CULT3013 Gender, Crime and Violence Assignment 3: Professional task

Team/Individual task: Individual

Word limit: 1500 words (+/- 10%)

Weighting: 40%

Due date: 11.59pm AEST Friday 31 July 2026 (Week 11)

After you have read this information, head over to the Assignment 3 Q&A discussion board to ask any questions and see what your peers are saying about this assignment

Assignment overview

To pass this subject of study, you must achieve an aggregated grade of at least 50%. Although this assignment is not a mandatory submission, completing this assignment will give you the best chance of achieving this minimum requirement.

This submission essay will build on your Assignment 2: Case study. You will use the feedback that you have received to further research and formulate your response to this professional task.

This assignment supports Subject Learning Outcomes 2, 3 and 4.

Use of generative artificial intelligence

In this assessment task, you will not be able to meet the learning outcomes related to satisfactory demonstration of understanding of the learning materials by using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Working with another person or technology in order to gain an unfair advantage in assessment or improperly obtaining answers from a third party, including generative AI, to questions in an examination or other form of assessment may lead to sanctions under the Student Misconduct Rule (Western Sydney University, 2023). Use of generative AI tools may be detected. More information is available on the Library web page Turnitin's AI writing detector (Library Study Smart, 2023). 

If your studies have been adversely affected by circumstances beyond your control, you may request an extension using the following options.

Note: A request for a short extension must be made within two working days and a request for special consideration must be made within five working days. Supporting documentation for applications of less than three days is optional but may be requested later.

Assignment details

You will need to write a submission for one of the inquiries listed below. The inquiry topic must be the same as used in Assignment 2: Case study unless you have negotiated a change with your OLA.

As per Assignment 2, your submission must respond to at least one of the 'terms of reference' listed in the inquiry.

You will need to select one of the following inquiries to respond to:

• Parliamentary Inquiry into Sexual assault and Justice.

• Parliamentary Inquiry Domestic and Family Violence.

• Police and Judicial Responses to Gay and Transgender Hate Crime Murders (1970-2010). 

• Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children

• Abuse and Suicide in the Australian Defence Force.

An assignment briefcase has been created with information about what a parliamentary inquiry is, and contains resources to help you to commence your research about your chosen inquiry. 

Assignment briefcase

Your submission should follow the following structure:

Introduction (200 words)

The introduction should:

• begin with a short introduction about yourself and your interest in the topic (optional)

• provide an overview of the issue you will address

• identify the 'terms of reference' you will respond to

• outline the main arguments you will adopt

• identify your recommendation. 

Background (300 words)

This section must provide the appropriate context that will guide your analysis of the terms of reference. The background section should explain the broad issue and relevant social context. In this section, you must:

• define the issue

• provide statistics and explain trends

• identify the impacts of the problem.

You may choose to integrate the case study from Assignment 2: Case study. Do not just copy and paste your case study into the research section, this is not what is required here. Rather you should use an abridged version of the case study to make a strategic and analytical demonstration of an issue.

Research analysis (800 words)

This section relates to theory and evidence relevant to the inquiry/terms of reference. Your arguments should be based on responding directly to at least one of the 'terms of reference' (you can address more than one). This section should contain the relevant research and analysis that informs your position on the issues raised in the 'terms of reference'. This should include engagement with the set readings from the course, the suggested readings from the assessment folder, and your own independent research. This should not simply be a listing of research on the topic. You must present relevant research and analyse the significance of that evidence. This means you need to explain what the research means in connection to your argument about the 'term of reference' and its connection to your theoretical position on the issue.

This section should:

• respond to at least one of the 'terms of reference'

• extract research evidence from a range of sources.

Conclusion (200 words)

This section should:

• conclude your thoughts after analysing all the evidence

• provides a realistic recommendation that responds to the specific 'terms of reference' and issues that you addressed

• support your recommendation with evidence.

Reference list

Your essay needs to include a correctly formatted reference list using Harvard WesternSydU style. This reference list should incorporate all of the in-text references made throughout your essay. These in-text references should also be correctly formatted.

You are required to use a minimum of 8 academic references for this assignment. 

Note: the reference list is not included in the word count

Assignment tip

View the marking guide under 'Assignment criteria' to see a detailed breakdown of how your work will be assessed. This is an excellent place to start your preparations for this assignment.

Refer back to the marking guide frequently to make sure you are meeting the requirements.

Supporting documents 

Supporting resources

Harvard WesternSydU referencing style guide (PDF 199 KB) (Western Sydney University Library 2019).