An assessment of male attitude towards violence against women

Abstract

Violence against women is a global burden. In violence against women wives, mothers and daughters are battered, raped, verbally abused, neglected, deprived of human dignity and means to meet their basic needs. The cost of violence is not only monetary but also emotional and social. Violence against women is a human rights issue. It is deeply rooted in culture and religion; supported and in many cases, even institutionalized by patriarchal societies. Enormous cost or violence along with the fact that it is man made problem justifies any effort in reducing violence against women. The recognition of the fact that violence against women is unjust and prevention of such violence is a precondition to development arc the impetuses in taking initiatives in preventing violence against women in our society. As a first step to such an initiative the study was initiated. The main objective of this study was to understand the psychosocial dimensions of the attitudes of men towards violence against women. Under this broad theme the study focused on several issues: analyze pattern of violence; assess men's attitude towards women in general. and their attitude towards violence against women in particular; and find out what it would take to stop violent behavior of men towards women. The study revolves around two important concepts, i.e .. male violence against women and their attitude towards it. Violence against women results in. or is likely to result in, physical, sexual and psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. This definition refers to four types of violence - psychological and physical assaults, and violence related to action and deprivation. Attitude refers to beliefs and feelings about a person or event and the resulting support or opposition to those. Taken together, favorable or unfavorable reactions - whether exhibited in beliefs, fee lings, or inclinations to act - define a person's attitude towards something.