Culture of violence theory

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The culture of violence theory addresses the pervasiveness of specific violent patterns within a societal dimension. [1] The concept of violence being ingrained in Western society and culture has been around for at least the 20th century. [1] Developed from structural violence, as research progressed the notion that a culture can sanction violent acts developed into what we know as culture of violence theory today. [1] Two prominent examples of culture legitimizing violence can be seen in rape myths and victim blaming. [2] Rape myths lead to misconstrued notions of blame; it is common for the responsibility associated with the rape to be placed on the victim rather than the offender. [2]

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Furthermore, the culture of violence theory potentially accounts for inter-generational theories of violence and domestic violence. [3] Childhood exposure to violence in the household may later lead to similar patterns in marital relations. [3] Similarly, early experience with domestic violence is likely to increase an individual's potential for development of clinical symptoms. [4] Additionally, presence of a preexisting mental disorder may heighten the chances of becoming involved in an abusive relationship. [5]

There are many factors which contribute to the persistence of violence among individuals and on a societal level; gender is one relevant factor to understanding the culture of violence theory. [6] In the United States, a majority of reported rapes involve female victims. [2] However, there is a growing body of evidence to support the notion that women can perpetuate relational cycles of violence. [6] While a culture of violence has an impact on people as a whole, for individuals who have experienced trauma in their lives the impact can be much larger. [4] [6] [7]

Development of the theory

As mentioned previously the culture of violence theory addresses the pervasiveness of specific violent patterns within in a societal dimension. [1] Specifically, culture of violence theory explains how cultures and societies can sanction violent acts. [1] While related to structural violence, cultural violence theory is different by explaining why direct acts of violence or violence built into systems of society exists and how they are legitimized. [1] Research suggests that cultures can encourage and permit violence to exist as a response to various environmental obstacles, such as widespread resource impoverishment. [8] This can be seen within various aspects of culture, such as film, television, music, language, art, and propaganda. [1] [8] [9] [10]
Austrian peace researcher Franz Jedlicka has made an attempt to measure the culture of violence in different countries of the world with his "Culture of Violence Scale 2023". [11]

Relation to cultural values in the United States

Rape myths

Rape myths refer to the inaccurate views and stereotypes of forced sexual acts, and the victims and perpetuators of them. [9] These notions are prevalent among the general population and often suggest that the victims of non-consensual sexual acts have bad reputations, are promiscuous, dress provocatively, or are fabricating assault when they regret the consensual acts after the fact. [9] These views are often legitimized by the status quo of men dominating women across domains such as family, education, work, and many others. [9] Rape myth acceptance can lead to poor assault/rape prevention measures, decrease in reporting of assaults/rapes, increases of assaults/rapes, and re-victimization. [9]

Violence in relationships

Violence in relationships, commonly referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV), is impacted by various factors including the presence of mental illness or use of substances. [12] [13] [14] Specifically, individuals with depression, generalized anxiety (GAD), or panic disorder are potentially at risk for physical violence towards a partner; findings are consistent for both men and women regarding the connection between psychiatric diagnoses and perpetuation of relationship violence. [12] Additionally, propensity to engage in specific behaviors such as gambling or endorsement of violent pornography have also been associated with increased risk for relationship violence occurrence. [13] [15] Individual factors have also been suggested to be associated with relationship violence including anger, aggressiveness, and adverse emotional internalization. [16] Contrarily, exposure to relationship violence is also linked to the later development of mental health symptoms or diagnoses. [17]

Violence in pop culture and media

The prevalence of legitimization of violence may be facilitated by its presence in various media. [9] [15] There is evidence to suggest that sex-related crimes account for nearly 10% of all dialogue on television related to sex, most of which is found on fictional programs. [9] Additionally, research has also found a positive relationship between pornography consumption and attitudes supporting violence against women, especially when the pornography in question is violent in nature. [15] However, consideration of individual differences is necessary in evaluating exposure to violent media and overall outcomes. [18] Factors which influence media content exposure and subsequent outcomes include gender and personality traits. [18] Individuals who are male, hostile, impulsive, and are low on empathy are more likely to be susceptible to violent media exposure. [18]

