Aims and scope
Abstracting and indexing 
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Testimonials
Become a reviewer
Contact us

Aims and scope

The Journal of Gender-Based Violence (JGBV) is the first international journal based in Europe to showcase the work of scholars across disciplinary and topic boundaries, and from a range of methodologies.

The journal acknowledges both the breadth of gender-based violence (GBV) and its links to gendered inequalities. It aims to continue to document the voices and experiences of victims and survivors of GBV, to publish work regarding those who perpetrate GBV and of the varied and complex social structures, inequalities and gender norms through which GBV is produced and sustained. The journal recognises the intersection of gender with other identities and power relations, such as ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, faith, disability and economic status.

JGBV publishes high-quality papers that contribute to understanding of GBV, policy and/or activism, on sexual violence, domestic abuse, ‘honour’-based violence, prostitution, trafficking and/or reproductive violence and abuse in a wide range of intimate, familial, community and societal contexts.

The editors invite interest from scholars working across the social sciences and related fields including social policy, sociology, politics, criminology, law, social psychology, development and economics, as well as disciplines allied to medicine, health and wellbeing.

The Journal of Gender-Based Violence is published by Policy Press on behalf of the Centre for Gender and Violence Research, University of Bristol.

Abstracting and indexing

The Journal of Gender-Based Violence is abstracted and/or indexed in:

• Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
• European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS)
• Feminist Periodicals
• ProQuest Central
• ProQuest Sociology Collection
• ProQuest Social Science Premium Collection
• Scopus
• Social Care Online

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion statement outlines the ways in which we seek to ensure that equity, diversity and inclusion are integral to all aspects of our publishing, and how we might encourage and drive positive change. 

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Testimonials

"The Journal of Gender-Based Violence is a welcome addition to feminist publication venues for research and commentary in this field. With an outstanding editorial team, the journal provides a major service to academics, practitioners and policy makers through the dissemination of significant studies, as well as essays on policy and practice links and book reflections."

Claire M. Renzetti, editor for Violence Against Women: An International, Interdisciplinary Journal, and Judi Conway Patton Endowed Chair for Studies of Violence Against Women at the University of Kentucky, USA

"The multidisciplinary approach of the Journal of Gender-Based Violence provides a scholarly illumination not only of the complexity of the issue, but also a place for transforming knowledge into innovative responses."

Patrick O'Leary, Griffith University, Australia

Become a reviewer

Thinking of becoming a reviewer for JGBV? Watch this discussion about the review process, such as what may be required of you if you were to review for the journal, between Nicole Westmarland, Chair of the Board, and Emma Williamson, one of the co-editors of the journal.

Contact Ella Gibbs: jgbv-editorial@bristol.ac.uk to learn more about becoming a reviewer. 

Contact us

Editorial enquiries:

Editor-in-Chief
Marianne Hester: Marianne.Hester@bristol.ac.uk

Editorial Assistant
Ella Gibbs: jgbv-editorial@bristol.ac.uk

Open Access, subscriptions and free trials:

Policy Press: pp-journals@bristol.ac.uk

Read our instructions for authors for guidance on how to prepare your submissions. The instructions include the following: 

What are we looking for?
How to submit
Editorial review process
Ethical guidelines
Copyright and permissions
Style
Alt-text
References
English language editing service
Open Access
Self-archiving and institutional repositories
How to maximise the impact of your article
Contact us

Visit our journal author toolkit for resources and advice to support you through the publication process and beyond.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for papers which contribute to the field of gender-based violence. This might include:

• Academic articles based on research, or major reviews, which should be between 5,000 and 7,000 words long (including references) with up to five key words, classifications, and an abstract of up to 200 words. Submissions should also include a key messages section which describes the key messages of the paper in 2–3 single sentence bullet points. Submissions should be anonymised (see instructions below) for double anonymous peer review. Research articles should contribute to advances in knowledge, theory or methods. Authors should indicate if their article presents new empirical findings or is based on methodological innovation and should write in a style suitable for JGBV’s academic, NGO, activist, policy and practitioner audiences.
• Policy and practice papers should usually be between 2,000 and 4,000 words (including references) with up to five key words, classifications and an abstract of up to 200 words. Submissions should also include a key messages section which describes the key messages of the paper in 2–3 single sentence bullet points. We recommend that you discuss this with the editors prior to submission. These submissions will be reviewed by the editorial board. Policy and practice papers should contribute to the international sharing of ideas, expertise and experience between NGOs, social movement activists, policy makers and academics. Contributors are encouraged to highlight innovative policy or practice at the local, national or international level.  
• Open Space welcomes short submissions (up to 4,000 words in length, including references) for publication in the journal, and provides a space for feminist discussion, dialogue, analysis and reflections on activism, methodologies and events. We invite literary, poetic and creative forms, including interviews, personal narratives, polemics, reflections on key thinkers and ideas, and other non-standard submissions that will initiate and feed into the debate. These pieces are reviewed by members of the editorial board. Contributors should discuss the suitability of Open Space pieces with the editor in advance.

