Addressing masculinities to tackle violence against women in Ireland: Findings from the PositivMasc Study

Edwards, Claire; Bolton, Robert; Ó Súilleabháin, Fiachra; Leane, Máire; Fennell,  Caroline

Addressing masculinities to tackle violence against women in Ireland: Findings from the PositivMasc Study

Files

UCC Positiv Masc Report 2023 FINAL.pdf(6.36 MB)

Published Version

Date

2023

Authors

Edwards, Claire

Bolton, Robert

Ó Súilleabháin, Fiachra

Leane, Máire

Fennell, Caroline

Publisher

University College Cork

Abstract

Despite decades of policy intervention, violence against women (VAW) remains an intractable societal problem with deleterious effects. Concerns are increasingly being raised about the extent to which VAW is being experienced at younger ages. A survey carried out across the European Union found that one in three women in Europe has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since age 15 (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights [FRA], 2014). The same survey found that 26% of the Irish sample had experienced physical and/or sexual violence by any partner and/or non-partner since age 15 (FRA, 2014). It is widely recognised that a key factor in explaining the prevalence and experience of VAW lies in the attitudes and beliefs that young people hold about the acceptability of, or tolerance for, VAW. Understandings of gender norms - that is, the socially constructed ideas that circulate in a society about what is considered appropriate behaviour and roles for men and women - are central in shaping these attitudes. Multiple studies show that men who hold gender inequitable beliefs based around what we might term ‘traditional’ ideas of masculinity are more likely to perpetrate VAW (Flood and Pease, 2009; Salazar et al., 2020). It is therefore vital that we know more about how young people’s constructions of gender and masculinities underpin their understandings and perceptions of VAW, in order to challenge societal attitudes and structures which contribute to the continued tolerance of VAW.

Keywords

Gender , Masculinities , Violence against women , Tolerance , Ireland

Citation

Edwards, C., Bolton, R., Ó Súilleabháin, F., Leane, M. and Fennell, C. (2023) 'Addressing masculinities to tackle violence against women in Ireland: Findings from the PositivMasc Study. University College Cork: Cork.