By Amy Leeks

Manchester Metropolitan University’s Dr Derek Bousfield is set to join the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence Festival with a reading and discussion on the language of gaslighting. Partnering with acclaimed poet Helen Mort, the Reader in Pragmatics and Communication and Co-Director of The Manchester Centre for Research in Linguistics, will be sharing invaluable insight into his research on the relationship between poetry and the linguistics of gender-based violence.

Bousfield will delve into the linguistics of gaslighting – a form of psychological manipulation prevalent in cases of domestic violence – at the event on Monday 2nd December. Through a unique collaboration with Mort, the duo will explore how poetry can illuminate the nuances of this destructive practice, offering insights into its roots and impact.

With gender-based violence alarmingly on the rise, the event couldn’t be more timely. Bousfield, a trailblazer in pragmatics and communication, brings decades of expertise to the table. His research into impoliteness, aggression and the power dynamics of language has provided groundbreaking insights into how societal structures perpetuate control and inequality.

“Every week, two women will lose their lives to domestic violence. Every month, one man will lose his life to domestic violence,” says Bousfield, underlining the urgency of tackling the systemic issues underpinning these tragedies.

He notes the central role of language in abuse: “It is difficult to think of domestic violence in terms which wouldn’t, as its basis, have language as one of the reasons why somebody has become victim to domestic violence.” His work underscores how gaslighting – a tool for eroding trust and manipulating reality – both reflects and perpetuates gendered power imbalances.

Partnering with celebrated poet Mort, the pair will bridge the gap between the worlds of linguistics and literature. They argue that poetry, with its ability to distill complex emotions into concise, evocative expressions, is a powerful medium for understanding and combating the effects of gaslighting: “With poetry, individuals can use few words to express many emotions.”

Bousfield has extensive knowledge on the connection between pragmatics and communication with social issues, such as the ones being tackled during the Festival. His prior work on impoliteness, rudeness and aggression explored how authorities orient themselves when dealing with resistance to authority.

His work illustrates a striking correlation between gender and the power of language as a vehicle for control: “Those who identify as female don’t have access to power and influence in the same way that those who identify as male do.”

With gender-based violence becoming worryingly prominent in today’s society, the awareness of things such as gaslighting has never been more important. However, with this awareness comes the risk of it being misused against victims or “semantically bleached”, says Bousfield.

However, due to discussions and events like this festival, where attendees can actively talk about issues such as gender based violence, gaslighting is becoming easier to identify and define – especially because there is now a legal definition for the term. Bousfield hopes this should prevent further “semantic bleaching” and weaponisation of the term.

Bousfield is clear on their aims for both the event and wider research outcomes: “Helen and I are really, really keen to raise awareness of gaslighting, gain a greater understanding, greater look under the hood of how it works.”

He expressed a hope that they shall help workers in domestic abuse charities, survivors of domestic abuse, while furthering their understanding of gaslighting in the authorial positions of magistrates and police officers. 

While Bousfield has no plans to stop this work after the festival, he voiced the need for others to join the mission and is keen to encourage further work on the topic long after the end of the global campaign.

He says: “[Helen and I] are not the final word on this. We are hopefully the next word on this, but we can only defeat this with many hands making light work of a horrible and intolerable situation.”

Join Dr Derek Bousfield and Professor Helen Mort on Monday 2nd of December at 2pm. Book your tickets here.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Festival runs from 25th November to 10th December, 2024. For more information and tickets, visit mmu.ac.uk/news-and-events.