Public justification of violence

Public justification of violence arise when those not necessarily directly involved in the violent act will not react negatively to the violence because they believe it is warranted. [9] Examples of public justification of violence are most evident in rape myths and victim blaming, as discussed above. [1] [2] [9] However, the common belief regarding legitimate violence tends to place responsibility on victims or potential victims of violence. [1] [2] [9] Another example that is not as often noted, is the pervasive notion of the "chosen one," within some extremist religious language and various nationalism propaganda that will function as a means to perpetuate the undermining of the other and allowance of violence against the other. [1]

In the Ottoman Empire and Turkey

Turkish sociologist Fatma Müge Göçek has argued that the Armenian genocide and other violent repression in the Ottoman Empire was caused by the Committee of Union and Progress' adoption of a "culture of violence"; she argues that this culture of violence remains embedded in Turkish political culture. [19] [20]

Related Research Articles

Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, and the torture of the person in a sexual manner.

Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as the greater tendency to blame victims of rape than victims of robbery if victims and perpetrators knew each other prior to the commission of the crime.

Sex differences in crime are differences between men and women as the perpetrators or victims of crime. Such studies may belong to fields such as criminology, sociobiology, or feminist studies. Despite the difficulty of interpreting them, crime statistics may provide a way to investigate such a relationship from a gender differences perspective. An observable difference in crime rates between men and women might be due to social and cultural factors, crimes going unreported, or to biological factors for example, testosterone or sociobiological theories). The nature or motive of the crime itself may also require consideration as a factor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rape culture</span> Society in which rape is pervasive and normalised

Rape culture is a setting, as described by some sociological theories, in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to that setting's attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, slut-shaming, sexual objectification, trivializing rape, denial of widespread rape, refusing to acknowledge the harm caused by sexual violence, or some combination of these. It has been used to describe and explain behavior within social groups, including prison rape and in conflict areas where war rape is used as psychological warfare. Entire societies have been alleged to be rape cultures.

The study of violence in mass media analyzes the degree of correlation between themes of violence in media sources with real-world aggression and violence over time. Many social scientists support the correlation, however, some scholars argue that media research has methodological problems and that findings are exaggerated. Other scholars have suggested that the correlation exists, but can be unconventional to the current public belief.

Rape is a traumatic experience that affects the victim in a physical, psychological, and sociological way. Even though the effects and aftermath of rape differ among victims, individuals tend to suffer from similar issues found within these three categories. Long-term reactions may involve the development of coping mechanisms that will either benefit the victim, such as social support, or inhibit their recovery. Seeking support and professional resources may assist the victim in numerous ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rape</span> Type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse without consent

Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability, or is below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is domestic violence by a current or former spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner. IPV can take a number of forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic and sexual abuse. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines IPV as "any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviors." IPV is sometimes referred to simply as battery, or as spouse or partner abuse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of pornography</span> Influence of pornography on an individual and their intimate relationships

Pornography has been defined as any material in varying forms, including texts, video, photos or audio that is consumed for sexual satisfaction and arousal of an individual or partnership. The effects of pornography on individuals or their intimate relationships have been a subject of research.

Sexual violence refers to a range of completed or attempted sexual acts in which the affected party does not or is unable to consent. Theories on the causes of sexual violence are numerous and have come out of many different disciplines, such as women's studies, public health, and criminal justice. Proposed causes include military conquest, socioeconomics, anger, power, sadism, traits, ethical standards, laws, and evolutionary pressures. Most of the research on the causes of sexual violence has focused on male offenders.

