In the Peruvian society, it is not very common to hear about violence against the male gender, since there are more cases related to violence against women and there is a stereotype that associates men with self sufficiency, strength and insensitivity. We still cannot deny the fact that men suffer from different types of violence too. In 2018, in the country, 15% of the complaints made for domestic violence were made by men mistreated by their partner. Normally, men do not report these acts because they feel ashamed and/or are afraid that the authorities will not believe them. In the case of men; children, adolescents and older adults are the ones who suffer the most. The forms of abuse are physical, psychological, and sexual. Also, this affects the family environment and causes posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety atacks and even suicide.
With the city of Lima leading the rate of domestic violence against men with 1,111 cases so far this year, followed by Arequipa with 267 and Cusco with 157, the most worrying thing is that in the majority of cases, other men subject them to different types of abuse. According to Enakele (2019), “violence against men concerns gender issues that amount to silence, fear, and shame for most men”, because the traditional gender roles assigned to men cause violence against men to be ignored. Additionally, violence against men is “a phenomenon that has received very little attention in the academic literature and the media around the world” (Lindstrøm, 2018). In this regard, we have to find a way to find the reason for domestic violence against men, try to know who is perpetrating the violence, if it is a man or a woman, if it is something isolated or a repetitive event, if it was in self-defense, it is necessary to know this background in order to effectively combat abuse and prevent fatal conclusions from being drawn.
Men, as a gender, are born and grow up with certain stereotypes predetermined by a traditionalist and retrograde society. Unfortunately, even women and men accept situations, perform actions, and have thoughts that encourage the preservation of these misconceptions about the masculine gender. A survey carried out by El Comercio of a group of 30 students between the ages of 12 and 18 showed that 73.3% have been affected by these stereotypes at least once in their lives. "Men don't cry" is the most repeated phrase and the most famous stereotype. This statement encompasses many concepts that limit the life of men, such as the inability to express their emotions, being fragile or even discrimination related to homophobia. Currently, harassment directed towards men is even more permissible compared to that of women. Many times, the harassment of men is taken as a joke, fun or something harmless, but it is certain that if the same thing happened with women, the violence would be much more noticeable. It is necessary to be aware that what we say can affect anyone; the objective of the fight for women's rights is not to superimpose them on men, but to find equality in all aspects.
The pattern of domestic violence towards men occurs in many areas and in many ways that can range from slapping to death by bleeding, this in cases of physical aggression, in cases of psychological aggression they are denied parental responsibility by moving them away of children and there are also cases of defamation that, based on self-harm, lead to complaints of aggression, the latter to reach a sworn or financial conciliation. In this way, violence against men is a fist to the wall since some police institutions view the man who denounces with ridicule, highlighting his lack of authority in the home of a patriarchal society where the strongest is the one who is respected. The result of this violence is the destruction of the family nucleus, generating patterns that the minors who witness these acts adopt and take violence as a habit.
Enakele, A. (2019). Domestic violence against men: prevalence, implications, and consequences. Socialinis darbas. Partiris ir metodai, 24(2), 30-43. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342861170_Domestic_violence_against_men_prevalence_implications_and_consequences
Lindstrøm, R. (2018). Intimate partner violence against men. A systematic review of how definition, study characteristics and quality affects prevalente (tesis de maestría). Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS). http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn%3Anbn%3Ase%3Amau%3Adiva-25675
https://elcomercio.pe/corresponsales-escolares/historias/estereotipos-de-genero-el-enemigo-oculto-de-los-escolares-lima-noticia/, https://elcomercio.pe/opinion/columnistas/la-violencia-contra-ellos-por-daniela-meneses-sala-noticia/?ref=ecr
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario