Violence against men and women alike is certainly something to be concerned about in global security and welfare, but gender-based violence (GBV) is a prevalent issue for countries all around the world. Throughout human history, women have been at a social, economic and political disadvantage as most of those spaces are dominated by men. Most gender-based violence occurs against women by men, often an extension of the varying levels of social and political power men feel they can exert over women to maintain power. In the matrix of gender-based violence, women are more vulnerable to violence by men due to the power inequalities between men and women, men being socialized to solve their problems by violence and aggression, and the submissive social roles assigned to women in many developed and developing societies.
The power inequalities that exist between men and women are at the heart of gender-based violence. The history of humankind has long been dominated by male achievements and notoriety, with men often receiving better treatment and outcomes in almost all aspects of human society (Borrell et al. 31). This extends to better-paying jobs, higher positions in business and government, and greater social status within communities. This is due to a number of factors, chiefly related to the way boys and girls are socialized. This inherent biasing of men toward higher positions of power and influence in society is known as the patriarchy – as women dominate men in all aspects of society, women are given lesser access to privileges related to employment and social factors (Borrell et al. 31). On a macrosocial scale, women and men are taught to have different expectations for their outcomes in life – men expect to be able to gain tremendous power on average compared to women, who are instilled with more modest social and economic expectations for their potential income, quality of life, and so on (Borrell et al. 32).
Continuing throughout history, this has contributed to a growing gulf in men’s and woman’s expectations for how they are meant to relate to each other, and the power that each gender faces. Men are thought to wield more political power, which allows them to adjust societal factors like demographics, economics, and more to favor them over women. As a result, women do not get the same opportunities, pay and education that men do, leaving them at a disadvantage from the start of their lives. As civilization continues along these hegemonic, patriarchal paths, this divide increases substantially as women’s disadvantages grow deeper and deeper due to the inability of the women before them to achieve gender parity with men.
The socialization of men in societies leads them to be much more likely to inflict violence against women. Throughout human history, traditional gender norms of masculinity place a heavy emphasis on aggression and violence to solve their problems, as well as their need to feel secure, in power and in control of their lives. This has a dramatic effect on health outcomes for men: hegemonic masculinity “promotes the taking of risks that are hazardous to health and contributes to premature mortality among men compared with women” (Borrell et al. 31). Any disruption or threat of their supremacy and hegemony, particularly from women (whom they are socialized to believe are inherently weaker and inferior to men) can lead men to become angry and frustrated, which is then expressed in gender-based violence.
This has a dramatic effect on health outcomes for men: hegemonic masculinity “promotes the taking of risks that are hazardous to health and contributes to premature mortality among men compared with women” (Borrell et al. 31). In impoverished societies, for example, social norms create incredible pressures for men to establish their identities as the leaders of their societies and families. If they cannot fulfill those roles for various reasons, they can grow frustrated due to their idleness, which can lead to domestic violence as they resent their partner for reflecting their own insecurities as men (Ondenko and Purdin 30). Other social issues such as alcohol abuse and food scarcity can also play into these insecurities in poor communities; male drinking culture has been socially acceptable in many societies for generations, which lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment leading to GBV (Ondenko and Purdin 30).
In addition to men being socialized to be aggressive, women have their own submissive roles socialized into them. When it comes to health, gender also plays a large part in determining an individual’s potential health outcomes, as women are not expected to live as many years in good health despite having higher life expectancies (Borrell et al. 31). While men are socialized to gain power through dominant behavior like violence, women are socialized into submission, and to acquiesce to men’s demands. Women are forced into socially acceptable positions and relationships that are nonetheless strenuous and stressful for them mentally and physically, such as secretarial work, cooking, cleaning, housekeeping, and more. These positions are not only stressful, but carry with them a substantial stigma of being “woman’s work,” and are considered much less respectable.
Women are also socialized into performing sex work due to society’s increased valuing of them primarily as sex objects for men. This is where a great deal of gender-based violence occurs; sex workers throughout the world experience a disproportionately high rate of widespread gender-based violence, including abuse, murder and other human rights violations (Deering et al. 42). As sex work is one of the few occupations women have in many impoverished or developing nations, women are especially put in danger due to the stigmatized and unprotected status of the occupation – men are more inclined to get away with committing gender-based violence as sex workers as a result (Deering et al. 44). The types of GBV committed against sex workers in particular are varied, from direct means like rape and physical beatings to medical afflictions like the spread of HIV and other STIs from men’s refusal to wear condoms (Deering et al. 45). These actions have tremendous magnitude among sex workers in developing nations, with sex workers experiencing a high burden of violence, elevating it to the level of a public health crisis (Deering et al. 53).