Research published from 2000 to 2020 illustrates increased prevalence rates of sexual violence against people with intellectual disabilities, compared to the general population.:61 The World Health Organization (WHO) funded a study which concluded that 15% of the adult population worldwide in 2012 had a disability, putting them at increased risk of physical, sexual, and intimate partner violence. Of that 15%, 6.1% had intellectual disability with 5.5% experiencing sexual violence. In another 2012 report, the WHO found that worldwide, children with intellectual disabilities experienced a 4.6 times greater risk of sexual violence than those without disability.

Trauma bonds are emotional bonds that arise from a cyclical pattern of abuse. A trauma bond occurs in an abusive relationship, wherein the victim forms an emotional bond with the perpetrator. The concept was developed by psychologists Donald Dutton and Susan Painter.

Examples of misogyny exist in many published forms, within multiple cultures and well-observed works. Technological advances in the modern era have contributed proficient means to media and marketing to the resultant mass media in the 21st century. The merging of misogyny and mass media has made numerous examples where studies have concluded correlations between misogynous messages, both obvious and subliminal. Corresponding physical appearance of violence and hateful conduct may be seen relative to exposure.

The exploitation of women in mass media is the use or portrayal of women in mass media such as television, film, music, and advertising as objects or sexual beings, in order to increase the appeal of media or a product to the detriment of the women being portrayed, and women in society. This process includes the presentation of women as sexual objects and the setting of feminine beauty ideals that women are expected to reflect. Sexual exploitation of women in the media dates back to 19th century Paris, in which ballerinas were exposed to harassment and objectification. The most often criticized aspect of the use of women in mass media is sexual objectification, but dismemberment can be a part of the objectification as well. The exploitation of women in mass media has been criticized by feminists and other advocates of women's rights, and is a topic of discussion in feminist studies and other fields of scholarship.

Violence against men are violent acts that are disproportionately or exclusively committed against men or boys. Men are over-represented as both victims and perpetrators of violence.

Rape myths are prejudicial, stereotyped, and false beliefs about sexual assaults, rapists, and rape victims. They often serve to excuse sexual aggression, create hostility toward victims, and bias criminal prosecution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual assault of LGBT persons</span>

Sexual assault of LGBT people, also known as sexual and gender minorities (SGM), is a form of violence that occurs within the LGBT community. While sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence can occur in all forms of relationships, it is found that sexual minorities experience it at rates that are equal to or higher than their heterosexual counterparts. There is a lack of research on this specific problem for the LGBT population as a whole, but there does exist a substantial amount of research on college LGBT students who have experienced sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as physical and sexual violence or threat of violence, intimidation, or coercion that occurs between past or current intimate partners. Perpetrators of violence may use coercion tactics to keep the partner in the home. These tactics could include threatening harm to a family pet or threatening to take custody of children if the partner attempts to leave. IPV is a serious public health concern in the United States and one that has the potential to affect an individual’s medical readiness. Within the military community, intimate relationships may be particularly vulnerable to occupation-stress that is specific to military operations. These demands might include frequent moves to undesirable locations or overseas, separation from extended family for unknown lengths of time, frequent variability in work schedule, long hours, career uncertainty, mission ambiguity, training environments meant to simulate varying operational environments, and risk that is inherent to the field. Although there are programs in place designed to support the family unit, the stress of multiple deployments, combat exposure, and exposure to traumatic events cause additional strain on the family unit as service members reintegrate into the home environment following the return home from a deployment. Deployments bring additional stress on the family unit as two-parent homes transition to one-parent homes while attempting to maintain their semi-regular schedules.

Secondary victimisation refers to further victim-blaming from criminal justice authorities following a report of an original victimisation.

Trauma-informed care (TIC) or Trauma-and violence-informed care (TVIC), is a framework for relating to and helping people who have experienced negative consequences after exposure to dangerous experiences. There is no one single TIC framework, or model, and some go by slightly different names, including Trauma- and violence-Informed Care (TVIC). They incorporate a number of perspectives, principles and skills. TIC frameworks can be applied in many contexts including medicine, mental health, law, education, architecture, addiction, gender, culture, and interpersonal relationships. They can be applied by individuals and organizations.

References

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  3. 1 2 Stith, Sandra M.; Rosen, Karen H.; Middleton, Kimberly A.; Busch, Amy L.; Lundeberg, Kirsten; Carlton, Russell P. (2000-08-01). "The Intergenerational Transmission of Spouse Abuse: A Meta-Analysis". Journal of Marriage and Family. 62 (3): 640–654. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00640.x. ISSN   1741-3737.
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  5. ↑ Trevillion, Kylee; Oram, Siân; Feder, Gene; Howard, Louise M. (2012-12-26). "Experiences of Domestic Violence and Mental Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". PLOS ONE. 7 (12): e51740. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...751740T. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051740 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   3530507 . PMID   23300562.
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  7. ↑ Ungar, Michael (2013-05-03). "Resilience, Trauma, Context, and Culture". Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 14 (3): 255–266. doi:10.1177/1524838013487805. PMID   23645297. S2CID   206737781.
  8. 1 2 Brown, Ryan P.; Osterman, Lindsey L. (2012-07-20). "Culture of Honor, Violence, and Homicide". The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Violence, Homicide, and War. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199738403.013.0013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ph.D, LeeAnn Kahlor; Ph.D, Matthew S. Eastin (2011-05-25). "Television's Role in the Culture of Violence Toward Women: A Study of Television Viewing and the Cultivation of Rape Myth Acceptance in the United States". Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 55 (2): 215–231. doi:10.1080/08838151.2011.566085. ISSN   0883-8151. S2CID   145393515.
  10. ↑ Ferguson, Christopher J.; Beresin, Eugene (2017). "Social science's curious war with pop culture and how it was lost: The media violence debate and the risks it holds for social science". Preventive Medicine. 99: 69–76. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.02.009. PMID   28212816.
  11. ↑ Jedlicka, Franz (December 2023). "Culture of Violence Scale 2023 A tool to estimate the acceptance of violence within societies".
  12. 1 2 Oram, S.; Trevillion, K.; Khalifeh, H.; Feder, G.; Howard, L. M. (December 2014). "Systematic review and meta-analysis of psychiatric disorder and the perpetration of partner violence". Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. 23 (4): 361–376. doi:10.1017/s2045796013000450. ISSN   2045-7960. PMC   7192171 . PMID   23962668.
  13. 1 2 Crane, Cory A.; Hawes, Samuel W.; Weinberger, Andrea H. (2013-07-22). "Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Cigarette Smoking". Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 14 (4): 305–315. doi:10.1177/1524838013495962. PMC   3784627 . PMID   23878146.
  14. ↑ Crane, Cory A.; Godleski, Stephanie A.; Przybyla, Sarahmona M.; Schlauch, Robert C.; Testa, Maria (2015-05-24). "The Proximal Effects of Acute Alcohol Consumption on Male-to-Female Aggression". Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 17 (5): 520–531. doi:10.1177/1524838015584374. PMC   4798910 . PMID   26009568.
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  16. ↑ Birkley, Erica L.; Eckhardt, Christopher I. (2015). "Anger, hostility, internalizing negative emotions, and intimate partner violence perpetration: A meta-analytic review". Clinical Psychology Review. 37: 40–56. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2015.01.002. PMC   4385442 . PMID   25752947.
  17. ↑ Wolfe, David A.; Crooks, Claire V.; Lee, Vivien; McIntyre-Smith, Alexandra; Jaffe, Peter G. (2003-09-01). "The Effects of Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: A Meta-Analysis and Critique". Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. 6 (3): 171–187. doi:10.1023/a:1024910416164. ISSN   1096-4037. PMID   14620578. S2CID   12612886.
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  19. ↑ Göçek, Fatma Müge (2015). Denial of Violence: Ottoman Past, Turkish Present and Collective Violence Against the Armenians, 1789-2009. Oxford University Press. pp. 191–192. ISBN   978-0-19-933420-9.
  20. ↑ "Review Feature - The Armenian Genocide". E-International Relations. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
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