Interpersonal Violence Against Women

Abstract

Attempting to solve the problem of interpersonal violence by dealing with the private problems of individuals is a strategy doomed to failure. With high-level social forces combining to facilitate rape, abuse, and stalking, programs to end these problems must be painted with broad strokes. Male peer support is an important aspect of society giving permission to men to assault women or to encourage or ignore others who do so. Programs such as bystander education that encourage male leaders to speak out are essential. Schools and governments must put more money into education programs to protect youth. American society was outraged when a professional football player was accused of mistreating and killing fighting dogs. Hollywood, meanwhile, virtually cannot portray the mistreatment of animals. We need to move toward a society where the same level of outrage accompanies acts of interpersonal violence against women.

Sexual Orientation, Social Support Networks, and Dating Violence in an Ethnically Diverse Group of College Students

“…In examining social networks and violence perpetration in heterosexual couples, most studies (e.g., Schwartz & DeKeseredy, 2008;Sellers, Cochran, & Branch, 2005) have examined if messages from violent male peers leads to violence use by other men against a female partner. Thus, the focus has been on same-gender modeling, consistent with Akers' theory that the more similar the network is to the target participant, the more likely it is that the behavior will be successfully modeled.…”

Attitudes Affecting Physical Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization: Findings From Adolescents in a High-Risk Urban Community

“…Sex differences are also noted in contexts, meanings, and motives related to violent behaviors in intimate relationships, for example, males may engage in violence to establish dominance and females may engage in violence as a means of self-defense (DeKeseredy, 2006;DeKeseredy & Dragiewicz, 2007;Schwartz & DeKeseredy, 2008). However, there is limited literature on sex-specific violent attitudes for boys and girls linked to dating violence perpetration and dating violence victimization (Josephson & Proulx, 2008;Windle & Mrug, 2009).…”

Residence Life, Men, and Masculinities: Recruitment, Training, and Administrative Processes

“…For instance, training can surface a discussion of common scenarios of problematic attitudes and behaviors informed by hegemonic masculinity, and invite students to respond creatively with conversations and educational interventions that subvert, expose, contest, and transform hegemonic enactments. Specifically, bystander intervention training can offer students guidance on developing skills to identify and respond to problematic performances within conversations, joking, and other enforcements of masculinity that occur in a residential environment (Schwartz & DeKeserdy, ). Practice in discrete skills of redirection, diversion, de‐escalation, and naming oppressive microinteractions can give students staff the confidence and competence to interrupt destructive climates that reinforce hegemonic messaging, normalize violence, and perpetuate rape culture.…”