • Introduction – Crisis Within a Crisis: The Pandemic’s Influence on Campus Gender-Based Violence (JJ Wright, Emily M. Colpitts, and Alexandra M. Zidenberg)
  • Theoretical Framework
  • Gender-Based Violence on Campus
  • Impact of COVID-19 on Gender-Based Violence
  • Terminology
  • Situating Ourselves in This Work
  • Structure of the Book
  • References
  • Part I Gender-Based Violence in the Virtual Classroom and Online Spaces
  • COVID-19 and Deepfake(ing) IT: Analyzing Post-Secondary Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Programming Development in Consideration of AI-Based Tools (V. Bragagnolo and Daniel Haslam)
  • Method
  • Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Context of COVID-19
  • Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence
  • Using AI-Based Tools in Acts of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence
  • Cyber Space: The (Virtual) Gender Hierarchy and Colonial Heteropatriarchal Ideologies
  • Findings
  • Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence Education on Ontario Post-Secondary Campuses
  • Bystander Intervention Trainings
  • Understanding SGBV Trainings
  • Responding to Disclosures Trainings
  • Discussion
  • Obscuring Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Programming
  • Moving Forward
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Online Sexual Harassment in U.K. Universities: Naming Gendered Harms (Adrija Dey and Anna Bull)
  • Understanding Online Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment
  • Online Sexual Harassment in U.K. Higher Education
  • Methods
  • Findings
  • Students’ Experiences of Online Sexual Harassment
  • Students’ Experiences of Online “Grooming” From Academic Staff
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Under the Zoom Lens: Power Dynamics, Gendered Violence, and the Need for Reform in Engineering Education (Kimberley Paradis)
  • The Shift to Virtual Learning and Its Amplification of Gendered Power Dynamics in Engineering
  • Institutional Responses (Or Lack Thereof)
  • Historical and Intersectional Perspectives on Gender Dynamics in Engineering
  • Intersectional Challenges in a Homogeneous Discipline
  • Navigating Engineering Education as a Non-Legacy Student
  • The Virtual Iron Ring Ceremony: A Symbolic Isolation
  • Student-Led Initiatives, Grassroots Organizations, and Systemic Change
  • Applying Lessons From Grassroots Engineering to Address GV in Engineering Faculties
  • Narrative-Driven Transformation in Engineering Education
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Part II Rethinking Institutional Responses and Prevention Education
  • Lessons From the Pandemic: An Intersectional Feminist Routine Activities Theory as a Lens and Practice in Campus Gender-Based Violence Prevention Education (Dee Dooley and Shahid Alvi)
  • Theoretical Framework
  • Intersectionality
  • Feminist Routine Activities Theory
  • Student Experience During COVID-19
  • Gender-Based Violence on Campus During COVID-19
  • Campus-Based Educational Responses
  • Going Forward
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • University Students’ Experiences Seeking Resources for Health, Wellness, and Gendered Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Kyle Nisbeth, Michelle L. Munro-Kramer, and Min Ji Kim)
  • Methods
  • Recruitment and Sampling
  • Procedures
  • Analysis
  • Results
  • Demographic Characteristics
  • Experiences of GV
  • Mental Health and Wellness
  • Use of Campus Resources
  • Student Voices
  • The Continuum of Care
  • Accessibility
  • Autonomy and Control
  • Safety
  • Myths Surrounding GV
  • Existential Dread
  • Discussion
  • Limitations
  • Future Directions
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Lessons Learned From Evaluating a Sexual Violence Prevention Online Course During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Brittany Thiessen and Carie Buchanan)
  • Athletic Subculture Socialization and Sexual Violence
  • Theoretical Framework
  • The Current Study
  • Measures
  • Alcohol and Sexual Consent Scale
  • Sexual Violence Questionnaire
  • Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale-Short Form (IRMA-SF)
  • Moral Disengagement Scale
  • Sexual Consent Scale—Revised (SCS-R)
  • Bystander Intentions
  • Bystander Opportunities
  • Results
  • Reflections and Lessons Learned
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Part III Reframing Gender-Based Violence: Media Discourses, Student Activism, and Imagining Campuses Free From Violence
  • “A Future We Haven’t Seen Yet”: Anti-Carceral Reimaginings of Gender-Based and Sexual Violence Prevention Work on Campus (Maddie Brockbank)
  • Key terms
  • The Carceral State
  • Anti-Carceral and Abolition
  • Disability Justice and Transformative Justice
  • Situating Myself
  • The State of GBSV Responses Pre-COVID
  • 1) Hyper-Individual, Internal, and Generalist Programming
  • 2) Reliance on Carceral Technologies
  • The Interconnectedness of GBSV and State Violence in COVID-19
  • Anti-Carceral (Re)Imaginings
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Queering Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: An Intersectional Approach to Mainstream Media Coverage During COVID-19 (Ashley Shalmoni, Lauren McLean, and V. Bragagnolo)
  • Theoretical Approach: An Intersectional Framework
  • Foundational Context and Background
  • #MeToo
  • Global Pandemic
  • Analysis: Media Coverage
  • TikTok Findings: A Mini Case Study of SGBV During the Pandemic
  • Western University and TikTok
  • The Safety of Media
  • Moving Forward
  • References
  • COVID-19 and Care: Post-Secondary’s Latest Scapegoat for Dismissing Survivors (Micah Kalisch)
  • Methodology
  • Structure of the Chapter
  • Kai’s Story and the Weaponization of COVID-19
  • GBV and COVID-19
  • COVID, Care, and Capitalism
  • Restructuring of Resource Provisions
  • Connecting to the Larger Context
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Conclusion – Lessons From COVID-19: Charting a Path Forward to End the Cycle of Gender-Based Violence on Campus (JJ Wright, Alexandra Zidenberg, and Emily M. Colpitts)
  • Key Themes and Insights
  • 1. The Intensification of Gender-Based Violence
  • 2. Intersectionality and Systemic Inequities
  • 3. Institutional Responses and Their Limitations
  • 4. The Power of Student Activism and Grassroots Organizing
  • 5. Reimagining Prevention and Response
  • Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice: Looking Forward
  • References
  • Notes on Contributors
  • Editors
  • Chapter Contributors
  • Index