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How to submit an article

All submissions should be made online at the Journal of Gender-Based Violence Editorial Manager website: http://www.editorialmanager.com/jgbv/default.aspx, in Word or Rich Text Format (not pdf). New users should first create an account, specify their areas of interest and provide full contact details. .

Preparing your anonymised manuscript

Your initial submission must consist of the following separate files:

1. A cover page including: the article title, author name(s) and affiliations (institution affiliation and country only, no department details required), the article abstract (up to 200 words), up to five key words/short phrases and the article word count including references. A cover page template is available to download here.
2. A fully anonymised manuscript which does not include any of the information included in the cover page. It should not include any author or study names, acknowledgements, funding details or conflicts of interest that would identify the author(s). References to the author's own work should be anonymised as follows: 'Author's own, [year]'. Please note that submissions that have not been sufficiently anonymised will be returned.
3. If you have any figures and tables please upload them as separate files at the end of the manuscript. Please indicate where these should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources where appropriate. 
4. In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we are now required to ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. Guidance on how to write this is available here: Bristol University Press | Alt-text guidance for authors.

For help submitting an article via Editorial Manager, please view our online tutorial or contact the Editorial Office.

Once a submission has been conditionally accepted, you will be invited to submit a final, non-anonymised version.

Checklist: what to include in your final, accepted non-anonymised manuscript

1. A cover page including: the article title, author name(s) and affiliations (institution affiliation and country only, no department details required), the article abstract (up to 200 words), up to five key words and the word count.

The non-anonymised final version of your article should include:

1. Key messages in 2–3 single sentence bullet points
2. Funding details: list any funding including the grant numbers you have received for the research covered in your article as follows: 'This work was supported by the [Funding Agency] under Grant [number xxxx].'
3. Conflict of interest statement: please declare any possible conflicts of interest, or state 'The author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest' if there are none. Find out more about declaring conflicts of interest in the Bristol University Press/Policy Press ethical guidelines.
4. Acknowledgements: acknowledge those who have provided you with any substantial assistance or advice with collecting data, developing your ideas, editing or any other comments to develop your argument or text.
5. Figures and tables: should be included as separate files at the end of the manuscript. Please indicate where these should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources where appropriate. For advice about less common file formats please contact dave.j.worth@bristol.ac.uk.
6. In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we are now required to ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. Guidance on how to write this is available here: Bristol University Press | Alt-text guidance for authors.
7. Supplemental data: We recommend that any supplemental data are hosted in a data repository (such as figshare) for maximum exposure, and are cited as a reference in the article.

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Editorial review process

All submissions will be subject to double anonymous peer review processes (unless stated otherwise) by referees currently working in the appropriate field. The editors aim to provide quick decisions and to ensure that submission to publication takes the minimum possible time. 

Ethical guidelines

At Policy Press we are committed to upholding the highest standards of review and publication ethics in our journals. Policy Press is a member of and subscribes to the principles of the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE), and will take appropriate action in cases of possible misconduct in line with COPE guidance.

Find out more about our ethical guidelines.

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Copyright and permissions

The Journal of Gender-Based Violence is published by Policy Press on behalf of the Centre for Gender and Violence Research, University of Bristol. Articles are considered for publication on the understanding that on acceptance the entire copyright shall pass to the Centre for Gender and Violence Research. Authors will be asked to sign a copyright agreement to this effect. All authors should agree to the copyright assignment. For jointly authored articles the corresponding author may sign on behalf of co-authors provided that they have obtained the co-authors' consent for copyright assignment. When submitting online, the copyright assignment agreement is considered to be signed when the corresponding author checks the relevant box. The copyright assignment agreement can be read here.

