Sources and Implications of Patriarchal Terrorism: A Sociopsychological Analysis
By Tinnakorn jorruang/shutterstock.com
Par Tinnakorn jorruang/shutterstock.com
Tamara Altarac
(FR) Ce texte traite de terrorisme patriarcal – une forme de violence domestique enraciné dans l’idée patriarcale selon laquelle les femmes sont la propriété de leurs partenaires masculins – dans lequel ces partenaires intimes exercent une autorité tyrannique sur leurs femmes par l’usage systématique de tactiques de contrôle. Ce texte analyse la persistance du terrorisme patriarcal à travers des théories de psychologie sociale, et propose la mise en œuvre de politiques et changements spécifiques qui chercheront à résoudre ce problème complexe. La théorie de l’échange social et la théorie de ressource ont pour but de contribuer à notre compréhension des facteurs sociaux qui donnent lieu à la violence domestique, et d’en déduire des éléments qui appellent au changement politique et social pour vaincre le terrorisme patriarcal.
The complexity of characterizing domestic violence is often overlooked by psychologists, law enforcement, and the general public. Violence between domestic partners can take varying forms, one of which will be the topic of this paper: Patriarchal Terrorism. A term first coined by Michael Johnson, Patriarchal Terrorism refers to the terroristic control of wives by their husbands through the systematic use of control tactics, such as isolation, threats, and subordination, in addition to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.[1] The issue is rooted in patriarchal ideas of male ownership over “their” wives and the tradition of controlling “their” women. Patriarchal Terrorism is to be contrasted with Situational Couple Violence, which is occasional gender-inclusive violence that usually does not escalate over time.[2] The roots of these two types of domestic violence differ and they pose distinct threats to society, thus their amelioration requires different approaches. Exchange theory suggests that humans engage in behaviours that reward them and avoid those that have a high cost. This theory supports the idea that violence is used in social settings where the rewards of such violence are higher than the cost. Resource theory suggests that male violence is used as a resource to gain power and control over their intimate partners. It claims that violence is much more likely to be used in this manner when there is an imbalance of key resources in the household, such as education, income, legal protection, and more. The complexity of this issue must be acknowledged in that it extends beyond any religion, culture, or geographical location. Furthermore, no policy implementation will resolve the consequences of Patriarchal Terrorism without deep social and cultural changes to the way women are viewed, valued, and treated around the world. Nonetheless, the aim of this paper is to analyze the continued widespread existence of Patriarchal Terrorism through the lens of social psychology theories and to put forth specific policy propositions that will seek to address the problem.
Exchange Theory on Patriarchal Terrorism
Historically, there has been cultural approval for men to use violence to gain and maintain authority and dominance over women. The lack of institutional sanctions and equality rights for women meant that there were no real consequences for domestic abuse of any kind. Nevertheless, even with social and legal progress, the benefits for many perpetrators of Patriarchal Terrorism still outweigh the costs in order to stop. Exchange theory suggests that humans engage a cost versus benefit analysis of behaviour. It argues that violence is used in situations where the perpetrator believes exerting control over their partner is worth the risk of being punished for it. Furthermore, the risks associated with leaving their partner or fighting back are far too high for many women, especially for those in developing countries. This theory explains why Patriarchal Terrorism continues to thrive despite social and political progress in gender equality. In many societies, there is an emphasis on male aggression, which along with the cost of violence being low due to inadequate social controls in place, actually encourages such aggression.[3] Thus, Exchange Theory puts forth two deductions: (i) countries that have laws in place against domestic violence will have lower rates of intimate partner violence than those without such laws; and (ii) countries that do have domestic violence laws, but do not enforce them adequately, will have higher rates of intimate partner violence than nations enforcing the laws effectively. The hypotheses indicate that countries where the punishment for domestic abuse against women are negligent or nonexistent will have higher rates of intimate partner violence in comparison to countries in which the costs for such abuse are relatively high, thus supporting Exchange Theory’s account for Patriarchal Terrorism.