Tables

Table 6.1: Characteristics of Survey and Interview Participants

Table 6.2: Experiences of Relationship Violence

Table 6.3: Participant Mental Health and Wellness

Table 6.4: Overarching Themes

Table 7.1: Group 1 Comparisons on Key Variables from Pre-Test to Post-Test

Table 7.2: Group 2 Comparisons on Key Variables from Pre-Test to Post-Test

Abbreviations

2SLGBTQ+ Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other sexual and gender diverse people

AI Artificial Intelligence

BIT Bystander Intervention Training

BITB Bringing In The Bystander

BIPOC Black, Indigenous, People of Color/Colour

CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

CBIM Coaching Boys Into Men

CJS Criminal Justice System

CV Computer Vision

DJ Disability Justice

GBV Gender-Based Violence

(GBVH) Gender-Based Violence and Harassment

GBSV Gender-Based and Sexual Violence

GV Gendered Violence

GLAAD Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

HEI Higher Education Institution

IRMA-SF Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale-Short Form

ML Machine Learning

MMIWG2S Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples

MOOC Massive Open Online Course

OAITH Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses

PAR Partner Abuse Response

PHQ-9 Patient Health Questionnaire (9-item)

PPE Personal Protective Equipment

PSI Post-Secondary Institution

RA Residence Assistant

RCMP Royal Canadian Mounted Police

SCS-R Sexual Consent Scale-Revised

SES Sexual Experiences Survey

SGBV Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

SIV Silence is Violence

SMSI Social Media Safety Index

SV Sexual Violence

TGD Trans and Gender Diverse

TFSV Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence

TJ Transformative Justice

U.K. United Kingdom

U.U.K. Universities U.K.

UN United Nations

USask University of Saskatchewan

WAGE Women and Gender Equality Canada

WHO World Health Organization

Introduction – Crisis Within a Crisis: The Pandemic’s Influence on Campus Gender-Based Violence

JJ Wright, Emily M. Colpitts, and Alexandra M. Zidenberg

While research on the prevalence of sexual violence at post-secondary institutions (PSIs) has existed for several decades (Jessup-Anger et al., 2018; Senn et al., 2014), post-secondary institutions (PSIs) across North America, the United Kingdom (U.K.), and elsewhere have recently faced unprecedented pressure to respond to sexual violence (Colpitts, 2021). Ongoing student activism, widespread media coverage, and legislative changes have compelled PSIs to develop policy responses to sexual violence and enhance their prevention initiatives, reporting mechanisms, and supports for survivors. Scholars and activists alike have unpacked the potential implications of these policies and initiatives, as well as the myriad ways in which they fall short of addressing sexual violence—and gender-based violence more broadly—on campus, particularly for marginalized students (Ahmed, 2021; Colpitts, 2021; Our Turn, 2017; Phipps, 2020; Quinlan et al., 2017; Wright et al., 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic emerged in the midst of these changes and immediately introduced an additional layer of complexity.

This edited collection examines the consequences of COVID-19 for gender-based violence (GBV) on campus and the innovative strategies and solutions mobilized by student activists, frontline workers, administrators, and other stakeholders in response to emergent challenges. The book explores the connections between different forms of systemic injustice that intersect to perpetuate GBV violence, such as racism and homophobia, and critical responses to these injustices that allow us to envision a different future, such as through notions of abolition, transformative justice, disability justice, and trauma-informed and survivor-led movements. A critical, intersectional feminist framework guides the work of the book, which is to provide insight into the current shape of the deepened problem of GBV on campus and the generative methods, both conceptually and practically, that those in the field are using to respond.

