- Definition
Gender-based violence is any harmful action, like bullying or physical abuse, that someone experiences because of their gender, often targeting girls, women, and transgender individuals. It's about trying to control or hurt someone because of who they are.
Making degrading jokes about a person's athletic ability based on their gender is a form of psychological violence.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: Gender-based violence is like someone being bullied or excluded not for what they do, but simply because of their gender.
Ask your child: In sports or online, how are people sometimes treated unfairly based on their gender?
Common mix-up: Many think this violence is only physical. It also includes emotional harm, like insults, threats, or controlling someone, when it's done to put them down because of their gender.
Examples
- Telling someone what they can or can't wear or who they can be friends with based on their gender.
- Sharing someone's private photos without their consent to humiliate them.
- Threatening or harming someone who doesn't conform to ideas of how a boy or girl 'should' act.
gender-based violence is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
