Contact info

For Library research help, please contact Moninder Lalli, Librarian for Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies by email (moninder_lalli@sfu.ca) or Ask a librarian.

See also guide: Violence Against Women and Children

Selected encyclopedias

• Domestic violence and abuse : a reference handbook
• Encyclopedia of human rights
• Encyclopedia of interpersonal violence
• Encyclopedia of Rape and Sexual Violence [2 Volumes]
• Encyclopedia of violence, peace, & conflict
• Handbook of child sexual abuse identification, assessment, and treatment
• Handbook of Sex Trafficking: Feminist Transnational Perspectives
• Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention
• Online encyclopedia of mass violence
• Oxford handbook of gender and conflict
• Oxford handbook of women, peace and security
• Routledge Handbook of Gender and Violence
• Routledge international handbook of crime and gender studies
• Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking
• Routledge handbook of human trafficking
• Routledge handbook of the politics of the #MeToo movement
• Routledge international handbook of human trafficking : a multi-disciplinary and applied approach
• Routledge International Handbook of Violence Studies
• Women and war: a historical encyclopedia from antiquity to the present

Research process

Start Your Research Here -- This page gives you an overview of the research process, or in other words how to find materials for your essay.

Sample themes related to violence

The same set of keywords can be used to search in databases (for journal articles) and in Library Catalogue (books, articles, reports, films, etc.)

• (women OR gender) AND (state* OR countr* OR nation OR nations) AND conflict
• engender* AND (state* OR countr* OR nation OR nations)
• (women OR gender) AND nationalism
• (inter OR intra) AND "state conflict"
• "post conflict" OR "post war"
• "interpersonal violence" OR "sexual violen*" OR assault OR abuse OR batter* OR rape OR misogyn*
• violen* AND (peace OR resist* OR "#me too")

Find journal articles

How to find journal articles
Search for journal articles on your topic using the databases, below. 
Use the "Get@SFU" link to find it or to initiate an inter-library loan request.

• Women's Studies International  Major index for Women's Studies
• ProQuest Sociology Collection - for issues related to class, gender, racism, sexuality and sexism and theoretical and applied sociology, social science, and policy science. For information of immigrants, racism, society, structural barriers, etc.
• CBCA Complete -- for Canadian topics. Indexes scholarly journal articles, trade publications, dissertations, books, newspapers and magazines.
• Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text - Index to all aspects of criminal justice, including psychological
• CanLII Canadian case law and statutes (legal)
• PsycINFO: The most inclusive database for research in psychology. PsycINFO Quick Guide
• Medline with fulltext (EBSCO) - medical literature
• CINAHL Complete - nursing literature
• Global Health - health
• Canada Commons - policy papers, government reports, reports from think tanks and research institutes

Databases & strategies for GSWS 824

1. Search for articles that do: literature review, systematic review, meta-analysis, meta-synthesis, scoping review, etc. on your topic.
   Different databases will use different terms.
   1. Which discipline(s) articles would be relevant? Within those databases, check for "review" or "literature review" (and above highlighted types of terms).
   2. Check databases that review literature on different topics within a discipline (Oxford Bibliographies, Annual Reviews, Digital Dissertations).
2. Check for key authors and see what else they may have published
3. Check for key citations and then search for sources that may have cited them (Google Scholar, Web of Science)
4. When writing your paper, indicate which sources you've searched and the keywords, thesauri terms and search strategies used.  As well, indicate what was NOT searched. E.g. literature in non-English languages, literature from different parts of the world, etc.

Databases for literature reviews

Guides: Literature reviews for graduate students, What is a literature review, and how do I find one?, Systematic, scoping, and rapid reviews: An overview

• Annual Reviews - Provides literature reviews for many disciplines. From within the database, you can either search an individual reviewing journal or you can choose choose to search "all journals." 
• Oxford Bibliographies Online  Lists key books, articles, and other sources on a wide variety of subjects via annotated and curated bibliographies. An excellent starting point for locating important literature and scholarly sources on a topic. Focuses on the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Abstracts and Index  Dissertations and theses from around the world. Historic and ongoing coverage.  Current theses on your topic can provide you with both research methods and useful bibliographies.  You can preview first 24 pages.  One can frequently find Canadian dissertations by searching the internet.  If you can't find the fulltext of a thesis, make an inter-library loan request.

