Academic literature on the topic 'Women’s experience of men’s behaviour change'

IntroductionThe study objective was to understand the effectiveness of Engaging Men through Accountable Practice (EMAP), a group-based discussion series which sought to transform gender relations in communities, on intimate partner violence (IPV), gender inequitable attitudes and related outcomes.MethodsA two-armed, matched-pair, cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted between 2016 and 2018 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Adult men (n=1387) and their female partners (n=1220) participated in the study. The primary outcomes of the study were female report of past year physical and/or sexual IPV and men’s intention to commit violence. Secondary outcomes included men’s gender attitudes, women’s economic and emotional IPV, women’s perception of negative male behaviours and perceived quality of the relationship.ResultsMen in EMAP reported significant reductions in intention to commit violence (β=−0.76; SE=0.23; p<0.01), decreased agreement with any reason that justifies wife beating (OR=0.59; SE=0.08; p<0.01) and increased agreement with the ability of a woman to refuse sex for all reasons (OR=1.47; SE=0.24; p<0.05), compared with men in the control group. We found no statistically significant differences in women’s experiences of IPV between treatment and control group at follow-up (physical or sexual IPV: adjusted OR=0.95; SE=0.14; p=0.71). However, female partners of men in EMAP reported significant improvements to the quality of relationship (β=0.28; p<0.05) and significant reductions in negative male behaviour (β=−0.32; p<0.01).ConclusionInterventions engaging men have the potential to change gender attitudes and behaviours in conflict-affected areas. However, while EMAP led to changes in gender attitudes and behaviours related to perpetration of IPV, the study showed no overall reduction of women’s experience of IPV. Further research is needed to understand how working with men may lead to long-term and meaningful changes in IPV and related gender equitable attitudes and behaviours in conflict areas.Trial registration numberNCT02765139.

Many undergraduate students in the UK fall into age groups particularly at risk from interpersonal violence. Recent evidence suggests that a range of interpersonal violence is part of the university experience for a significant number of students. In this article, we report on the findings of an online survey of male and female students administered at a university in the north of England in 2016 exploring experiences of interpersonal violence during their time as a student. Focusing on the qualitative responses, 75 respondents, mostly women, wrote about their experiences of sexual violence. In presenting women’s accounts, we challenge the construction of the ‘ideal victim’ who is viewed as weak, passive and without agency or culpability (Christie, 1986). Women adopt a range of strategies to actively resist men’s sexual violence. In doing so, they challenge and problematise perpetrators’ behaviours particularly tropes that communicate and forefront the heterosexual dating model of courtship. These findings raise implications for women’s strategies of resistance to be viewed as examples of social change where victim-blaming is challenged, perpetrator-blaming is promoted and femininity/victims are reconstructed as agentic. Universities must educate students about sexual violence, dating and intimacy, as well as provide support for victims of sexual violence.

Are men and women categorized differently for similar sexual behavior? Building on theories of gender, sexuality, and status, we introduce the concept of precarious sexuality to suggest that men’s—but not women’s—heterosexuality is an especially privileged identity that is easily lost. We test our hypotheses in a series of survey experiments describing a person who has a sexual experience conflicting with their sexual history. We find that a single same-sex sexual encounter leads an observer to question a heterosexual man’s sexual orientation to a greater extent than that of a heterosexual woman in a similar situation. We also find that a different-sex sexual encounter is more likely to change others’ perceptions of a lesbian woman’s sexual orientation—compared to perceptions of a gay man’s sexual orientation. In two conceptual replications, we vary the level of intimacy of the sexual encounter and find consistent evidence for our idea of precarious sexuality for heterosexual men. We close with a general discussion of how status beliefs influence categorization processes and with suggestions for extending our theoretical propositions to other categories beyond those of sexual orientation.

This study focused on the young adult men’s perceptions and behavior toward their women partners who they acknowledged as experiencing the effects of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). A qualitative study was conducted, framed by social constructivism, where individual interviews with 20 young Brazilian men aged 21 to 29 years were analyzed thematically. Four descriptive categories to express the men’s experiences: (a) men’s observations on partner’s behavior changes, (b) early in the relationship: apprehension and confusion, (c) knowledge about PMS led men to better understanding about changes, and (d) need for support from a health care provider and medication. The men’s perceptions and behavior toward their partners were strongly influenced by biomedical conceptions of PMS. Participants believed that their partners’ emotions and behaviors were determined by PMS during some days of the month, consequently PMS had affected the couple’s relationship. Another consequence of such medicalization was that women’s complaints about PMS were rendered invisible except when viewed as a serious medical problem requiring cure, rather than a part of women’s cyclical patterns. It is the case that the systematic description of men’s perceptions about their partner’s PMS provides an approach to this topic in educational and health care activities, with the potential to improve gender relations.

This research sought a deeper understanding of the experiences of men who have perpetrated intimate partner violence and subsequently participated in treatment and desisted from perpetrating violence in their intimate relationships. Phenomenological methods were used to conduct in-depth, qualitative interviews with men who had perpetrated intimate partner violence and participated in violence treatment programs to determine what assists individuals to desist from perpetration of intimate partner violence. Few participants who begin intimate partner violence programs successfully complete treatment, making it difficult to learn what helps men to successfully end their use of violence in their intimate relationships. This work adds to the small body of qualitative literature, which examines the ways by which men change their violent behavior and the motivating factors that assist with those changes. Results detail men’s experiences before entering programming, experiences while attending treatment programming, and experiences after attending treatment. Understanding how to help men to end their violent behavior not only increases women’s safety but also improves men’s lives. Future directions for treatment interventions are discussed.

Исследована проблема адаптивности личности к изменившимся условиям жизни вследствие переломных событий. Измерены такие показатели адаптивности, как «поведенческая регуляция», «коммуникативные способности», «моральная нормативность». Индикаторами адаптивности выступили «сопротивляемость стрессу», «депрессивные состояния», «тревога», «копинги». В качестве способа активизации адаптивности реализована программа психологической коррекции. В исследовании приняли участие две группы респондентов. Одна группа – в долгосрочной программе психологической коррекции, представители другой предпочли справляться с последствиями переломных жизненных событий без профессиональной психологической помощи. Психодиагностические процедуры осуществлялись в обеих группах в два этапа. На первом этапе в каждой группе была проведена диагностика адаптивности и индикаторов адаптивности. Второй этап психодиагностических замеров осуществлялся после того, как участники психокоррекционной программы завершили свою работу. Динамика адаптивности фиксировалась посредством сопоставления результатов замеров первого и второго этапа друг с другом в каждой из групп. Установлено, что в результате психокоррекционной работы происходит формирование новых адаптивных моделей функционирования человека, столкнувшегося с переломным событием. Снижается уровень тревоги и тяжесть депрессивных состояний, растет личностный адаптационный потенциал и сопротивляемость стрессу, активируются конструктивные способы совладающего поведения. Выявлен психологический феномен разнополюсной взаимосвязи адаптивности мужчин и женщин, переживающих последствия переломных событий, с их нервно-психической устойчивостью, депрессивными тенденциями и тревогой. В процессе психокоррекционной работы формируется установка на активное преодоление переломных событий и совладание с их негативными последствиями, активизируются стратегии проактивного копинга, направленные на активное целеполагание, привлечение социальных ресурсов для получения поддержки и разрешения сложившихся проблемных жизненных ситуаций. The problem of the individual’s adaptability to the changed life conditions as a result of the life-changing events is considered in the article. The measures of adaptability are the following: “behavioral regulation”, “communicative skills”, “moral normativity”. The indicators of adaptability are “resistance to stress”, “depression”, “anxiety”, “copings”. As a way to activate adaptability the programme of psychological correction is actualized. Two groups of respondents took part in the study. Representatives of one group participated in a long-term psychological correction programme. Representatives of another group preferred to cope with the consequences of life-changing events without professional psychological help. Psychodiagnostic procedures was put into practice in both groups in two stages. At the first stage each group was diagnosed on adaptability and indicators of adaptability. The second stage of psychodiagnostic measurements was in each group after the respondents of psychocorrection programme completed their work. The dynamics of adaptability was recorded by comparing the results of the first and second stage measurements in each group. It is established that as a result of psychocorrection new adaptive models of person’s functioning who faced a life-changing event are formed. The level of anxiety and severity of depressive states decreases, the personal adaptive potential and resistence to stress increases, constructive ways of coping behaviour are activated. The psychological phenomenon of the multipolar connection between men’s and women’s adaptability experiencing the consequences of life-changing events with their neuropsychiatric stability, depressive tendencies and anxiety is found. In the process of psychocorrection work, an attitude is formed to actively overcome critical events and cope with their negative consequences, proactive coping strategies are activated, aimed at active goal-setting, attracting social resources to receive support and resolve existing problematic life situations.

