Changes in social roles of men and women may increase gender violence

When sexist men feel their power threatened in their sentimental relationships, they may use violence as a way to restore their lost power, according to a University of Granada study.

The study found that women who are afraid that their husbands will react violently against them if they do not stick to their traditional role opt for forgoing equality in exchange for security.

Many men “feel threatened by the change that their relationship with women has undergone. They are unable to understand their relationship with women in terms of equality despite the prevailing social rules”, concludes the research conducted by Prof. Mª Carmen Herrera Enríquez, from the Department of Social Psychology and Methodology of Behavioural Science of the University of Granada, coordinated by Prof. Francisca Expósito Jiménez and Miguel C. Moya Morales.

The research conducted in the University of Granada employed a psycho-social perspective based on two factors: sexism and power imbalance in marriage. Concretely, the author’s purpose was to get a more thorough perspective and so she tried to investigate to what extent men’s perception of losing power may be a cause of gender violence.
s Mª Carmen Herrera states: “it is not only the person’s behaviour what causes violence, but also the social context and its influence on men’s behaviour”

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