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WHETHER IT IS in acts of personal violence such as rape or murder, or group violence such as rioting, gangland murders or war, men play a role that far exceeds that of women. But why is this?
Consider the facts.
Men are the major perpetrators of violent crime. Data from the United States for the period 1980 to 2008, for example, shows that men were responsible for 90% of the murders committed during that period. [1]
Men are also the major victims of violent crime. The same US data shows that 77% of the murder victims over those same two decades were men.
Women, on the other hand, are more likely to be the victims, rather the perpetrators, of violent crime.
The figures are staggering
In fact, the degree to which women are the victims of male violence is truly staggering. Women aged 15 to 44 worldwide are more likely to be killed or maimed because of male violence than because of war, cancer, malaria, and traffic accidents combined.
In the US alone, the number of women murdered as a result of domestic violence between 9/11 and 2012 exceeded the number of terrorist victims on that day and all American soldiers subsequently killed in the War on Terror combined.
Male violence against women is one of the invisible and under-recognised pandemics of our time.
What is it that makes men more likely to be violent than women?
What causes violent behaviour?
In seeking explanations, it is important to recognise that violence cannot be explained in terms of a single cause. Instead there are multiple possible factors that contribute to violent behaviour.
One possible factor is biology. Research shows that persistent violent offending is often correlated with minor brain damage or certain psychological abnormalities, particularly psychopathy.
A second possible contributing factor is childhood trauma. There is strong evidence that severe neglect and violent abuse in childhood are high risk factors for violent behaviour in adults. It is abundantly clear that grossly dysfunctional parenting can cause acute problems in child development, which in turn can result in delinquent behaviour, including violence.
The significance of group violence
A third possible contributory factor is the influence of groups on individual behaviour.
Research into group violence, such as racial and homophobic assaults, has shown that violent groups are typically made up of four different types of offenders: thugs for whom violence is their normal means of resolving disputes; xenophobes who blame others for their own troubles; sympathisers who become involved through peer pressure; and politically motivated offenders, who are usually educated and indulge in violence in pursuit of their political beliefs.
In organised gang violence, financial rewards from lucrative illegal activities such as drug dealing, human trafficking, and prostitution provide an additional powerful incentive for gang membership. Poverty, high unemployment and lax law enforcement provide the context within which violent gangs can thrive.
A further possible explanation for violent behaviour is given by sociological theories of violence. One such argument is that capitalism encourages egoism and greed, rather than altruism, and provides a supportive culture for violence. Moreover, the argument holds, in capitalist societies the rich are in a position to engage in large scale fraud, or to launch full scale wars for personal gain, secure in the knowledge that they will escape punishment.
Gender construction
Whatever the range of factors contributing to violent behaviour – brain damage, psychopathy, childhood trauma, the influence of groups, or societal context – it is clear that they affect men to a larger degree than women.
This brings us a final possible contributing factor, and one which can have markedly different effects on men and women – gender construction.
Research on gender strongly suggests that many of the differences between men and women that we take for granted, are something we are taught rather than something we are born with.
According to Lise Eliot of Chicago Medical School, for example, infant brains are so malleable that small differences at birth become amplified over time through parental and societal reinforcement of gender stereotypes. Girls, Eliot holds, are not naturally more empathic than boys. They just get to practice these feelings more.
By age five, most boys and girls will have internalised the gender roles and expectations taught them by their families, schools, religions and societies. And in many instances, boys will have been socialised for violence by being taught that being a man means being tough, powerful, intimidating, and a stud.
While constructions of masculinity differ widely both within and between countries, it seems clear that some constructions of masculinity increase the chances of boys growing up to become violent men.
Neither gender is innately predisposed to violence – social environment is key
The evidence so far available suggests two important conclusions.
First, there is no conclusive evidence that men and women differ in their innate biological or psychological propensity for violence. The fact that men commit the majority of violent acts may instead be understood as arising mainly from the social environment.
Second, the fact that explanations of persistent violent behaviour are to be found to varying degrees in brain damage, psychological abnormality, childhood trauma, group peer pressure, and adverse social environments allows us to go one step further and conclude that persistent violent behaviour is an abnormality that emerges under certain circumstances.
