A joint study initiative of the Royal Netherlands Embassy, UNFPA and BRAC

1. Male Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women A joint study initiative of the Royal Netherlands Embassy, UNFPA and BRAC

2. Salient feature of VAW • Bangladesh ranks 4th highest in VAW. • 47 % women have endured physical abuse. • 14% of the maternal deaths are due to violence. • One women suffer from violence every hour in BGD. • World wide 1 in 3 have been beaten, coerced into sex or abused. • More often abuser is the family member or known to the women. • Roughly 90 million women are “missing” due to gender discriminations. • 61.5% men consider violence against wives as justifiable.

3. Salient feature of VAW • Women who have been sexually abused as children are at greater risk of having unprotected sex as adolescents and adults and therefore risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. • Women who are physically abused have more unplanned pregnancies than other women. • Many rape victims suffer severe injuries and/or unconsciousness including mental illness and death following rape. Rape victims are nine times more likely than non-victims to have attempted suicide.

4. Type of Recorded violence(MoWCA: 2001) • Suicide 30.0% • Rape 28.0% • Physical torture 26.0% • Dowry related violence 9.5% • Trafficking 3.1% • Acid throwing 1.5% • Prostitution 0.9% • Others 11.0% **Ten daily newspapers recorded a total of 4601 cases of violence against women during July 2002- June 2003

5. Definitions Attitudes: Attitudes are subjective reactions, state of consciousness within the individual human being, with relation to objects and idea. (MacIver and Page 1949). Violence Against Women “Any act of gender-based violence that result 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 of in private life.” (UN Declaration on VAW, b 1993).

6. Types of Violence • Physical assault • Psychological assault • Deprivation • Action-related violence

7. Types of Violence • Physical assault, which is related to the women’s body and includes any kind of offensive contact causing bodily harm, resulting in minor or major injury or death. • Psychological assault, which may be verbal, using words that can traumatize women. It may be a threat of inflicting physical damage, like raising a fist for instance’ or any other form of hostility that either puts the women in immediate danger or makes her apprehensive of such danger.

8. Types of Violence • Deprivation, which means taking or stripping away from a woman something such as a commodity, a privilege or anything that belongs to her. • Action-related violence, which includes a) preventing the victim from taking rightful action as desired and b) unlawfully forcing the victim to take action, which the victim does not intend to take.

9. Subjects & objects of research…. • What goes on in men’s thinking when they perpetrate such vile and vicious acts against women, girls, babies • How do they justify this? …….This research gives some insights into latter. Former has to be fully studied. And it also shows lot of probing is still needed.

10. Objective To assess male psycho-social attitudes towards violence against women. The study specifically focused on: • Understanding men’s thinking about Violence Against Women. • Understandings of men as to the question what constitutes woman. • Understanding of men as to the question of what social role women should have. • Programmatic measures to be taken to reduce violence against women.

11. METHODOLOGY Qualitative and Quantitative Methods have been used. • Sample Household Survey (N=502) from the BRAC project areas. • Semi-structured Questionnaire was used. • Attitudinal Scale • Two sets of statements covered attitude towards women and four major types of violence against women, Used four-point likert scale. Validity of the scale tested. (N=502)

12. Methodology • In-depth Interview (N=100) • Used guidelines and set of information used in the attitudinal scale to explore in-depth information and attitude of men. • Case Study (N=8) • Several cases are recorded verbatim from different victims to understand the reasons and consequences of violence. • Focus Group Discussions (FGD) (N=4) • Used guidelines to understand how the community visualize VAW as a problem and how that can be minimize.

13. Sampling Samples were selected from Rural Areas: • Tarakanda (village – Koyrakanda) and Fulpur (Village Kuripara) Upazila of Mymensingh District where BRAC area offices are located. • Major Independent variables were: • Age (3 groups such as: 15-29, 30-44, & 45+). • Education (0-2 Yrs, 3-9 Yrs & 10-16 Yrs). • Food Security status (Always deficit, Occasional deficit and Surplus). • Marital status and • NGO membership.

14. Profile of the Respondents Age of Respondent Education of Respondents Marital Status Food Security Status

15. Most Important Problems in the Village

16. Research findings - attitudes • Justifiable statement is made as ‘women to be disciplined, corrected’ • Men do not acknowledge/identify certain practices as acts of VAW • Men distinguish between public acts of violence and private acts of violence • 40% opposed women rights’ awareness (i.e., keep women “in the dark”)

17. Research findings - attitudes • Women working outside breaches purdah (70%) • Women deserve respect to the extent that they are mothers, otherwise characterized as – - Simple - Well-behaved - Helpless - Sincere

18. Attitudinal Scale • Education – significant • Food security – significant • Age – not significant • Occupation – significant • Marital status – not significant

19. Research findings - facts • Lack of clarity & knowledge on what exactly Islam teaches on certain issues - Public whipping: 69% against, 29% for - Choice of partner, a father’s duty: 86% yes, only 8% said consent from bride and groom needed • 48% unqualified acceptance of physical VAW • Ambivalence towards physical violence 38% (32% support, 30% opposed) – this complacency is worrying

20. Research findings - facts • 38% had no clear view on physical violence • 30% had a view on discrimination against women is a type of violence • In favour of women rights 53.6% • Harassment/molestation – not justified (79%) • 92% opposed acid throwing • No movement (51%), no political activists (62%)

21. Research findings - implications • Violence is used to maintain control and discipline over women • Violence is not perceived to be a serious concern to men • Women’s autonomy is defined in terms of acceptability and permissibility • Lack of access to knowledge on rights keeps women subordinate to men

22. Tolerance of VAW • Education – significant • Food security – significant • Age – significant • Occupation (students especially) – significant

23. Conclusions A pattern of institutionalized or systemic violence against women is evident throughout this Study. Men seem suggesting that men are either genuinely unaware of what constitutes violence against women or, more significantly, have adopted an attitude of denial regarding the existence of this problem and their own role in it.

24. Conclusions • Many acts and behaviours that are considered to be forms of violence are not acknowledged by men to be act of VAW. • Categories of men consider women to be objectives of provision and production which serves men’s interests and authorities, especially linked to level of education and low income.

25. RECOMMENDATIONS • Issues of VAW to be incorporated in curriculum of secondary and higher secondary schools and madrasas. Teachers should also be sensitized to reinforce and foster unacceptance of violence. • Survivors should have access and support from law enforcing agencies. Adequate measures to be taken to facilitate the enforce of these laws, especially through community leaders, local elites and members of local government bodies and police. • Advocacy programme on gender-based VAW to be strengthened, skill-based, value-based and behaviour focused training with media campaigns and social mobilization.

26. RECOMMENDATIONS • Adequate interactions with Religious leaders, Imams and other and training, coaching and spiritual guidance to reduce VAW. • Political leaders, Lawyers, law enforcement agencies etc. to be involved in a fuller capacity for the reduction of VAW. This would help bridge gap between what reality “should be” versus what it is. • Further probing into the men’s behaviors in relation to VAW would strengthen our understanding on those who carry out violence. • VAW issues should be integrated in the development agenda, in particular to all pro-poor interventions.

27. Thank you