Patriarchal sexist beliefs in India make women susceptible to gender violence: Report

LONDON: A new academic study has found that the “pervasive problem of violence against women in India” will not be solved by men protecting women, as such patriarchal sexist beliefs can also be harmful.

The first large-scale analysis of associations between sexism and tolerance of violence against women in India, written by academics in the UK, New Zealand and US, has found that patronising beliefs about women that are framed in protective terms can make them more vulnerable to violence as they create a power dynamic in which women are subordinate to their male partners. “Prescriptions that women should be protected from outsiders can simultaneously legitimise men’s dominance within relationships, thus reinforcing the very inequalities that make women more vulnerable to violence,” the paper said.

The research paper, titled “Ambivalent Sexism and Tolerance of Violence Against Women in India”, has been published by Psychological Science , a top empirical journal in psychology and the flagship journal of the US-based Association for Psychological Science.

The paper referred to high-profile sexual assaults in India as well as the “less conspicuous violence” some Indian women face, such as sexual harassment in public and domestic violence.

“This public and private violence occurs in a societal context in which sexist beliefs are relatively prevalent,” it said.

The study, which examined the sexist beliefs of a cross-section of India, found that hostile sexism and benevolent sexism both legitimise gender inequality and harm women.

Men who endorse hostile sexism, which is the belief that women are manipulative, power-hungry and oversensitive, are more tolerant of violence against women perpetrated by strangers as well as by intimate partners.

In contrast, men who endorse benevolent sexism, which presents women as caring, moral and deserving of men’s admiration and protection, are less tolerant of violence from strangers but “more tolerant” of spousal violence, it said.

“Any protection from public violence that women gain from benevolent sexism also means they are more vulnerable to violence committed by their ‘protectors’,” the paper said. “Benevolent sexism promotes women’s acceptance of their partner’s autocratic behaviour and predicts beliefs that normalise men’s power over their partners.”

Dr Nikhil Sengupta, director of the psychology and public policy research unit at Kent University, the lead author of the paper, told TOI: “Our findings suggest that if reducing violence against women is framed in terms that restrict women’s autonomy, especially with respect to their male partners, it can make them more vulnerable to violence. Enabling greater empowerment and autonomy for women inside and outside of relationships is needed to reduce violence against women. To solve the pervasive problem of violence against women, it is not just hostile gender stereotypes that must be challenged but also the seemingly protective yet patriarchal sexist beliefs.”