Under the patriarchal circumstances that currently prevail world-wide, this abnormality emerges in men to a much greater degree than in women.
Empowerment
So what to do? A lot, of course, is already being done. In keeping with the fact that violence has multiple causes, those working on solutions are doing so on multiple fronts.
Four types of peacemaker stand out.
The first are the many groups worldwide working to empower women. Violence against women is most likely when the power differential between men and women is large. Enforcing women’s rights to equality in domestic, economic and political relationships is therefore key to reducing violence.
However, since there is no conclusive evidence that women are inherently less violent than men, empowering women without changing the widespread acceptance of violence in society can only be part of the solution.
Hence three other types of peacemaker are crucial.
First, the forces of law enforcement, whose role is to remove persistent violent offenders from circulating in society and to provide a credible deterrent against violent behaviour.
Second, those working to redefine masculinity so that boys grow up believing that being a man can also mean being gentle, nurturing and empathic.
And third, those opposing violence in all its forms by pressing for non-violent solutions to human conflicts. This group realises that violence traumatises and embitters and its use continually creates ever more violent individuals.
Together these peacemakers are working towards a world in which violence is seen as an abnormality – an abnormality from which both men and women can be equally immune.
Ian Hughes is an author and blogger. You can find his blog at disorderedworld.com and follow him on Twitter @disorderedworld
This is getting hilarious at this stage. At what stage are all these supposed “intellectuals”, “intelligent politicians” and lest we forget the blessed academic insulated economists, going to get it! It aint working lads, so I know uprooting the whole system puts all your publicly paid gravy trains at risk but sher that’s just tough! Wait for Italy to go caput next and then just wait for the meltdown. Any chance the journal would get all our learned economist friends like Mr Whelan on here? Didn’t he tell us we’d have €700 billion at our disposal if we voted Yes? There’s €100 billion gone already and markets are still tearing Spain apart. You just have to question credibility at this stage! Oh dear oh dear, everyone feathering their own nests while Europe burns!
thank god for all the intuitive geniuses who write on the journal
That 700 billion alone will only last for Spain. Italy and France are in the waiting room.
Hence my policy not to invest within the Euro zone.
In the longterm the Euro will falter as we know it.
That is of course just my opinion.
What is yours?
Joe, there’s no need for any intuition here. A cursory study of economic history clearly demonstrates that there is no easy or painless slution to this crisis.
Over eighty years ago, Ludwig von Mises forewarned the Wall St. crash with this now ominous quote. “There is no means to avoid the final collapse brought about by credit expansion..”
We have just lived through the largest expansion of credit in the past 40 years. Expect a collapse of similar scale.
Just looking at Richard Bruton here on tv3 news saying that the Spanish bailout has stabilized the situation are they for real this government, we need to get out on the streets enough is enough
Sure in fairness Richard is talking bull. Sure wasn’t it the fiscal compact that was going to provide stability?
So which countries have signed up for the fiscal compact? Greece? Yes. Spain? Yes. Ireland? Yes (or soon to do so as the referendum was passed). Portugal? Yes. Anyone notice a pattern her? Have any other countries ratified it?
It’s all about the positive signals, and the stability, we’ll be graaaaaand. There are positive signals everywhere now, nothing to worry about. It’s sorted.
Economic issues like this will lead to massive social upheaval, my money’s out of Irish banks! And have started to become fully self sufficient for food … City folks will look well when the powercuts come
In 1971, the gold standard system, established at Bretton Woods, was abandoned in favour of a fiat currency system with the US dollar positioned as the global reserve currency. This allowed the US to bridge funding gaps, caused by the cost of funding both the Vietnam war and the ongoing Cold war with Russia.
The world benefitted greatly from this momentous decision.
Firstly, the US, liberated from the monetary shackles of the gold standard, could finance enhanced military expansion/adventurism without subjecting American voters to onerous levels of taxation.
