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The gendered drivers of violence against women
And support the normalisation,
justification and tolerance of
violence against women
Condoning of violence
against women
Underpin and produce
these specific drivers of
violence against women
The structures, norms
and practices of gender
inequality, in the context of
other social inequalities
Men’s
control of
decision-making
and limits to women’s
independence in
public life and relationships
Rigid gender roles and
stereotyped
constructions of
masculinity and
femininity
Male peer
relations that
emphasise aggression
and disrespect
towards women
Gender inequality in public
and private life
... and in the context of other forms of social inequality
Factors that reinforce the gendered drivers
This section outlines a range of reinforcing factors,
so-called because, while not sufficient in themselves to
predict violence against women, they can interact with the
gendered drivers to increase the probability, frequency
or severity of such violence. 79
These reinforcing factors (illustrated in Figure 6 on
page 32) are:
5 Condoning of violence in general
6 Experience of, and exposure to, violence
7 Weakening of pro-social behaviour, especially
harmful use of alcohol
8 Socio-economic inequality and discrimination
9 Backlash factors (when male dominance,
power or status is challenged).
5. Condoning of violence in general
Condoning of violence in general is generated through similar
social norms, practices and structures as the condoning of
violence against women. The difference is that condoning of
violence in general is not as influential on levels of violence
against women as condoning of violence against women: it
becomes a reinforcing factor in conjunction with gendered
social norms – particularly those concerning masculinity.
Violence can be condoned either informally, as in the
reactions of family and communities, or formally, such
as through weak laws. This can lead to a ‘normalisation’
of violence, with violence taken for granted as a part of
everyday life.
Figure 5 The gendered drivers of violence against women
Some have argued that violence against women simply
reflects that violence more generally is a learned social
practice, but this does not explain the specifically gendered
patterns of violence against women. Studies show that
people learn about violence not in isolation, but in the context
of learning about and experiencing social norms about
gender and gender (in)equality, particularly masculine gender
identities. The violence that our society normalises, valorises
or condones is in itself ‘masculinised’. The vast majority of
acts of violence – whether against women or men, in public
or private, in reality or in media and cultural representations
– are perpetrated, or depicted as perpetrated, by men. 80
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