Where copyright is not owned by the author(s), the corresponding author is responsible for obtaining the consent of the copyright holder. This includes figures, tables and excerpts. Evidence of this permission should be provided to Policy Press.

General information on rights and permissions can be found here: http://policypress.co.uk/rights-permissions

To request permission to reproduce any part of articles published in Journal of Gender-Based Violence please email Policy Press: pp-info@bristol.ac.uk. For information on what is permissible use for different versions of your article, please see our policy on self archiving and institutional repositories.

Please also read our Journals editorial policies.

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Style

• British English spelling and punctuation is preferred.
• Non-discriminatory language is mandatory. See our guidelines to sensitive language (appendix C of document).
• Explanatory notes should be kept to a minimum. If it is necessary to use them, they must be numbered consecutively in the text and listed at the end of the article. Please do not embed notes in the text.
• Please do not embed bibliographic references in the text, footnotes, live links or macros; the final submitted file should be clear of track changes and ready for print.
• Tables and charts should be separated from the text and submitted in a Word or Excel file, with their placement in the text clearly indicated by inserting: ‘Table X here’. Please provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).
• Figures, diagrams and maps should be separated from the text and, ideally, submitted in an Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) file. Figures created in Word or Excel are acceptable in those file formats. If the figures, diagrams and maps are in other formats (i.e. have been pasted into a Word file rather than created in it) please contact dave.j.worth@bristol.ac.uk for advice. Please indicate where figures should be placed in the text, by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).

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Alt-text

In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we are now required to ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. See our guidance on writing alt-text.

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References

Download the Endnote output style for Bristol University Press and Policy Press Journals.

A custom version of the Harvard system of referencing is used:

• In-text citations: give the author’s surname followed by year of publication in brackets.
• List all references in full at the end of the article and remove any references not cited in the text.
• Book and journal titles should be in italics.
• Website details should be placed at the end of the reference. Do not include dates of access to websites.
• Spell out all acronyms in first instance.

Example of book reference:
Aghtaie, N. and Gangoli, G. (2015) National and International Perspectives to Gender Based Violence. Abingdon: Routledge.

Example of journal reference:
Williamson, E. and Abrahams, H.A. (2014) 'A review of the provision of intervention programmes for female victims and survivors of domestic abuse in the UK' Journal of Women and Social Work, 29: 178–191.

Example of chapter within edited / multi-authored publication:
Hester, M. (2012) 'Globalization, Activism and Local Contexts: Development of Policy on Domestic Violence in China and England', in: M. T. Segal, E. N. Chow, and V. Demos (eds.) Social Production and Reproduction at the Interface of Public and Private Spheres, London: Emerald, pp. 273–294.

Example of website reference:
Womensaid (2016) What is domestic abuse, 15th August. https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/

Management Board

Marianne Hester, Editor-in-Chief; Chair in Gender, Violence & International Policy, University of Bristol, UK 

Nadia Aghtaie, Co-Editor; University of Bristol, UK
Lis Bates, Co-Editor; Open University, UK
Rachelle Chadwick, Co-Editor, University of Bristol, UK
Aisha K. Gill, Co-Editor, University of Bristol, UK
Jade Levell, Co-Editor, University of Bristol, UK
Sanja Milivojevic, Co-Editor, University of Bristol, UK
Jessica Roy, Co-Editor, University of Bristol, UK
William Turner, Co-Editor; University of Bristol, UK
Liz Kelly, Consulting Editor; London Metropolitan University, UK
Sylvia Walby, Consulting Editor; City, University of London, UK
Nazand Begikhani, Regional Editor - Middle East; University of Bristol, UK
Anjali Dave, Regional Editor - South Asia; Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India
Walter DeKeseredy, Regional Editor - North America; West Virginia University, USA
Molly Dragiewicz, Regional Editor - Oceania; Griffith University, Australia
Cristhie Mella, Regional Editor - Latin America; Catholic University of Temuco and La Frontera University, Chile
Marceline Naudi, Regional Editor - Europe; University of Malta
Georgina Yaa Oduro, Regional Editor - Africa; University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Evan Stark, Regional Editor - North America; Rutgers University, USA
Rosa Logar, Associate Editor - Policy Link; WAVE/GREVIO
Sarika Seshadri, Associate Editor - Practice Link, Women's Aid, UK
Jo Todd, Associate Editor - Practice link; Respect, UK
Nicole Westmarland, Chair of Board - Durham University, UK
Julia Mortimer, Publisher; Bristol University Press and Policy Press, UK 

