I like the statement, but know of no research. I would expand gender beyond two

I would suggest you read the report of Jo Lovett & Liz Kelly

2009, Different systems, similar outcomes? Tracking attrition in reported rape cases

across Europe.

You will see that Sweden has one of the highest reporting rates of violence against women.

Here is the link

http://kunskapsbanken.nck.uu.se/nckkb/nck/publik/fil/visa/197/different_systems_03_web(2).pdf

Thank you, I'm sure I will read the report.

Hi,

I've worked (and still do) on the topic of gender equality and violence - not only against women. You can check these articles for ideas and references. The first one is open source and is a short version of the second one.

Norms on Gender Equality and Violent Conflict, e-International relations, http://www.e-ir.info/2013/06/10/norms-on-gender-equality-and-violent-conflict/ 2013.

Ekvall, Åsa. Gender Equality, Attitudes to Gender Equality, and Conflict, in Marcia Texler Segal, Vasilikie Demos (ed.) Gendered Perspectives on Conflict and Violence (Advances in Gender Research, Volume 18a), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.273-295. 2013.

Also, being from Sweden originally, I just want to point out that Sweden has the highest level of REPORTED violence against women, given that the culture has taken away a large part of the shame around it and it is very likely that someone victim of violence will report it.

Thanks Asa.

In Poland, officially, is recorded only about 8% of this type of crime. It means that 90% is "dark number", the data available after victimisation tests. It is not known how many men and women are rape victims in Poland. It is known, however, how many people dared to submit a request for prosecution.

Hi Marta, I believe you will find that there are a lot of studies supporting this idea. Well, on the one hand, greater equality may lead to greater divorces and certain types of marital conflict, I believe the inverse relationship between gender equality and violence against women (but not necessarily all forms of intimate partner violence, because some is against men or women against women) holds up. You can reproduce a search I did on Google Scholar:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22violence+against+women%22+%22gender+equality%22&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C22

Or if that link doesn't work, Go to:

scholar.google.com

and enter:

"violence against women" "gender inequality"

You can try more variations of, for example, "gender equality," "intimate partner violence," etc. to find more studies.

Bob

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22violence+against+women%22+%22gender+equality%22&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C22

Hi Bob,

Thank you for posting, it makes me realized that I asked the question inaccurately.

Of course I know the scholar.google and I can search .. I was concerned more about your recommendations (regarding specific reports, articles), experience.

A very interesting question, for me the question is very tied up with the issue of heteropatriarchy. I am also interested in the response by Vania, more reporting does not necessarily mean more violence. It could mean less tolerance for violence and more capacity to report.

Sweden , in contrast to Norway (sad), has had intense focus on violence and hate crimes on basis of sex and/or gender. There is hardly more such violence in Sweden, but much keener eyes to detect the violence there is. Hence one can hope that Sweden by and by can demonstrate lower numbers that are true.

Martha, take into consideration the backlash theory. I found -in Mexico- a relationship with certain types of partner violence. (the book is Gender, the State and Patriarchy: Partner Violence in Mexico). You can check it here http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/3878

Good luck!

Just want to add a comment to Daniela's answer, a great deal does depend on how you consider gender equality. You need to consider whether you are interested in difference in gender = biological sex or if you are interested in gender in the context of social constructions about the rights, responsibilities, possibilities, etc of biological bodies in specific contexts of time and places. Example, research shows that among the battered are well-educated, high-earning women. Their socio-economic status provides these women with the opportunity and wherewithal to exit the relationship but does not impact the social constructions underpinning men's perceptions of their 'rights' to batter them!

Of course I am interested in gender in socio-cultural contexts. For me gender is not a bioligical sex.

Thanks You all for your answers :)

Marta, gender equality has been an issue for years and yes up until women represent in areas then maybe domestic violence will cease to exist. I am doing a project on issue of domestic violence and would love to hear views. Should there be a legislation (human rights ) on domestic violence?

I also agree with those who say it depends on how 'gender equality' is viewed. When gender equality is conceptualized as economic freedom to women as is the case with most micro-credit schemes has both positives and negative dimensions. Some studies I once read indicate that in the case of married couples when access to credit by the wife is the strategy used to gain gender equality the husband tends to be more 'abusive' to restore his patriarchal authority as the head of the household. Not necessarily in terms of physical abuse but he slowly withdraws from providing for the household.

There should certainly be laws against violence, when- and where ever the violence take place.

I will also point out that genders outside the binary have been victims of violation for years, not least gentle violence in the shape of silence and omission. Gender struggle is more that violence on women, it is also violence against other genders, a violence that is far more politically correct than what women are subject to. I do believe, but can certainly not prove, that the qualification of all genders, the qualification of all gender diversity free of degradation, free of pathologization, will reduce the total amount of violence on the globe.

The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation in Victoria Australia published a framework for understanding violence against women and highlighted the role of gender inequality, conservative gender stereotypes and tolerance for violence as factors that contribute to VAW. You can access this here: http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/~/media/ProgramsandProjects/DiscriminationandViolence/PreventingViolence/framework%20web.ashx

I like to include a stronger emphasis and analysis of gender and gender inequality in my work around VAW but it is a very useful framework. Interestingly, many local governments in Victoria are working in the area of preventing violence against women and employing the concept of gender equity.

