Increasing Rejection of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

This study extends existing world society research on ideational diffusion by going beyond examinations of national policy change to investigate the spread of ideas among nonelite individuals. Specifically, I test whether recent trends in women's attitudes about intimate partner violence are converging toward global cultural scripts. Results suggest that global norms regarding violence against women are reaching citizens worldwide, including in some of the least privileged parts of the globe. During the first decade of the 2000s, women in 23 of the 26 countries studied became more likely to reject intimate partner violence. Structural socioeconomic or demographic changes, such as urbanization, rising educational attainment, increasing media access, and cohort replacement, fail to explain the majority of the observed trend. Rather, women of all ages and social locations became less likely to accept justifications for intimate partner violence. The near uniformity of the trend and speed of the change in attitudes about intimate partner violence suggest that global cultural diffusion has played an important role.

Conditional Cash Transfers for Women and Spousal Violence: Evidence of the Long-Term Relationship from the Oportunidades Program in Rural Mexico

“…Specifically, Pierotti (2013) Therefore, the responses in the 2011 survey round are not strictly comparable to those in earlier rounds. These are reported in order to show a more complete picture, subject to this caveat.…”

“…These are reported in order to show a more complete picture, subject to this caveat. 18 Specifically, Pierotti (2013) constructs outcome variables derived from questions that asked respondents whether it is okay for a man to hit or beat his wife under certain circumstances. Specifically, the most common form of the question asked, "Sometimes a husband is annoyed or angered by things which his wife does.…”

“…In your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife in the following situations?" The five scenarios presented to respondents were (1) if she goes out without telling him, (2) if she neglects the children, (3) if she argues with him, (4) if she refuses to have sex with him, and (5) if she burns the food (Pierotti, 2013;p. 248).…”

“…A second relevant factor is the increasing rejection of IPV by women in Mexico over the past decade. Specifically, recent research has documented a rapid global diffusion of attitudes and norms regarding the unacceptability of IPV during the first decade of the 21st century (Pierotti 2013). The spread of these global attitudes across Mexican society could also help explain these results.…”

Development, Validity, and Reliability Analyses of Beliefs about Relationship Violence against Women Scale and Gender Stereotypes and Beliefs in Nigeria

“…First, violence against women is prevalent in Nigeria. Despite the global decline in attitudes toward violence against women (Pierotti, 2013) recent report indicates that four out of five wives suffered physical or verbal abuse from their husbands in Nigeria (Kigotho, 2013). Second, existing knowledge about violence against women in Nigeria merely describes prevalence data without adequate knowledge about cultural beliefs and stereotypes instrumental to the prevalence.…”