Databases for "citation" searches

• Google Scholar 
  • Search for your "key" article.  Check the link "cited by" right beneath the reference to that article
  • Google power searching [online course by Google] / Search tips for Google, Google Scholar, DuckDuckGo, and other search engines
  • Search results limited to words in the title of document, using "intitle:".  Use capital "OR" for synonyms. Put parentheses "()" around words that mean the same thing. 
• Web of Science 
  • Look for "Cited Reference" Search tab.
  • Enter Author Last Name, First initial and second initial and asterisk:  Spivak, GC* 
    • OR you can choose from an index of authors (just below the search box): SPIVACK G OR SPIVACK G C 

Grey literature 

• Use Library Catalogue Search to find government reports, policy papers, etc. 
• Use Canada Commons database to find reports from think tanks, research institutes, etc.
• Use the following two Google special search engines to find reports from NGOs and international governmental organizations (IGOs)
  • NGO Search - NGO Search is a Google Custom Search that searches across hundreds non-governmental organization (NGO) websites. 
  • IGO Search - International governmental organizations (IGOs) are organizations made up of more than one national government—examples include NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the WHO (World Heath Organization)
• Check out the "government documents" section of this guide for links to government sources at all levels
   

Find books in the Library

The Library Catalogue provides access to books, journal articles, videos, government documents and much more. 

Library Catalogue search guide

Search the SFU Library Catalogue, either the Basic or the Advanced search

Note:  For the searches below, the results can been limited by "Resource type" or "Subject"

Themes

• (women OR gender) AND (state* OR countr* OR nation OR nations) AND (conflict OR war)
• engender* AND (state* OR countr* OR nation OR nations)
• (women OR gender) AND nationalism
• (inter OR intra) AND "state conflict" AND (women OR gender)
• ("post conflict" OR "post war") AND (women OR gender)
• "interpersonal violence" OR "sexual violen*" OR assault OR abuse OR batter* OR rape OR misogyn*
• violen* AND (peace OR resist* OR "#me too")
• (women OR girls) AND (genocide OR war)

Interpersonal violence or resistance

• (abuse* OR assault" OR batter* OR violen* OR rape) AND (women OR wife OR girl* OR female*)
• "#MeToo"
• misogyn*
  • Results limited to "Resource type" of "Books" and selected "Subjects
• "rape culture"
  • Results limited to "Resource type" of "Books"
• feminis* AND (rage OR anger OR violen* OR harrass* OR bully* OR racis*) AND (ads OR advertis*)
• (Child* OR adolescen* OR youth OR teen* OR girl* OR boy*) AND (abuse OR incest* OR rape OR assult*)

Combine different concepts using AND
Combine same concepts using OR
Use quotation marks to search for a phrase
Use brackets for synonyms
Use asterisk (*) for different endings of words

Use pulldown menu and select, "Source Types" as "Books"

Note:  For Catalogue Search, when combining concepts, use CAPITAL letters ( "OR", "AND")