In recent years, Ukraine has received more attention to the issues of masculinity, the position of men and their participation in activism in support of gender equality. In Ukraine, there are several men’s organizations and initiatives that support the ideas of gender equality: dad schools, men against violence, HeforShe Ukraine and HeforShe Congresses, profeminist schools for men, national networks of male leaders against violence, an international union of courageous dads, etc. Feminist public activists appear to talk about the benefits of gender equality. The men’s movement for gender equality in the world and in Ukraine is seen as focusing on either women’s rights or men’s rights. According to men’s movement researcher Michael Messner, institutional privileges and costs of masculinity are the aspects of the classification of male movements. As a result of the analysis of six in-depth interviews with Ukrainian activists of men’s movements, Michael Messner’s ideas were illustrated with examples from Ukrainian society. Factors involving men in men’s movements for gender equality differ depending on the type of the men’s movement. Women’s rights movements were characterized by awareness of cases of discrimination against women and a corresponding sense of solidarity and compassion. Movements for men’s rights – by awareness of cases of discrimination against men in their own experience, a sense of the need to respond to the movement for women’s rights, and the situation of men’s movements in Ukraine, i.e. factors that directly affect men. In addition, it has been found that there are common factors in involving men in women’s and men’s rights movements, such as the existence of a feminist movement, a sense of the need for change, and a desire to be involved in local or global change. Expert interviews have found that the use of personal experience is the most effective way to influence the level of men’s involvement in men’s movements for gender equality, including in Ukraine. Attention to real cases of gender discrimination against women will be perceived more sincerely and openly than statistics. Attention to real cases of gender discrimination against women will be perceived more sincerely and openly than statistics. In addition, it is important to demonstrate the experience of men who understand the benefits of gender equality for men as well. They, according to experts, will be able to serve as examples for other men to follow. Separately, experts noted the role of education in the desire to join the struggle of men for the idea of gender equality. Both non-formal education programs and formal education on equal rights and opportunities can be tools for introducing changes in men’s attitudes to discrimination.

Addressing gender inequities in higher education must begin with the acknowledgement that men play a key role in creating change. The purpose of this qualitative study is to center and raise the experiences of women students, and to communicate to men who are students, faculty, and administrators what women students expect from them in terms of privilege and oppression awareness. Findings indicate that women students felt criticized, judged, and underestimated by men, and expected men to self-educate to become aware of and interrogate their own privileges. The authors provide recommendations for higher education teaching and learning, focusing on attitudes and behaviors of White men in the academy.

Drawing on data from a panel study of White women spanning 31 years, the analyses examine the influence of women’s employment on the gendered division of household labor. Multiple dimensions of women’s employment are investigated, including accumulated employment histories, current employment status, current employment hours, and relative income. Results from fixed effect and change score models suggest that the husbands of women who accumulate more employment experience over the course of marriage perform a relatively larger amount of routine housework than the husbands of women with shorter employment histories. Women’s employment status at a given point in time also increases men’s relative participation in routine housework, and the influence of women’s employment status operates in part by increasing women’s support for egalitarian roles between spouses. Finally, women’s hours of employment and relative income are stronger predictors of housework allocation than is their current employment status.

Transfer programs have been shown to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV), but little evidence exists on how activities linked to transfers affect IPV or what happens when programs end. We assess postprogram impacts on IPV of randomly assigning women in Bangladesh to receive cash or food, with or without nutrition behavior change communication (BCC). Six to ten months postprogram, IPV did not differ between women receiving transfers and a control group; however, women receiving transfers with BCC experienced 26% less physical violence. Evidence on mechanisms suggests sustained effects of BCC on women's “threat points,” men's social costs of violence, and household well-being.

