Two out of five men in many States across the country believe that women should neither be seen nor heard. One in three men didn’t allow their wives to wear clothes of their choice and 75 per cent expected their partners to agree to have sex.
These findings are part of a study ‘Masculinity, Intimate Partner Violence and Son Preference in India’ carried out in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab and Haryana.
Carried out by the United Nations Population Fund and the International Centre for Research on Women , the study that establishes a link between masculinity, gender violence and a son preference also shows high levels of sexual violence perpetrated by men.
While Odisha and U.P have emerged as States with the highest prevalence of intimate partner violence at 75 per cent, Punjab and Haryana follow at 43 per cent and Maharashtra at 37 per cent. In U.P, 30 per cent men reported perpetrating sexual violence in the past 12 months compared with 7 to 15 per cent in other States. Incidentally, only 8 per cent of the women in U.P reported experiencing sexual violence and Odisha with 22 per cent was the State with the highest reports of sexual violence against women.
Based on interviews with 9,205 men and 3,158 women, the study says the average Indian man is “convinced that masculinity is about acting tough, freely exercising his privilege to lay down the rules in personal relationships and above all, controlling women”.
It also shows, 60 per cent of the men admitted to using violence to assert their dominance over their partner if she was unable to bear a son. More than half of the women experienced some form of violence during their lifetime, 38 per cent have suffered physical violence, 35 per cent were subjected to emotional violence and 17 per cent were violated sexually. Men with discriminatory gender views are more inclined to physically abuse their partner and also be the ones more likely to want sons, the study notes. Eighty-one per cent of women felt it is important to have at least one son.
Offering solutions, the study recommends reaching out to young boys with alternative ideas of masculinity and ensuring quality education for both sexes along with ensuring women’s access to income.
