Responses to Gender-Based Violence by Individuals Who Were Exposed to It During Childhood in Spain

Abstract

Despite the common premise of the link between childhood exposure to gender-based violence (GBV) and future adult victimization or perpetration, the literature concerning this association is not entirely consistent. Different studies have reported no significant associations. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of GBV exposure during childhood on the presence of GBV during adulthood. A survey with 32 questions distributed in 8 blocks was administered to 1541 Spaniards over 18 years of age. The results show that people whose mothers were victims of GBV have constructed an identity positioned against GBV to a greater extent than the general population. This identity is evident through their social activism in the fight against GBV and their tendency to help when they witness or become aware of situations of GBV. In turn, they have acquired more knowledge about what to do and/or how to intervene in cases of GBV. On the other hand, 70% of Spanish women who have suffered GBV in their lifetime affirm that their mothers did not suffer from GBV when they were young. In Spain, exposure to GBV during childhood does not necessarily lead to the reproduction of such violence in future intimate partner relationships. We thus question the intergenerational transmission of violence in the case of both victims and perpetrators.