In this introduction, we explain the context of the “shadow pandemic” of GBV during COVID-19 and why it is relevant to look at this phenomenon as it relates to campus GBV. Against ahistoric representations that suggest this violence is somehow new, we outline the ways in which the pandemic has contributed to and exacerbated existing inequities in which GBV is rooted. We connect GBV to other systemic forms of violence such as settler colonialism, racism, neoliberal capitalism, ableism, homophobia, and transphobia, and insist upon an intersectional lens to understand GBV on and off campus. This approach requires a theoretical framework informed by anti-colonial, anti-racist, pro-queer, and crip scholarship and praxis, and we examine the literature shaping the book in the next section. We also situate the impacts of COVID-19 within broader discussion of efforts to address GBV on campus and begin to unpack the institutional context and what is at stake. Finally, we introduce the chapters included in this collection and highlight points of connection and divergence.

Theoretical Framework

Despite widespread concern related to the impacts of COVID-19 on gender-based violence (GBV), very little is known about how the campus climate has been impacted, and this edited collection fills this gap using an anti-oppressive, intersectional feminist framework. We are informed by research on GBV from critical race theory (Combahee River Collective, 1977; Collins & Bilge, 2020; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Donnor & Ladson-Billings, 2017), Indigenous feminisms (Deer, 2015; Million, 2013), queer and trans studies (Beres, 2022; Morgensen, 2010; Stryker, 2013; Wright & Greenberg, 2024), disability justice and transformative justice (Mingus, 2022; Piepzna-Samarasinha, 2018; Shelton, 2021), and critical feminist abolitionist approaches (Battle & Powell, 2024; Bierria et al., 2022; Davis et al., 2022). Though all these scholarly fields often use an intersectional lens to understand systemic injustice, each has a particular strength that adds to the theoretical framework for the book. Critical race theory highlights the ways that racialization stratifies the population into racial categories related to skin color and ethnicity, positioning whiteness as superior and subjecting those who are lower on the racial hierarchy to dehumanization that results in social, political, and economic disparities as well as violence against racialized people that is symbolic and literal. Indigenous feminisms demonstrate how colonialism institutes anti-Indigeneity that results in the objectification of Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit people whose rape and murders often go uninvestigated by police. Research on settler colonialism, specifically, highlights how the rigid binary gender norms characterizing cisheteronormativity were enforced by colonial rule that demonized Two Spirit or gender-diverse people and matriarchal Indigenous government in an attempt to naturalize being cisgender and heterosexual as part of a violent cisheteropatriarchal order (Morgensen, 2010). Queer and trans studies complement the aforementioned frameworks by offering “disorienting” perspectives that ask us to look queerly at the world and to reimagine the current white supremacist, cisheteronormative, ableist, neoliberal capitalist social order in ways that are more just and celebratory of diverse embodiments (Ahmed, 2006). Disability justice and transformative justice approaches go hand in hand with abolitionist feminist approaches as these frameworks challenge the notion that current social, political, and economic structures are built for community well-being. These approaches ask us to imagine more just and sustainable futurities grounded in relationality that centers community care and challenges state power.

Details

Pages
X, 228
Publication Year
2026
ISBN (PDF)
9781636673158
ISBN (ePUB)
9781636674872
ISBN (Softcover)
9781636674797
DOI
10.3726/b22868
Language
English
Publication date
2026 (July)
Keywords
Gender-based violence campus violence youth violence prevention campus safety sexual violence activism post-secondary institutions Unmasking Violence Campus Sexual and Gender-based Violence During COVID-19 Alexandra M. Zidenberg Emily M. Colpitts JJ Wright
Published
New York, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, Oxford, 2026. X, 228 pp., 1 b/w ill., 6 tables.
Product Safety
Peter Lang Group AG

Biographical notes

JJ Wright (Volume editor) Emily Colpitts (Volume editor) Alexandra Zidenberg (Volume editor)

JJ Wright, Ph.D. (she/they) is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at MacEwan University. Through community-engaged scholarship using creative and participatory methods, her research examines gender-based violence, consent, sex education, queer and trans epistemologies, queer joy, and 2SLGBTQ+ justice. Emily M. Colpitts (she/her) holds a PhD in Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies from York University and currently works at a nonprofit research organization. Her research interests include policies and practices to address gendered violence on campus, the politics of care, critical masculinities, and anti-feminist backlash. Alexandra M. Zidenberg, Ph.D. (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology at the University of Montreal. She researches forensic psychology and human sexuality topics; focusing on subjects like sexual violence, paraphilias, multiple perpetrator sexual offenses, and incels.

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Title: Unmasking Violence