Martha, maybe this answer comes too late. Results from an extensive and the most comprehensive literature review on partner abuse worldwide at this moment show broad measurements of gender inequality level IS NOT predictive of female or male IPV victimisation when data is collected from general or community samples. However data from dating samples did indicate level of gender inequality is predictive of BOTH male AND female IPV perpetration. For more detail your can download this research paper from my RG page. The article is called: Partner Abuse Worldwide by Esquivel-Santoveña, Lambert & Hamel, 2013.

Hope this helps

This is a very interesting discussion but i would like to take it one step further. As Esben and others have hinted violence is not only male/female. The incidence of violence in same sex relationships as well as female-male violence remain under researched.

Polish law use the term "domestic violence" to describe a situation that can affect any person in a close relationship.

Let me once more underscore a kind of violence, not so easily detected, this certainly not contrary-, but in addition to other more explicit kinds of violence, the gentle violence when people of difference are pathologized, when therapists leave the subjects that their clients need to address because the therapists themselves feel insecure, when people ask partners of for instance transgifted people how it is possible for them to live with such an individual, when language does not supply members og sociaty with words apt to describe them, words like pronouns for instance.

By making culture less primitive when confronted with the many complexities of nature, an increasing number of people, I think, will have space and generosity enough to find violence inappropriate.

In the United States, violent crime has been going down for decades--with the exception of domestic violence, aggravated assault, etc. Although some studies do indicate that women in abject relationships with their male partner are more likely to suffer violent attacks, there is also plenty of evidence to show that more affluent women also suffer from similar assaults. Right now, one of the fastest growing problems is the domestic abuse of teen girls by their boyfriends. Despite growing gender "equality" and 'equity" (if we are taking pay, however, that "equity" is not as equal as some may think), women suffer from rising levels of violence on all fronts. in 1991, Susan Faludi's study and publication of the "Backlash" text broke new ground on the point of the male backlash against women. The gains made through the 1970s and especially the 1980s coupled with the huge changes in the economic structures of the United States put more women into direct competition with men in the workplace. As Molefe pointed out (although in a slightly different context), the economic factors at play in a relationship can lead to abuse of different kinds. A major topic of behavioral science study over the years has been whether the husband or wife earns more money; financial issues still either create hostile climates in marriage or break up more relationships than nearly any other issue.

A great part of the conservative agenda is the forcing of women back into their submissive roles. Ever since my generation first began to push open the university and corporate doors, the media has blamed us for the downfall of the American family, the destruction of the "American family values" and a host of other ills. Global capitalism with its downsizing in favor of cheap labor anywhere in the world but here at home (USA) has created year after year of employment crises throughout the manufacturing domain; it has cost top employees their jobs and contributed to the Recession of 2008 (I don't think it has ended yet). The ethos of the U.S. male has always revolved around his job--to be the breadwinner of the family. "What does your husband do?" has been the standard question among women for decades. Now, however,the question might be, "What does your wife do?" - not always a comfortable question for men to answer. The male loss of that economic stability (prior to the 1980s) creates frustration and anger--most often directed against his family. We have seen the so-called "family annihilators" who lose a job, go home kill the wife and children, often go to work and kill people there--before they shoot themselves. Forty years ago, that term was hardly in the vocabulary and those murderous rampages were rare. It seems as though a large number of men feel threatened by the changes in gender roles, the economic changes underway since the 1970s, and the other related changes in gender as Esben has pointed out.

Heterosexual teen girls, gay teens, transgendered teens--suicide rates are climbing, most of those deaths due to bullying and full-scale physical violence against these children. Even advertising has grown more violent in its depiction of women. Jean Kilbrough's "Killing Us Softly" depicts these images and discuses them quite clearly. I have attached a research report that presents an update to Faludi's work and discusses the growing problems of violence against women.

Aysha Bey

University of Alabama at Birmingham

http://socwork.net/sws/article/view/64/366

Dear Aysha, your passion is admirable and it is this passion that no doubt has been responsible for the support that shelter victims have received. I understand the concern that the recent attacks on issues such as women's health have made it clear that gains achieved in the late 20th century are not as stable as young adults perceive them to be. However, where there are statements that might feel true based on lived experience they are not supported by research studies. I've provided some cites for the many of the observations I've noted below.

IPV rates have declined in the US, while lower, it is at a rate comparable with crime in general (including assaults). Among college students females engage in more IPV than males.

Regarding "Backlash" this isn't coming solely from men. There are many women whose experiences are not consistent with those in shelters or murdered/attempted murder, particularly women who either experience only psychological IPV or mild-moderate physical IPV I have spoken with some and they feel that the traditional IPV advocates are overlooking their needs in order to provide support to shelter victims. To ignore these women's experiences is counter to the origins of feminist research. Because traditional IPV advocates are feminist's doesn't mean that all of their positions reflect feminist research principals.

