Domestic violence prevention through the Constructing Violence-free Masculinities programme: an experience from Peru

Abstract

This paper examines work undertaken with male perpetrators of violence in the Construction of Violence-free Masculinities, a project run by the Centro Mujer Teresa de Jesús, a Women's Centre located in a poor peri-urban district of Lima, Perú, in conjunction with Oxfam-Quebec. Centre staff faced the challenge of how to work with men who are violent towards their intimate partners. They use a community education approach, to challenge powerful stereotypes about gender roles, to question men's assumed dominance over women, and support men to construct new forms of masculinity, without violence. Ultimately, the programme seeks to modify and change the beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviours of men who are aggressors.Cet article traite de travaux entrepris avec des hommes auteurs de violences dans le cadre de Construction of Violence-free Masculinities (Construction de masculinite´s sans violence), projet mene´par le Centro Mujer Teresa de Jesús, un centre pour les femmes situe´dans un district pauvre pe´ri-urbain de Lima, au Pe´rou, en conjonction avec Oxfam-Que´bec. Le personnel du centre e´tait confronte´au de´fi de de´terminer la manie`re de travailler avec des hommes qui se montrent violents a`l'e´gard de leurs partenaires intimes. Il utilise une approche d'e´ducation communautaire afin de mettre en question les puissants ste´re´otypes relatifs aux rôles des genres, pour mettre en cause la dominance suppose´e des hommes sur les femmes, et pour aider les hommes ac onstruire de nouvelles formes de masculinite´, sans violence. En fin de compte, le programme cherche a`modifier et a`faire changer les croyances, valeurs, attitudes et comportements des hommes qui sont des agresseurs.Este artículo examina el trabajo realizado con hombres perpetradores de violencia en un distrito pobre de la periferia de Lima, Perú, en el contexto del proyecto Construccio´n de Masculinidades Libres de Violencia, dirigido conjuntamente por el Centro Mujer Teresa de Jesús y Oxfam-Quebec. El personal del Centro debio´enfrentar el reto que significa trabajar con hombres que son violentos con sus parejas íntimas. En este sentido, el Centro usa un enfoque de educacio´n comunitaria que cuestiona los arraigados estereotipos existentes acerca del rol de los ge´neros y el asimilado predominio de los hombres sobre las mujeres, a la vez que contribuye a que los hombres construyan formas de masculinidad nuevas y sin violencia. El objetivo del programa consiste en modificar y cambiar opiniones, valores, actitudes y conductas en los hombres agresores.

Cooperative Decision‐Making and Intimate Partner Violence in Peru

“…The protective nature of women's economic achievements is channeled through bargaining frameworks which theorize that women have resources to leverage in times of conflict. Yet, as women's roles increasingly diverge from conventional gender roles, achieving higher economic status may constitute a norm transgression that threatens masculinity (Mitchell ). Peruvian women whose earnings and education levels exceed those of partners are more likely to experience both moderate and severe violence.…”

“…Partly as a result, a large proportion of intimate partner violence goes unreported, leading the World Health Organization to provide a higher estimate of 69 percent of women experiencing IPV. Mitchell () notes that as Peruvian women account for a growing share of the formal labor force, “[w]omen have typically reported that their husbands object to their wives’ absences from home, and feel threatened by their wives’ new sense of self‐esteem, seeing changes in the power dynamics in the relationship.” The historical context of gendered expectations and behaviors in Peru (Chambers ), particularly during a period in which more women abandon roles as domestic caretakers (Mitchell ), makes the country an informative case for observing the impact of individual and relational characteristics on intimate partner violence.…”

“…Chambers () and Mitchell () suggest that labor force participation, education, income, and asset ownership have gender‐coded meanings that manifest relationally. Gender deviance neutralization posits that when partners deviate from traditional gender roles (e.g., male breadwinner/female caretaker), men and women tend to compensate by intensifying traditionally gendered behaviors (Weitzman ).…”

“…Thus, accounting for the social and symbolic meaning of women's higher earnings and education can be crucial in understanding socioeconomic status effects on intimate partner violence. (1999) and Mitchell (2013) suggest that labor force participation, education, income, and asset ownership have gender-coded meanings that manifest relationally. Gender deviance neutralization posits that when partners deviate from traditional gender roles (e.g., male breadwinner/female caretaker), men and women tend to compensate by intensifying traditionally gendered behaviors (Weitzman 2014).…”

Dapat, kita: Representations of the Schema of Heteronormativity and the Visibility of Abuse in Domestic Violence

“…Domestic violence represents one of the most extreme manifestations of gender inequality (Miranda & Lange, 2020), a severe violation of women's human rights (Manjoo, 2012), a public health issue (Malik, 2021;Black et al, 2011) and a major obstacle to development (Mitchell, 2013;Black et al, 2011;Alhabib et al, 2010;Ellsberg, 2001). But despite the number and frequency of domestic violence cases worldwide, most crimes against women are never reported (Miranda & Lange, 2020;Peterson & Bialo-Padin, 2012) because of the shame, guilt, and stigma that accompany victimization (Miranda & Lange, 2020;Flury et al, 2010).…”