Professeur Alexandre Baril highlights Julie Godin as a true leader in the realm of addressing violence against women, bridging community and academic spheres. Her innovative research project delves into the sexual violence experienced by plus-size women and their relationship with their bodies post-assault. This topic is not only timely but also significantly underrepresented in French-language literature. Godin's thesis promises not just to contribute original insights to social work research but also stands as the first French-language thesis on the subject, marking a critical advancement in gender studies and fat studies.
To provide more insight into Julie's remarkable journey, we had the pleasure of asking her a few questions about her experiences at the Faculty of Social Sciences and her plans for the future.
Why did you choose to study at the University of Ottawa and the Faculty of Social Sciences?
For me, the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa is the perfect environment to pursue my reflections and work on violence against women, particularly among those with marginalized bodies. I will benefit from the UO's excellence in research and teaching, and the School of Social Work's specialization in health. The presence of the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies and the anchoring of the Feminist Anti-Violence Research Collective (FemAnVi) at the School of Social Work, a collective in which I am already involved, are also major assets in my choice of university, as their proximity will enable me to evolve in a multidisciplinary context.
Finally, one of the most important factors in my decision to pursue doctoral studies was the relationship I developed with my director Alexandre Baril, a professor at the School of Social Work. Right from the start of my time at the UO, he was supportive and genuinely committed to my success. As a specialist in gender and body studies himself, I benefit from his expertise and support in achieving my doctoral objectives. So, despite the distance between my home in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region and the University of Ottawa, all of these factors led me to want to study in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Can you tell us a little about your research?
Although it's commonly believed that it's unlikely that fat women are victims of sexual violence, based on grossophobic stereotypes of their sexuality, they report a higher rate of such violence than thinner women. They are targeted by such violence because of their weight, and the aggressions they suffer are linked to their fatness, for example with www.googrossophobic insults. The consequences of this violence affect all spheres of their lives, including their relationship with their bodies.
That's why this project aims to answer the following question: how does the sexual and grossophobic violence experienced by fat women in Quebec influence their relationship to their bodies? Through the mobilization of intersectionality, this project proposes the use of theories from fat studies, feminist studies and gender studies. It will employ two modes of data collection. Firstly, it will make visible the experience of these women and the consequences of this violence on their relationship with their bodies through 25 individual interviews with women who have experienced this violence. Secondly, participants wishing to be involved in the second phase of data collection will be invited to take part in two focus groups.
The aim of these groups will be, on the one hand, to enable them to reappropriate the knowledge generated during the interviews and, on the other, to give them a space to express themselves collectively on this issue.
In scientific terms, this project will make an original contribution to the fields of gender studies, fat studies, body studies, social work and psychology, by exploring the complex links between grossophobia and sexual violence. At the social level, this project has the potential to offer a new perspective on the experience and support of these women, by emphasizing the grossophobic dimension of certain assaults.
How important has your time at the Faculty of Social Sciences been to your achievements?
Having started my PhD program in January 2024, I'm still in the early stages of my career at the Faculty of Social Sciences. However, the attentiveness, availability and solidarity of colleagues, professors and support staff are undeniable and have enabled me to integrate in a very short time, making it easier for me to adapt to this new context of study. The fact that I can benefit from quality teaching in French is also a lever for my success and makes me proud to be able to develop knowledge and carry out work in my mother tongue.
What are your next steps?
All the steps leading up to the completion of my doctorate will enable me to pursue my reflections on the links between sexual violence and grossophobia on the relationship to women's bodies, but also on my position as a researcher and activist. Now, I'm halfway through my program, and my courses will be completed by the end of the fall 2024 semester. I'll then be able to embark on my comprehensive exam to consolidate my theoretical learning about my subject of study. In the summer of 2025, I'll be able to start developing the recruitment and data collection tools needed to present my project to the UO's Research Ethics Committee (REC) in the social sciences and humanities. This step is essential before I can begin collecting data from the women in my study population. Finally, the analysis of the data and the writing of my thesis