Unfortunately, the evidence continues to mount against the traditional IPV model that "power and control" causes IPV among those who have been arrested for IPV or in the community. In fact, comparing outcomes for individuals who are arrested with no treatment and those who are arrested and receive treatment -- they have essentially the same outcomes. Instead of blaming this on men's resistance to treatment, substance abuse offenders had similar problems yet a treatment model was developed that gets results (Motivational Enhancement Interviewing). My concern is that unless traditional IPV advocates are willing to explore a more nuanced model and target funding for victims in their niche (shelters, hospital emergency room, protection orders) they are going to loose the VAWA funding as well as community funding becuase they blamed "blacklash" and tried to convince people to ignore research findings after 1995 instead of adapting their theory to accommodate the research in the past 15-20 years.

I began my Ph.D. program (recently) with similar views and it sounds like i grew up in the same timeframe as yourself. But as a researcher, I need to follow the data and explore the disconnect between the data and personal experiences/traditional IPV theory. Perhaps as researchers we have to become comfortable with holding paradox while following a theoretical position while continuously scanning the research for shifts.

Warmly, Kathy

Cho, H., & Wilke, D. (2005). How has the violence against women act affected the response of the criminal justice system to domestic violence. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 32(4), 125-140.

Catalano, S. (2007). Intimate Partner Violence in the United States. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from http://library.softgenx.com/Children/DV/ipv%201993-2004.pdf

Straus, M. A. (2008). Dominance and symmetry in partner violence by male and female university students in 32 nations. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 252–275, doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2007.10.004.

Langhinrichsen- Rohling, J., McCullars, A., & Misra, T. (2012). #10 Motivations for men and women’s intimate partner violence perpetration: A comprehensive review. Partner Abuse, 3(2), 1-33.

Stover, C. S., Meadows, A. L., & Kaufman, J. (2009). Interventions for intimate partner violence: Review and implications for evidence-based practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40(3), 223-233. 10.1037/a0012718

Stith, S. M., Smith, D. B., Penn, C. E., Ward, D. B., & Tritt, D. (2004). Intimate partner physical abuse perpetration and victimization risk factors: A meta-analytic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10(1), 65-98. 10.1016/j.avb.2003.09.001

Bohan, J. (2002). Sex differences and/in the self: classic themes and feminist variations, postmodern challenges. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 74-88.

Weisstein, N. (1993). Psychology constructs the female, or the fantasy life of the male psychologist (with some attention to the fantasies of his friends, the male biologist and the male anthropologist. Feminism & Psychology, 3:2, 195-210.

Dear Kathy ,

I have no problems with dealing with needed changes that respond to the more nuanced cases that arise these days. It is absolutely true that the emphasis is upon the more severe violence and not upon those suffering other less physically violent attacks. My feelings on these matters keep me away from working closely with battered women in shelters because I have been a victim of attempted murder--I'm standing by the grace of God and one hell of a surgeon. But it took more than 15 years for the PTSD to settle down that I did not startle nearly to heart attack levels at the slightest shadow behind me. And I do question the efficacy of protection orders simply because a violent person isn't the most likely to be a law-abiding, respectful person in the first place. It is good to have one so that law enforcement can take action, if needed. We had no shelters, no laws against stalking, no domestic violence laws to protect the victim of either gender. There was simply nothing on the books to protect anyone in a domestic situation. It was a private matter between husband and wife, not even parents could legally intervene.

Since then I've dealt with women in some horrendous situations--nothing nuanced whatsoever. Deadly violence with repeated vicious assaults and a woman with children and little help available to get her safe and back on her feet without the overwhelming sense of impending doom. I still hear, "Well, why don't they just leave?" And the answers are never easy--from learned helplessness to the nearly inevitable--he isn't like this all the time--only when he........ A close friend of my family and one of my daughter's best friends was badly beaten just a few months ago by her boyfriend while her three-year old son tried to beat him and get him off his mother.

I watched my daughter live through psychological and social abuse until she finally came to her senses and said "no more" and left.

I don't doubt there are growing shifts in all realms of personal violence that a researcher must follow and study. But it is immensely difficult for the victim and a witness to so many other attacks to step back and grow theoretical. It is this personal experience that has made me withdraw from so much involvement with intimate violence on any scale with any person. I would like to see more effort by the mental health community (psychiatrists, psychologists, and others) to deal effectively with those threatening suicide, homicide, and other forms of violence. Unfortunately, what I see is reactive, not pro-active or preventive.

Aysha

Hello! may be this article could help you "Sexism relations with justification of violence and with other forms of prejudice such as social dominance and authoritarianism" In the study we can see that at least in adolescence sexism and justification of violence are positively correlated. (doi: 10.1174/021093913806751384).

There are some bibliographical references about domestic violence and gender inequality in my "Introduction: Violence against Women in Latin America" 2014. Latin American Perspectives. There is also a literature that holds that domestic violence is greater among the poor (though not absent in the middle-class) because of men's inability to reach the ideal of household breadwinner.