Editorial Advisory Board

Debra Allnock, University of Bedfordshire, UK  
Loraine Bacchus, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK  
Christine Barter, University of Central Lancashire, UK  
Lois Bibbings, University of Bristol, UK
Joanne Conaghan, University of Bristol, UK
Maddy Coy, University of Florida, USA
Catherine Donovan, Durham University, UK
Viveka Enander, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden  
Maria Eriksson, Mälardalen University, Sweden  
Gene Feder, University of Bristol, UK
Rachel Fenton, University of Exeter, UK
David Gadd, The University of Manchester, UK  
Kelsey Hegarty, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Juha Holma, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland
Sara Hossain, Lawyer Supreme Court, Bangladesh
Emma Howarth, University of East London, UK
Indira Jaising, Lawyers Collective Women’s Rights Initiative, India
Barbara Kavemann, Catholic University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Nida Kirmani, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
Renate Klein, The University of Maine, USA
Nancy Lombard, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK
Katinka Lünnemann, Verwey-Jonker Institute, Netherlands
Finn Mackay, University of the West of England, UK
Ellen Malos, University of Bristol, UK
Karen Morgan, University of Bristol, UK   
Janice Ristock, University of Manitoba, Canada
Amanda Robinson, Cardiff University, UK
Renee Romkens, Atria, Netherlands
Lynnmarie Sardinha, University of Bristol, UK
Tina Skinner, University of Bath, UK
Nicky Stanley, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Eszter Szilassy, University of Bristol, UK
Bo Wagner Sørensen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Qihua Ye, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China

Vicarious trauma prevention for gender-based violence researchers 

Special issue of the Journal of Gender-Based Violence: Call for papers

Abstract submission deadline: 01 February 2024

Guest Editors: Molly Dragiewicz (Griffith University, Australia) and Bethany L. Backes (University of Central Florida, US)

Background to the call

This special issue will highlight research and strategies for researcher and student training to identify and address vicarious trauma throughout the research process. As the field of gender-based violence (GBV) research expands, so does the number of researchers and graduate students exposed to vicarious trauma. Doing research on trauma often includes learning about survivors’ experiences, which can have a cumulative effect on researchers. Vicarious trauma can result from engagement with survivors, victims’ loved ones, perpetrators, and the institutions charged with responding to violence and abuse. In addition, many GBV researchers have lived experience which may affect the experience of vicarious trauma. 

This special issue will build the knowledge base on vicarious trauma prevention to better address vicarious trauma for emerging and experienced researchers.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

• Strategies for researcher/mentor well-being
• Assessing student readiness to study gender-based violence
• Separating therapeutic and educational goals
• Setting effective boundaries for supervisors and researchers
• Understanding institutional resources and policies
• Physical and psychological safety
• Establishing vicarious trauma prevention infrastructure to support student training and researcher longevity

Information for contributors

We are seeking conceptual or empirically based articles (maximum 7,000 words) for the main section of the issue, or shorter pieces (2,000 - 4,000) for the Policy and Practice or Open Space sections. 

If you are interested in this call, please submit your abstract (250 words should) no later than 01 February 2024 via this link: https://forms.gle/a11RYfHJbcPnRZto6. If you have any questions about the call, please contact the Guest Editors Molly Dragiewicz (m.dragiewicz@griffith.edu.au) and Bethany L. Backes (Bethany.Backes@ucf.edu). 

We will inform authors by 01 April whether we would like them to submit a full paper. Full papers will be due for submission by 31 August 2024 and will undergo the journal’s standard double-anonymous peer review process.

Please see our instructions for authors for guidance on preparing your submission. 

Timeline

• 01 February 2024: Deadline for submitting abstracts to Guest Editors
• 01 April 2024: Feedback and decision on the acceptance of proposals
• 31 August 2024: Deadline for submitting full draft papers for review
• October/November 2024: Reviews returned to authors
• January/February 2025: Revised manuscripts due
• February - May 2025: Further revisions as needed
• October 2025: special issue published

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