XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

125

Family Structure, Power Relations and Gender Based Violence

RC06 Family Research (host committee)

Language: English

Gender based violence is a serious social and public health problem, and a marker of injustice and inequality. It is the most common form of violence against women and consists of a range of physical, sexual, and emotional acts perpetrated against women. Most studies have concentrated on the causes, consequences and individual level determinants of gender based violence; but little is known about the influence of family structure and power relations that exist within the various family types on women’s experience of violence.   In order to re-conceptualize a public health response to violence against women, beyond individual-level approaches to violence, there is need to consider how family structure and power relations interact to shape the ‘life time experiences’ of violence for women in different cultural contexts. This is important given the increasing changes in family formation and family power processes in varying cultural settings that may increase women’s vulnerability to violence. In most patriarchal societies, women are relegated to subordinate positions in the family, thus emerging issues from the proposed session will  help in addressing the stereotypes and beliefs about the proper roles and responsibilities of men and women in the family that reinforce the view that gender based violence is a private matter at the expense of rights and freedom of women. Furthermore, understanding the interplay between gender based violence, family structure and power relations will be useful in the development of coordinated community responses and the design of public health intervention strategies to reduce women’s experience of violence.