MCCCD Program Description

Law and Violence Against Women

Course: WST128

First Term: 2023 Fall

Lecture 3.0 Credit(s) 3.0 Period(s) 3 Load
Subject Type: Academic
Load Formula: S

Description: Covers cases and materials on systems of oppression particularly as related to women in our society. Areas covered include battering, sexual harassment, sexual assault, prostitution, and pornography as exemplified in present-day society. Designed to give students the ability to identify problems of violence against women and participate in current societal discourse on various ways to resolve them.

MCCCD Official Course Competencies
1. Describe the historical precedent of creating and maintaining systems of oppression against women. (I, II) 2. Describe the contribution of religion to violence against women. (I) 3. Describe the legal parameters within which society attempts to regulate violence against women. (II- VII) 4. Identify and define legal and societal barriers which interfere with the control of violence against women. (II-VII) 5. Present alternatives to violence against women and describe the impact of the women`s movement and civil rights movement as harbingers of change. (II) 6. Compare and contrast the institution of slavery and violence against women. (I, II) 7. Define battering and evaluate attempts to control the efficacy of legal and social reforms attempting to control it. (III) 8. Define sexual harassment and critique attempts to control it. (IV, V) 9. Explain the relationship between harassment and capitalist ownership of property. (IV) 10. Define sexual assault and evaluate attempts to control it. (IV, V) 11. Explain sexual assault and the relationship between property ownership and the emerging concept of hate crimes. (V) 12. Examine child sexual abuse and critique attempts to control it. (V) 13. Define prostitution and distinguish between decriminalization and legalization of prostitution. (VI) 14. Define pornography, distinguish it from erotica, and evaluate attempts to control it. (VII) 15. Debate the impact of the First Amendment on the pornography issue. (VII)
MCCCD Official Course Competencies must be coordinated with the content outline so that each major point in the outline serves one or more competencies. MCCCD faculty retains authority in determining the pedagogical approach, methodology, content sequencing, and assessment metrics for student work. Please see individual course syllabi for additional information, including specific course requirements.

MCCCD Official Course Outline
I. Historical Precedent A. Religious canons B. Medieval laws C. 18th and 19th century cases D. Comparison to slavery II. Positive Harbingers of Change A. 19th century women`s movement B. 20th century women`s movement C. Race/class/disability/sexual orientation D. Civil rights movement III. Battering A. Definition B. Systems supporting C. Legal developments D. Self-defense IV. Sexual Harassment A. Definition B. Capitalism/ownership C. Legal developments 1. Hostile workplace 2. Reasonable woman standard V. Sexual Assault A. Definition B. Rape 1. Property issue 2. Gender and race oppression 3. Hate crime 4. Statutory rape C. Child sexual abuse D. Legal developments VI. Prostitution A. Definition B. Systems of prostitution C. Institutionalization of prostitution 1. Legalization 2. Decriminalization D. Legal developments VII. Pornography A. Definition B. Identifying violence C. Legal developments 1. First Amendment issues 2. Civil rights issues

MCCCD Governing Board Approval Date: December 13, 2022

All information published is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, but based on the dynamic nature of the curricular process, course and program information is subject to change in order to reflect the most current information available.