Secondly, fiat currency offered enhanced economic capabilities to central planners (governments, central banks). The volume of currency supplied into the economy could be increased to stimulate growth (monetary easing) during recessionary episodes. This was particularly opportune for nations like the US & Britain as their domestic manufacturing industries were in decline in the 1970′s. In both these nations, uncompetitive businesses were allowed to fail as any economic impacts were, or would be, mitigated by a, soon to be, thriving banking and financial services sector courtesy of the enhanced monetary capabilies now available to central planners.
An anomaly of fiat currency is it’s requirement for constant monetary expansion and it’s propensity to generate credit fuelled booms and debt. As fiat currency holds no intrinsic value, to ensure monetary stability all new currency is issued as debt. Central banks issue new currency to governments and Market participants as collaterallised debt. To allow for repayment of this new currency (debt) the volume of new currency must constantly increase (constant monetary expansion). Needless to say, the rate of monetary expansion has increased exponentially over subsequent decades.
http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse/chapter-8-fed-money-creation
While governments issue bonds to their central banks to access new currency, Market participants faced increasing difficulty sourcing, the expotentially increasing quantities of securities required to access new currency. The danger of a collateral drought were that the wheels would come off the accelerating fiat currency merry-go-round.
In the US, this problem was overcome by issuance of toxic securities. In many cases these were facilitated by the expanding subprime mortgage market.
European banks, as well as trading in toxic securities also, accessed collateral via the government bonds of nations, whose creditworthiness had recently been enhanced, such as Greece. Also, newly created collateral courtesy of credit-fuelled property booms in countries such as Spain and Ireland.
Ron Paul!
Bring back the gold standard
I don’t entirely agree Dmc. The twentieth century was dominated by two currency systems (or variants). Firstly, the gold standard up until 1971. This was abandoned because it did not provide enough liquidity for free-spending governments and properly functioning economies at the same time.
Then fiat currency which we will soon see disappear down a sinkhole of inflation and debasement.
The ideal solution is a currency system where the supply of currency matches the demand for currency. While there is not an oversupply as we currently have now with paper money.
Mexican Hugo Salinas Price has suggested a hybrid duel currency system. This involves the issuance of paper currency long side the issuance of silver coins.
US Professor Larry White goes a step further, suggesting complete liberalisation of the issuance of currency.
Either system could prove extremely useful for Ireland in the near future.
http://www.freebanking.org/2011/09/13/the-free-competition-in-currency-act-of-2011/
Why can’t the create a separate vehicle for bailing out banks on their own? Think we might have had a glimpse of what would happen this morning. Spanish bond yields fell until it became apparent that Spain, and not it’s banks, was on the hook afterall
The EU/ECB had a chance in 2009 to resolve this, by being radical then. They refused and dithered, looked at the German economy, saw it was doing fine and left it at that.
The problem festered and grew, growth collapsed under austerity and the debt remains. Now growth is stalling across all countries, including the so called core. Holland heading in to a recession and Germany will as well.
This is funnier than my Fr Ted boxset!!! All this crap is caused by fear and stupid clowns gambling with the stockmarkets. The funniest thing is governments know this but wont do anything about it!!!
Batten down the hatches! This is going to be a bumpy ride. The euro in its current form looks doomed. No more band aids left. The game is up. The euro political zombies have bottled it.
there is one simple, tried and tested solution and its called bankruptcy.
The conspiracy theorists think this banking crisis is to force the countries into a united states of Europe controlled by the big banks..what a ridiculous idea. Idiots!!
Although who s running Greece and Italy at t moment…hummm, nah it couldn’t be bankers??
Waterford do ur homework it’s actually not a theory anymore it’s fact . The bankers are actually sucking the world economies dry . It’s down to fiat currency and for fiat currency to survive it must always have ppl spending that’s why you have Christmas valentines day paddy s day Easter the currency must always be circulating . There’s no solution fiat currency does not work . Our civilisation is going to collapse the way it’s going so the ppl in charge may see this as a reason to create a super communist state where everything I’d controlled .
Can we have more bandaid please, the bit we thought fixed Spain has vanished, where will it all end
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