Selected books

Themes

• A blueprint for Canada's national action plan on violence against women and girls
• Attitudes Related to Gender-Based Violence and #MeToo in Canada
• Beijing + 25, the fifth review of the implementation of the Beijing platform for action in the EU Member States: area D, Violence against women : response and eradication
• Beyond Rosie : a documentary history of women and World War II [print]
• Bonobo sisterhood : revolution through female alliance
• Building a National Narrative : A Select Review of Domestic Violence Policies, Legislation, and Services Across Canada
• Campus rape culture : identity and myths
• Critical aspects of gender in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and social movements
• Cyberbullying : dealing with online meanness, cruelty and threats
• Defying victimhood women and post-conflict peacebuilding [print]
• Digital Feminist Activism: Girls and Women Fight Back Against Rape Culture
• Disrupting rape culture : public space, sexuality and revolt
• Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny [print]
• Every 90 seconds : our common cause ending violence against women
• Gender imperative : human security vs state security
• Gendered perspectives on conflict and violence Part A [print]
• Gendered perspectives on conflict and violence Part B [print]
• Global perspectives on violence against women and girls
• International law and violence against women : Europe and the Istanbul Convention
• International sex trafficking of women & children : understanding the global epidemic [print]
• Keetsahnak : our missing and murdered Indigenous sisters
• Making gender, making war : violence, military and peacekeeping practices [print]
• Making Sense of a Global Pandemic: Relationship Violence & Working Together Towards a Violence Free Society (2020) [OPEN ACCESS]
• Me Too, feminist theory, and surviving sexual violence in the academy
• #MeToo Movement
• #MeToo, Weinstein and feminism
• #MeToo Movement in Iran : Reporting Sexual Violence and Harassment 
• Missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada [film]
• Preventing sexual violence : interdisciplinary approaches to overcoming a rape culture
• Rape culture on campus
• Rape loot pillage : the political economy of sexual violence in armed conflict [print]
• Rethinking Transitional Gender Justice Transformative Approaches in Post-Conflict Settings
• Security Disarmed : Critical Perspectives on Gender, Race, and Militarization
• Sexual assault in Canada : law, legal practice, and women's activism
• Sexual harassment online : shaming and silencing women in the digital age
• Sexual Violence at Canadian Universities : Activism, Institutional Responses, and Strategies for Change   [print]
• Sexual violence on campus : power-conscious approaches to awareness, prevention, and response
• States of conflict : gender, violence and resistance [print]
• Tackling sexual violence at universities : an international perspective
• Violence Against Indigenous Women : Literature, Activism, Resistance [print]
• Violence interrupted : confronting sexual violence on university campuses
• Voices of #MeToo : from grassroots activism to a viral roar / Carly Gieseler [print]
• What even is gender?
• Women and gendered violence in Canada : an intersectional approach
• Women and genocide : survivors, victims, perpetrators
• Women and war: gender identity and activism in times of conflict [print]
• Women and war in the Middle East : transnational perspectives [print]
• Women, war, and violence : topography, resistance, and hope [print] [e-book on order]
• Women and Genocide Gendered Experiences of Violence, Survival, and Resistance [print]

Women (interpersonal)

• Impact of Trauma on Adult Sexual Assault Victims
• It’s Time : Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence
• Just sex? : the cultural scaffolding of rape
• Macho Paradox : Why Some Men Hurt Women and and How All Men Can Help
• Social dynamics of family violence
• Social Work and LGBTQ Sexual Trauma Casebook : Phenomenological Perspectives
• Surviving Abuse and Building Resilience : A Study of Canada's Systems of Shelters and Transition Houses Serving Women and Children Affected by Violence
• Surviving domestic abuse : formal and informal supports and services
• Understanding the Sexual Betrayal of Boys and Men: The Trauma of Sexual Abuse
• We believe you : survivors of campus sexual assault speak out [print]

Children

• Bullying scars : the impact on adult life and relationships
• Cyberbullying bullying in the digital age
• Cyberbullying : empowering children and youth to be safe online and responsible digital citizens
• From marginalized to magnified : youth homelessness solutions from those with lived expertise
• Helping children learn about domestic abuse and coercive control : a professional guide
• Invisible chains : Canada's underground world of human trafficking [print]
• Moving Forward in the Fight Against Human Trafficking in Canada
• Paedophiles in society : reflecting on sexuality, abuse and hope
• Parents killing children : crossing the invisible line
• Practical Approaches to Bullying
• Rape of childhood : developmental, clinical, and sociocultural aspects of childhood sexual abuse
• Tell me what happened : questioning children about abuse
• Too many victims : sexualized violence in the lives of children and youth in care : an aggregate review
• Understanding and Treating Military Sexual Trauma

Subject headings

Use "Browse by subject" to find books by topic (use the pull-down menu and change "title" to "subject"). Also try searching for "Subject heading" -- [country or region]