Family violence (FV) is a significant social issue across Australia, where one woman is murdered by her current or former partner every week (State Government of Victoria, 2020). In an effort to increase the safety of women and children living in the state of Victoria, perpetrators of FV are routinely referred to a group intervention known as a Men’s Behaviour Change Program (MBCP). This research study sought to lay a foundation for understanding how women experience their partners’ referral to an MBCP, while exploring the meaning they ascribe to such an experience. At a fundamental level, the study aimed to elevate the voices of women and to contextualise their experiences. It was anticipated that this study would illuminate the profound insights of women regarding their experiences of such referrals, which have not been previously considered or acknowledged as being important. Nine women living in the regional city of Ballarat, Victoria, took part in this community-based research project, which was designed in collaboration with industry partners. Each woman engaged in a qualitative interview that was underpinned by the emergent methodology of feminist interpretative phenomenological analysis. Consequently, these interviews focused on the women’s thoughts, feelings and interpretations of the referral experience. Through analysis and discussion of the women’s narratives, referral to an MBCP was shown to have involved experiences of significant meaning, depth and consequence for victim survivors – clearly demonstrating an effect beyond perpetrator engagement with an MBCP. The findings from this study have revealed the way in which MBCP referrals fashion a new environment for victim survivors. It is an environment characterised by heightened hopes of change, experiences of being blamed and judged by external parties and includes a rising sense of indignation. This form of referral has also been exposed to be a period of pivotal assessment for victim survivors, and at a fundamental level, as an event in and of itself. The new understandings achieved through this study provide a foundation on which FV services, researchers and policymakers can now build. This study has also reinforced the notion that in order to be effective, FV services must be informed by the knowledge and experiences of the people who are most affected by those services.
Doctor of Philosophy

Chapter 7 extends the analysis to questions of how becoming a member has affected women’s and men’s sense of self, relationships with family and friends, and, for some, was associated with experiences of personal and relational change that eventually led them to no longer attend. We find that experiences of change vary across congregations, with greater sense of change among those joining congregations that have higher subcultural boundaries or whose teachings emphasize change as a goal of religious life. We find gender differences in the experience of change, and the degree and direction of change across congregations—underscoring, in particular, the broadening of gender experience for men within these congregations.

This chapter begins with a brief discussion of what we mean by feminism. I then discuss the place of property in the earliest feminist texts—of Mary Astell and Mary Wollstonecraft—where it is associated, above all, with the institution of marriage. In early feminist texts, the oppression of women is often likened to (or identified with) chattel slavery. This is clear, for example, in the work of John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor and in the historical materialist accounts of Friedrich Engels and August Bebel. The single most remarkable treatment of property in feminist texts comes in Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex. Built around a critique of Engels and Bebel, de Beauvoir argues that the will to acquire property (including property in women) is a characteristic of men’s behaviour which goes all the way down and all the way back—and which must change if men and women are to forge a new and more equal relationship. A key component of contemporary feminist work on property is the emphasis upon the lived experience of gendered inequality in the ownership of property. The final third of this chapter reviews the evidence of an earnings gap, a poverty gap, and an assets gap between men and women.

This chapter extends the analysis of gender, in this instance exploring the lived experiences of women in a period of change. While women’s experiences are similar to men’s in many respects, the author’s discussions over a period of time with a sample of women attending a day centre, reveal some intriguing differences. She highlights the significance of living in long-term abusive relationships for confidence and self-perception. Additionally, she questions assumptions about desistance necessarily involving a ‘replacement identity’; aspects of self may be reworked and, on occasions, the process is more akin to finding a ‘lost’ self after ending a violent relationship or seeking drug use. For the women in this study, identities were often precarious, reflecting the early and fragile nature of their desistance. Being or becoming a caregiver – a more socially available role for women than for men – was often a key element in the women’s accounts of change.

This chapter focuses on the roles of interpersonal closeness and gender on the interpretation and sending of emotions in mobile phone email messages1. 91 Japanese college students were shown scenarios involving either a friend or an acquaintance describing situations intended to evoke one of four emotions: Happiness, sadness, anger, or guilt. The participants’ rated their emotions and composed replies for each scenario. Analysis revealed that in the happy and guilt scenarios, emotions experienced by the participants were conveyed to their partners almost without change. However, in the sad and angry scenarios, the emotions sent to the partners were weaker than the actual emotions experienced. Gender analysis showed that men were more likely to experience and express anger in the anger scenario, while women were more likely to experience and express sadness in the anger scenario. In addition, more women’s replies contained emotional expressions than did the men’s messages.

In American culture, men experience greater body appreciation and less body dissatisfaction than women. To help explain these findings, this chapter examines theory and data concerning the relationship between gender role expectations and women’s and men’s embodiment. Data show that traditional feminine roles promote a focus on appearance and self-objectification that is negatively associated with body empowerment, while traditional masculine roles promote more functional body experiences associated with greater embodiment. This chapter discusses how gender roles can be changed to promote positive embodiment. According to social role theory, traditional gender roles result from, and help support, a gender unequal society. Feminism has led to some change in gender roles, but more change is needed, such as encouragement of caretaking among boys and men and instrumental traits and roles for girls and women. There is also the need to render people less vulnerable to body image pressures, supporting body empowerment during development.