In addition to sex workers, however, women are assaulted in domestic relationships as well. Research indicates high rates of domestic GBV towards women in domestic partnerships, whether they are married or not, with many of these instances going unreported (Palermo, Bleck and Peterman 608). Social effects of GBV can extend outside of these instances, and be exacerbated in domestic relationships; for example, women who have been raped will find that other men will not want to be with them, or that men in existing partnerships will leave them because they do not want to be with a person who has been raped (Palermo, Bleck and Peterman 608). Because of economic factors that give women less economic power, women are often forced to stay in abusive relationships in order to maintain the financial security they enjoy while in the relationship (Palermo, Bleck and Peterman 608). This can explain low rates of reporting, as well as the normalization of GBV in many cultures – women are trained to expect some level of violence against them in many cultures, and as such will not report it because they feel there is nothing that can be done.
All of these elements contribute to a global culture that encourages and allows gender-based violence to happen. Men and women suffer from a power imbalance that inherently favors men, creating patriarchal societies in which men are empowered to exact violent means to maintain their sense of power and supremacy in their environments. These societies marginalize women in such systematic ways, from offering them fewer-paying jobs with less room for growth, to valuing them on their sex and abusing them when they commoditize it through sex work, and more. Even in domestic partnerships, men are trained to believe they are the heads of the household, and as such they have the right to keep their women ‘in line’ through domestic violence. These values and norms contribute to a culture that keeps women from being able to prevent or seek retribution for gender-based violence.
What can be done to address gender-based violence? One potential solution is to educate men and boys out of their desire to commit GBV through gender-based violence prevention initiatives (Casey 1). Through gender equity-based social action aimed at both men and women, the effects of GBV can be impressed upon these audiences and encourage a change that discourages violence from men towards women. Men must be reached out to and brought into conversations that impresses upon them the effects of gender-based violence on women, and teach them alternate ways to express themselves and deal with their emotions without resorting to such measures. Gender-equitable attitudes among men are important to instill in cultures around the world, as it would at least prevent GBV from occurring in the rates that it currently enjoys. Furthermore, breaking down other patriarchal barriers to success for women will offer women more options and agency within society as a whole, giving them greater choice and opportunities that can help them avoid GBV situations.
It must be stated that gender-parity interventions and initiatives would not only improve conditions for women in preventing gender-based violence, but it would contribute to greater outcomes for men as well. If initiatives and programs are able to teach men to stop discriminating against women for jobs, sex and political power, men can benefit from a society in which men and women are able to exercise their full abilities to contribute to society. Furthermore, GBV prevention would create more productive, positive ways for men to exercise their frustration and anger, and discourage the idea that men must be aggressive and dominant in order to justify their identities. Toxic masculinity hurts men as much as women by cultivating unhealthy, self-destructive attitudes that cause harm to both parties in various ways. Creating healthier outcomes for addressing the causes of gender-based violence is a boon for both sexes, as it creates a more equal and positive society for all.
Works Cited
Borrell, Carme, et al. "Influence of macrosocial policies on women's health and gender
inequalities in health." Epidemiologic reviews 36.1 (2014): 31-48.
Casey, Erin, et al. "Gender Transformative Approaches to Engaging Men in Gender-Based
Violence Prevention A Review and Conceptual Model." Trauma, Violence, & Abuse (2016): 1524838016650191.
Deering, Kathleen N., et al. "A systematic review of the correlates of violence against sex
workers." American journal of public health 104.5 (2014): e42-e54.
Ondenko, Roselidah, and Susan Purdin. “Understanding the Causes of Gender-Based Violence.”
FMR 19 (2015): 30.
Palermo, T., Bleck, J., & Peterman, A. (2014). “Tip of the iceberg: reporting and gender-based
violence in developing countries.” American journal of epidemiology, 179(5) (2014): 602-612.