• Abused Wives
• Abused Women
• Acquaintance rape
• Bullying
• Child prostitution
• Child slavery
• Child sexual abuse
• Children and violence
• Children -- Violence against
• Cyberbullying
• Date rape
• Domestic violence
• Family violence 
• Girls -- Crimes against
• Homeless youth
• Human trafficking
• Human Trafficking -- International Law
• Indian women -- Violence against -- Canada -- Prevention
• Indigenous women -- Abuse of
• Indigenous women -- Crimes against -- Canada
• Intimate partner violence
• Marital violence
• Rape
• Rape -- Prevention
• Rape -- Psychological aspects
• Rape as a weapon of war
• Rape in mass media
• Rape in universities and colleges
• Rape trauma syndrome
• Rape victims
• Sex crimes
• Sex crimes -- Canada
• Sex crimes -- Prevention
• Sexism
• Sexism -- [name of country]
• Sexism in language
• Sexual harrassment
• Sexism in Language
• Spouse abuse
• Spousal abuse
• Teenage girls -- Violence against
• Victims of family violence
• Violence in video games
• Wife abuse -- British Columbia
• Women -- Crimes against
• Women -- Violence against
• Women's shelters
• Women and peace
• Women and the military
• Young women -- Violence against

Government documents

Canada

• Government of Canada.  House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO)
  • Violence against young women and girls in Canada
• Statistics Canada Online Catalogue of Products and Services
  • Family violence in Canada
  • Measuring violence against women: statistical trends

United States

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Violence Prevention
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Violence Against Women

United Nations

• UN Women. 
  • Digital Library
  • Ending Violence Against Women
  • Global Knowledge Platform to End Violence against Women
  • Report: In-depth study on all forms of violence against women
  • UN Women Watch
    • Task  forces
      • Violence Against Women
      • Women, peace and security
      • Tools and indicators for gender impact analysis and monitoring and evaluation.
  • Links
• World Health Organization 
  • Global and regional estimates of violence against women
  • Violence against women

Websites

• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
  • The Gap in the Gender Gap: Violence Against Women in Canada
• Canadian Women’s Foundation (http://www.canadianwomen.org/facts-about-violence)
  • Facts about violence against women
• Canadian Women's Health Network
  • Domestic violence in Canada
  • Get Help: Canadian Network of Women’s Shelters & Transition Houses
• Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence
• FREDA Centre for Violence Against Women
• Maquila Solidarity Network - solidarity with grassroots groups in Mexico, Central America, and Asia
  • Our Voices, Our Safety: Bangladeshi Garment Workers Speak Out
• National Association of Women and the Law
  • Publications on Violence
• National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence (HRC)
• National Organization for Women- the largest feminist activist organization in the United States
  • Global Feminism
• National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
• Network to Eliminate Violence in Relationships (NEVR)
  • Gurm, B., Salgado, G., Marchbank, J., & Early, S. D. (2020). Making Sense of a Global Pandemic: Relationship Violence & Working Together Towards a Violence Free Society. Kwantlen Polytechnic University: Surrey, BC. Ebook ISBN 978-1-989864-14-2 or Print ISBN 978-1-989864-13-5. https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/nevr/
  • Domestic Violence and Screening
    • Future Without Violence
    • Positive and supportive relationships tips and strategies 
    • Responding to Gender Based Violence: The Role of the Medical System
• University of Western Ontario. Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children (CREVAWC)

Library guides

• Findind and evaluating resources on the web
• Avoiding plagiarism
• What is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal?
• How to write an annotated bibliography
• Literature reviews for graduate students
• More Tutorials (interactive)
• Citation or reference management tools collect your journal article, book, or other document citations together in one place, and help you create properly formatted bibliographies in almost any style — in seconds.
• For help with writing essays, visit the Student Learning Commons resources on Writing for university.
• Guides for Labour Studies,  Political Science

Presentation skills

See the Student Learning Commons for expert and friendly help with academic writing, learning, and study strategies.

• Resources on developing your participation skills
• Resources to help you improve your presentation skills

Writing help

Undergraduate students

• Student Learning Commons
  • Writing for University
  • Book an appointment

Graduate students

• Writing services offered by the Research Commons: 
  • To submit a Read Ahead request
  • To submit a consultation request for writing or presentations.
• Books
  • Writing the literature review : a practical guide