Who Wants Gender Justice and Transformation? Efforts to Challenge Gender-Based Violence and Discrimination in Schools in Canada

This article describes early analysis from the Achieving Gender Justice in Education project, involving 20 open-ended ‘storytelling’ interviews as an approach to narrative inquiry with educators and administrators from three Canadian provinces. Participants describe various forms of gender-based violence and discrimination experienced in schools, including inappropriate touching, sexual harassment, unwillingness to enhance school safety for girls and 2SLGBTQ+ students, and blocking of such initiatives by community members. They also convey substantive efforts to fight for the rights of girls and 2SLGBTQ+ students and support boys to embody positive interpretations of masculinity. This paper analyzes the experiences and considers how the stories might inform the practical application of gender justice and transformation in schools. Gender transformation is a term used primarily in international development, building on a premise that problematically suggests that Global South societies need transformation whereas Global North societies are transformed. This research highlights that, while it is important to attend to the context of violence, the call for gender transformation should extend to all countries and societies, not only those in the Global South.