Gender-Specific Jealousy and Infidelity Norms as Sources of Sexual Health Risk and Violence Among Young Coupled Nicaraguans

Abstract

Gender inequity negatively affects health in Central America. In 2011, we conducted 60 semistructured interviews and 12 photovoice focus groups with young coupled men and women in León, Nicaragua, to explore the ways in which social norms around marriage and gender affect sexual health and gender-based violence. Participants' depictions of their experiences revealed gendered norms around infidelity that provided a narrative to justify male expressions of jealousy, which included limiting partner autonomy, sexual coercion, and physical violence against women, and resulted in increased women's risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. By understanding and taking account of these different narratives and normalized beliefs in developing health- and gender-based violence interventions, such programs might be more effective in promoting gender-equitable attitudes and behaviors among young men and women in Nicaragua.

Influence of the history of abuse and suicidal attempts behavior among women victims of violence in Nicaragua

“…This problem is very widespread in Latin America (Hillis et al, ; Kohrt et al, ; Wirtz et al, ; Yakubovich et al, ), and could be explained by various approaches and theories (Bandura, ; Banyard et al, ; Bifulco et al, ; Campbell & Lewandowski, ; Doumas et al, ; Fonseka, Minnis, & Gomez, ; Fritz et al, ; Wirtz et al, ). Some authors argue that the diversity of prevalences could be associated with cultural and economic factors (García‐Moreno et al, ), which means that the normalization of violence in family dynamics (Tinoco et al, ) could have led to violence against women and girls becoming very widespread in Nicaragua (Bott et al, ; Boyce et al, ; DÁngelo & Molina, ; Kohrt et al, ). Furthermore, violence against women and children takes place against the backdrop of extreme poverty that is passed on from generation to generation in Nicaragua (Vázquez & Panadero, ).…”

“…In Nicaragua (ranked 124th in the Human Development Index; UNDP, ), the percentage of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives is estimated at 52% (Boyce, Zeledón, Tellez, & Barrington, ; DÁngelo & Molina, ; Kohrt et al, ). Some authors relate such high rates of violence against women in this country to cultural and socioeconomic factors (García‐Moreno, Jansen, Ellsberg, Heise & Watts, ).…”

Understanding social norms and violence in childhood: theoretical underpinnings and strategies for intervention

“…Regardless of its type or context, violence in childhood is a social problem embedded within a broader social ecology, with risk factors existing at the individual, interpersonal, household, community, and societal levels (Craig et al, 2009;Dunne & Salvi, 2014;Feldman-Jacobs & Clifton, 2014;UNICEF, 2014;Young & Hassan, 2016). Social norms are a key aspect of this social ecology that can either prevent or perpetuate violence in childhood (Bhatla, Achyut, Khan, & Walia, 2015;Boyce, Zeledón, Tellez, & Barrington, 2016;Carlson et al, 2015). This paper describes the relationship between social norms and violence in childhood.…”

Salud mental y miedo a la separación en mujeres víctimas de violencia de pareja

“…En Nicaragua, puesto 124 en el índice de desarrollo humano (PNUD, 2016), en torno al 52% de las mujeres ha experimentado violencia física o sexual alguna vez en su vida (Boyce, Zeledón, Téllez, y Barrington, 2016). La investigación realizada por Salazar, Valladares, Öhman y Högberg (2009), con mujeres nicaragüenses víctimas de violencia de pareja, evidencia que los recursos sociales del entorno, el nivel educativo, la menor aceptación de los roles tradicionales de género, la baja tolerancia de la comunidad hacia la violencia contra las mujeres y la formación para identificar la violencia de pareja son mecanismos de protección en los procesos de ruptura con el agresor que aumentan el bienestar psicológico y emocional.…”

“…En Nicaragua, la vulneración de los derechos de las mujeres se incrementa cuando no hay dispositivos de ayuda que faciliten la intervención o estos son muy limitados, por lo que la ausencia de recursos y la falta de apoyo hacen que las mujeres tengan dificultades para salir de la situación de maltrato. Esto es especialmente grave atendiendo a la alta prevalencia de la violencia contra las mujeres en la región (Boyce et al, 2016). Además, las circunstancias de precariedad del país (PNUD, 2016) impiden que se implementen medidas de atención e intervención por parte de profesionales (Colombini et al, 2008).…”