SPECIAL ISSUE 1 June 2026
DOI DOI: 10.66434/ijspsy.v1i1si.467

From data to justice: Using social justice mathematics to confront gender-based violence in the technological era

Terungwa James Age1, Masilo France Machaba1
  1. 1 University of South Africa, South Africa

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has transformed communication and learning environments in contemporary society. While digital platforms offer opportunities for collaboration, information sharing, and access to educational resources, they have also created new spaces where gender-based violence can occur. However, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including cyber harassment, online sexual abuse, image-based violence, and digital stalking, increasingly affects learners and teachers in educational settings. These experiences undermine psychological safety, limit participation in digital learning environments, and reinforce broader patterns of gender inequality. Despite growing concern about digital violence, limited attention has been given to how mathematics education can contribute to understanding and addressing these issues. This conceptual study proposes a framework that integrates social justice mathematics education, digital citizenship, and gender-based violence theory to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence in the technological era. The framework positions digital technology environments as contexts in which gender-based violence may emerge, and social justice mathematics as a pedagogical intervention that enables learners to analyse patterns of digital inequality through quantitative inquiry. By engaging with real-world datasets related to cyber harassment and gender inequality, students can use statistical analysis, data visualisation, and critical reasoning to examine the prevalence and implications of digital violence. This study argues that mathematics classrooms can serve as spaces for critical engagement with social issues, where learners develop both mathematical competence and social awareness. Integrating social justice mathematics with digital citizenship education can promote ethical use of technology, foster critical data literacy, and empower learners to challenge injustice in digital spaces. The framework contributes to emerging scholarship on mathematics education for social justice by highlighting mathematics' transformative potential to support awareness, advocacy, and equity in the technological era.

How to Cite

Age, T. J., & Machaba, M. F. (2026). From data to justice: Using social justice mathematics to confront gender-based violence in the technological era. International Journal of Studies in Psychology, 1(1si), 40–47. https://doi.org/10.66434/ijspsy.v1i1si.467
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