Gendered Experiences and Responses to School Violence among Female Students in Bangladesh

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Author: Tasnim Nowshin Fariha

Keywords: school violence, gender inequality, social structures, gender norms, power relations.

Journal: Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Hum.) - 71(1) - June 2026

Page Numbers: 1-28

Published At: June 2026

DOI: 10.64298/jasbhum.v71i.001

Abstract:

Drawing on a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with ten female participants recruited through a combination of snowball and purposive sampling, this paper unravels how young girls experience and respond to school related gender-based violence (SRGBV) in Bangladesh. In light of Connell’s ‘gender regime’ theory along with Humphreys’s ‘gender script’ and Crenshaw’s ‘intersectionality’ concepts, the findings reiterate how these schools function as social institutions marked by asymmetrical power relations —enacted through not only gender, but also age, economic class, and other social structures. Schools —through institutionalising its age and gender inequitable regimes —foster antagonist power relations between males and females as well as teachers and students, all contributing to gender violence. Guided by Leach’s work, the findings also uncover how girls encounter both implicit and explicit violence — manifested through overlapping physical, sexual, psychological, and verbal acts —in the hands of both male and female perpetrators. Female students’ abilities to negotiate with violence however get restrained by the gendered and institutional inequalities rooted in school and societal levels. Moreover, the social acceptance of violence, widespread impunity, victim-shaming, lack of awareness, and under-developed school mechanisms to protect children’s rights feed an enabling environment for continued perpetuation of violence in school settings. This paper enriches the academic scholarship on SRGBV, as well as, informs context-appropriate policy measures to foster a safe and gender-responsive school environment for girls.