Gender inequality and gender-based violence

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore the relationship between gender inequality, or unequal treatment based on gender, and gender-based violence (GBV), drawing extensions to adolescent dating violence (ADV). Using a global perspective, we start with definitions, examining the way in which gender inequality has been conceptualized and operationalized at the outermost level of the social ecology: the societal level. We then move to the inner levels of the social ecology to discuss gender-role attitudes, a way in which gender inequality may manifest at the individual and relationship levels. Following this broad overview, we examine the evidence on the link between both gender inequality and gender-role attitudes and GBV, including ADV. Gender inequality and the gender-role attitudes and norms that support it (and vice versa) appear to play a central role in GBV, although research is just beginning to explore the role in the development and maintenance of ADV specifically. Research on gender-role inequality, gender-role attitudes, and ADV indicates that the relationships among these constructs are complicated and potentially bidirectional, highlighting the need for future work in this area. Although research in this area is nascent with much yet to be learned, it is clear from the broader field of violence prevention that interventions aiming to reduce both gender inequality and ADV could be strengthened by multicomponent strategies, targeting both males and females, and at all levels of the social ecology.