Laws play an important role in regulating people’s behaviour. It indicates what is acceptable within a given society, often reflecting its dominant social, religious, or cultural views. As such, the implementation of laws that recognize and penalize acts of domestic violence is important to decreasing the prevalence of Patriarchal Terrorism within that society. In general, the less legal protection victims have, the more likely they are to believe they deserve to be disciplined by their husbands, thus tolerating the abuse.[4] Countries with laws prohibiting acts of domestic violence tend to have lower rates of Patriarchal Terrorism than those with no such laws. For instance, Canada has legislation on both provincial and national levels criminalizing actions such as neglect, financial abuse, psychological and emotional abuse, physical and sexual abuse, while also having special provisions that serve to protect victims of these crimes.[5] Canada’s average national rate on intimate partner abuse during the last decade is 7%.[6] In contrast, Pakistan has no laws in place that criminalize domestic violence and protect women from it; its average national rate on intimate partner abuse during the last decade reached 80%, while over 90% of women reported being mentally and verbally abused by their husbands.[6–8] Moreover, proper enforcement of any such laws is necessary to decrease Patriarchal Terrorism. For example, the Central African Republic penalizes domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape, yet over 80% of victims will not report being abused by their husbands due to lack of enforcement.[7,9] This indicates the degree to which domestic violence is common yet underreported in countries that do not enforce laws nor protect victims adequately. Contrastingly, countries that demonstrate proper law enforcement in this area, such as Denmark, report drastically lower rates of intimate partner violence. Danish municipalities provide temporary accommodation for women who experience domestic abuse, a national helpline that is available 24/7, 43 women’s shelters, and law enforcement that expels violent men from homes and impose restraining orders upon a report of intimate partner violence.[10] Denmark’s average national rate on intimate partner abuse during the last decade was 12%.[6] The supporting evidence indicates that laws and their enforcement play a crucial role in the prevalence of intimate partner abuse, in turn supporting Exchange Theory’s account for Patriarchal Terrorism.
Resource Theory on Patriarchal Terrorism
In fairly recent history, societies became male-dominated with the emergence of the association between power and physical dominance. Women’s value dissipated to a point where they were not considered to be people anymore, rather male-owned property. The consequences of this mindset continue to this day, wherein power lies in resources, and women are often robbed of the opportunity to acquire them. First proposed by Goode in 1971, Resource Theory suggests that the more resources a husband brings to a relationship, the more power he has, and when his power is threatened by a woman's access to resources, he may resort to violence to re-establish his dominance.[11] Thus, Resource Theory suggests that an imbalance in resources, and by extension the power in a relationship, increases the chances for domestic violence in the home. This theory puts forth two deductions for Patriarchal Terrorism, as well: (i) countries with a greater disparity in access to societal resources between marital spouses will have relatively high rates of intimate partner abuse in comparison to those with greater equality; and (ii) countries in which women have relatively few reproductive rights will have higher rates of intimate partner violence than those where women have relatively high reproductive rights. The hypotheses aim to demonstrate that countries in which there is a greater disparity in power between marital spouses will have higher rates of domestic violence, thus supporting Resource Theory’s account for Patriarchal Terrorism.
Power is a determining factor for the risk of intimate partner violence in a relationship. When relative power is determined by the number of resources one gathers, being able to access these resources becomes crucial in preventing an imbalance of power within a home, and by extension decreasing rates of intimate partner violence. Although it is important to note that data collection varies across countries and thus may not always be available or consistent, best efforts are put forth to gain the most comprehensive picture of Patriarchal Terrorism possible. As such, countries with immense disparities in access to resources between marital spouses, which is measured in the number of laws that discriminate against women, report very high rates of intimate partner violence. In the Middle East, all countries with the exception of Israel have at least 15 laws in place that actively discriminate against women and diminish their right to access essential resources such as education, employment, and property rights. For instance, Afghanistan has 27 such laws, and in turn 85% of married women report to being abused in their own home.[6,12] Afghanistan is also the only country in the world in which female suicide rates are higher than those of males.[13] Moreover, countries with relatively few reproductive rights for women – which were inferred from data on female genital mutilation, child marriage rates, adolescent birth rates, and overall fertility rates – indicate that intimate partner violence is a part of the norm. For example, data collected on Sudan shows 87% of women undergo genital mutilation; the average age of marriage amongst girls is 17 whilst child marriage is legal; 34% of girls get married before they are 18; over 10% of girls experience sexual violence by that same age; and abortion is only allowed in cases of rape yet there are no laws on marital rape nor adequate enforcement on reports of sexual assault.[7,9,14–16] Testimonies of Sudanese women have indicated that rape, beatings, and public humiliation at the hands of their husbands is so common it is viewed as their “normal” – a belief that extends to its neighbouring nations as well.[17,18] In contrast, Switzerland has fewer than three laws that actively discriminate against women, alongside being one of the leading nations in reproductive rights for women, providing girls with free means of contraception, free legal abortion, and free sex education through middle- and high-school.[12,19] Switzerland’s average national rate on intimate partner abuse during the last decade was 10%.6 The supporting evidence indicates that access to societal resources, thus limiting an imbalance in power between marital spouses, plays a crucial role in the prevalence of intimate partner abuse, in turn supporting Resource Theory’s account for Patriarchal Terrorism.
Political and Social Implications
The implementation and improvement of policies to address domestic violence around the world requires continual conscious distinctions to be made between Situational Couple Violence and Patriarchal Terrorism with respect to their sources, implications, and pervasiveness within society. With each issue stemming from separate social factors, the approaches to deal with each respective issue differ greatly. The political and social implications that need to be addressed to ameliorate patriarchal terrorism are derived from each of the deductions made earlier in the paper. The deductions and their findings on the national level can be extended to local ones, as changes within all branches of social and political hierarchies are required to ensure the amelioration of Patriarchal Terrorism.
The first deduction of Exchange Theory calls for the adaptation of civil and criminal laws that hold perpetrators accountable for intimate partner violence through investigation, prosecution, and adequate punishment proportional to the severity of the offense. This would involve the recognition of domestic violence as a serious threat to the safety and security of persons, and the subsequent implementation of laws that criminalize actions associated with it, such as physical and sexual assault, psychological and economic abuse, and the use of isolation, coercion, and threats in the domestic setting. The second deduction calls for better enforcement of such laws, which can be accomplished by training those responding to domestic violence reports and those implementing the laws to approach the situation with victim sensitivity, seriousness, and diligence. Those responsible for the implementation of domestic violence laws need to educate themselves on the issue via experts in the field, and ought to set this as a standard to be followed by other policymakers.
The first deduction of Resource Theory calls for improving women’s access to societal resources, which incudes ensuring adequate victim services, equal access to education, demolishing the gender wage gap, and creating equal opportunities in the workforce. More changes include creating opportunities for women in the workplace and in positions of power; ensuring girls have access and support to acquire education in all nations; providing equal pay to men and women for the same work; securing paid maternity leave of fair length; and implementing systems and organizations dedicated to supporting victims of domestic violence. The second deduction calls for providing more reproductive rights for women and girls by criminalizing child marriage and female genital mutilation, legalizing abortion, and providing more access to means of contraception. Restoring women with the right to control their own bodies will create a space in which their intimate partners will be discouraged from violating them; a space in which girls and women will be empowered to be their own person and make decisions for themselves as independent, valued persons.
While the benefits of these propositions are invaluable, there are certainly barriers to their success. Many political and social inequalities that create the perfect setting for intimate partner violence are rooted in deep historical, cultural, and sometimes religious traditions that some communities are not willing to prohibit. These beliefs are immensely difficult to overcome through public education and advocacy for change, thus I argue that any significant change in such countries will need to start in those that are dedicated to resolving Patriarchal Terrorism. Countries with this goal are not exempt from issues that need to be addressed; yet they are to be a primary focus of an international initiative to achieve gender equality, such that ameliorating domestic violence in even one country can lead those less open to change to reconsider their systems that harm a significant portion of their population.
Concluding Words
Effective government response to Patriarchal Terrorism requires the engagement of civil society, which is difficult in countries where society is not free to criticize the government or able to advocate for change. Historical cultural traditions and religious beliefs also pose barriers as many societies may oppose measures that ensure gender equality, such as abortion and contraception, and may even argue for the historic practices of female genital mutilation and child marriage. However, these initiatives are essential to ensuring change in the way women are viewed, valued, and treated around the world, thus decreasing intimate partner violence. One of the most important initiatives to ensure gender equality is making education a human right, rather than a privilege. Creating a generation of girls who have the right tools to bring change in their communities, and by extension their countries, will make the world a safer place for all women and a better place for all people to live in.