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GENDER EQUALITY AND VIOLENCE

DEX

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A MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR PARTNER VIOLENCE BECAUSE IT IS SO PREVALENT, EVEN THOUGH THE EFFECT SIZE IS NOT LARGE

THE EVIDENCE IS STRONG

AN IMPORTANT SOCIAL GOAL, EVEN IF IT HAD NO EFFECT ON PARTNER VIOLENCE

A SPECIAL CASE OF CONFLICT THEORY

ILLUSTRATES MACRO-LEVEL RESEARCH USING STATESMacro = the cases are social units rather than individual personsAlmost any social unit can be the cases

Geo-political units: Nations, States, Counties, Towns

Institutional units: Churches, ]Schools, Universities, Corporations, Unions

ILLUSTRATES HOW THIS AND OTHER MACRO-SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS THAT AFFECT VIOLENCE ARE MEASURED

Social disorganizationUrbanization, ETC

ILLUSTRATES THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING MULTIPLE THEORIES INTO ACCOUNT, NOT JUST ONE FAVORED THEORY

They are not necessarily competing theoriesCan be “additive”Can interact, i.e. one can “moderate” the effect of the other

WHY THIS ISSUE MERITS EXTRA ATTENTION

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THE GENDER EQUALITY INDEX (SCALE) USED FOR THIS RESEARCH

THREE SUB INDEXES AND AN OVERALL INDEX

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Correlation with Gender Equality Index

1. A. One sentence on what the top correlation shows without using numbersB. One sentence on how much confidence you can have in that result

2. Same for the bottom correlation

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CORRELATION WITH NOW MEMBERSHIP ILLUSTRATES LIMITATIONS OF CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA

• NOW membership could be a cause – the members lobby for equality

• NOW membership could be an effect of gender equality – in a society where women have rights and power, womenorganize to protect and enhance their situation

• The correlation could reflect underlying condition that lead to both NOW membership and gender equality (“spurious correlation”)

* Shoe size example of spurious correlation

* Possible sources of spuriousness illustrated by correlations in chart 3 slides back

* These can be controlled. If relationship persists, rules out spurious correlation

• Longitudinal study help can establish which came first, and therefore which is the cause and which is the effect, or if there is bi-directional causation. Time lagged correlations

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NOW MEMBERSHIP

GENDER EQUALITY

NOW MEMBERSHIP

GENDER EQUALITY

196 0 1990

.42

.23

.

.

.04

.39

What can you conclude from the red coefficients?

What can you conclude from the green coefficients?

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IS EQUALITY RELATED TO THE RATE OF ASSAULTING FEMALE PARTNERS?

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SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY

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SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION AS A MODERATOR VARIABLE

Disorganization high: 1. High rates of PV

regardless of equality 2. Little effect of Equality

until the high half of equality

Disorganization low: 1. Low rates of PV 2. Equality has strong effect

& reaches near zeroShows how one aspect of

society influences the effect of other aspects

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IS GENDER EQUALITY ASSOCIATED WITH A LOWER RATE OF RAPE

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50 statesr = .29

PARTNERVIOLENCEAND HOMICIDEARECORRELATED

ILLUSTRATESRELATION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF VIOLENCE TO EACH OTHER

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THE SAME THING CAN BE SHOWN FOR RACIAL INEQUALITY – THE GREATER THE DEGREE OF EQUALITY BETWEEN RACES, THE LOWER THE RATE OF VIOLENCE

SUPPOSE WOMEN WERE DOMINANT – WOULD THAT ALSO RESULT IN HIGHER RATES OF VIOLENCE?

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Figure 1. Relationship Between Dominance Scale Score and Probability of Minor Assault on a Parter, by Gender

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Dominance Scale Score

Pre

dict

ed P

roba

bilit

y

Males

Females

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Percent who assaulted their partner in the preceding 12 months

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6 STUDIES OF DOMINANCE AND PERPETRATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST A PARTNER BY MEN AND WOMEN

Significant Relation Between Violence And

Dominance By:

Study

Sample Males Females

(Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980)

US, National survey Yes Yes

Medeiros & Straus (2006) US, University student Yes Yes (So-Kum Tang, 1999) Hong Kong, community

sample Yes Yes

(Kim, 2003) Korea, National Yes Yes (Straus & Consortium, unpublished)

University students in 19 countries

Yes Yes

Siguhara & Warner, 2002 US, Mexican American Yes Yes

K

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DISCUSSION

• Results suggest that steps to end wife assault must go beyond treatment and/or punishment of individual men

• Treatment and punishment important, but not likely to be sufficient

• Basic changes in the structure of society also needed* Increasing social integration* Equality between men and women in the society as a whole,

not just within the confines of the family.

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SOME KEY POINTS FROM THIS LECTURE

INEQUALITY INCRESES THE PRBABILITY OF VIOLENCEIn society, In the family

HOW CHARACTEREISTICS OF SOCIETY CAN BE MEASUREDEquality, Social Disorganization

THERE ARE LARGE DIFFEENCES BETWEEN STATES IN GENDER EQUALLITY AND SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION

AN EXAMPLE OF THE MULTIPLE CAUSES OF VIOLENCE BETWEEN PARTNERSMale dominance is an important cause, but it is only one of many causes

GENDER EQUALITY IS CORRELATED WITH SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION Illustrates the fact that even highly desirable social changes can have undesirable aspects

THE LINK BETWEEN INEQUALITY IN RELATIONSHIPS AND VIOLENCE APPLIES: When women dominate as well as when men dominate

In many different national and cultural contexts

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END FOR SOC 695

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Kim, J.-Y. A. E., Clifton. (2003). Marital power, conflict, norm consensus, and marital violence in a nationally representative sample of Korean couples. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(2), 197-219.

Medieros, R. A. & Straus (2006)

So-Kum Tang, C. (1999). "Marital Power and Aggression in a Community Sample of Hong Kong Chinese Families. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14(6), 586.

Straus, M. A., & Consortium, Unpublished data from The International Dating Violence Study. Durham, New Hampshire: http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2 Family Research Laboratory, Univ of New Hampshire

Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Steinmetz, S. K. (1980). Behind closed doors: Violence in the American family. NY, New York: Doubleday/Anchor.

Sugihara, Y., Warner, J. A. 2002. "Dominance and Domestic Abuse Among Mexican Americans: Gender Differences in the Etiology of Violence in Intimate Relationships." Journal of Family Violence 17:315-339.

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