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IS THERE ANY GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE OTHER THAN HARMFUL PRACTICES?
IS THERE ANY GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE OTHER THAN HARMFUL PRACTICES? and limitations are. As a result of While gender role and stereotypes privileges, these gender norms, certain types of violence may vary, patriarchy transcends become normalised and justified. cultures. A GENDERED ANALYSIS
OF CULTURE
Considering culture as the only determinant of gender inequality obscures the various causes of unequal gender norms, gender discrimination, and GBV. It contributes to producing racist representations of culture and racializes patriarchy. GBV IS ROOTED IN GENDER INEQUALITY AND PATRIARCHY GBV is not unique to any country, culture, or religion. It occurs all over the world. Its causes lie in gender norms and unequal power relations, which exist in all societies. Indeed, while gender roles and stereotypes may vary, patriarchy transcends cultures.78 Those patriarchal norms determine stereotypical binary behaviours for men and women: what society expects of men and women, what their roles, 78. J. Sidanius et al., “Social dominance orientation, hierarchy-attenuators and hierarchy-enhancers: Social dominance theory and the criminal justice system”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 24 (1994).
Culture can be defined as a set of symbols and meanings79 including rituals, beliefs, and societal structures. Gender relationships are both shaped by, and shape, those structures. Therefore, gender, like culture, is a category for analysis of the way societies are organized.80 The examination of the relationship between gendered hierarchies and culture aims to investigate gender rapports—inequalities, biases, discrimination—in a specific context while questioning the relative importance of culture and gender norms in constructing those relationships. Considering culture as the only determinant of gender inequality obscures the various causes of unequal gender norms, gender discrimination, and GBV. On the one hand, it contributes to producing racist representations of culture and racializes patriarchy.81 Indeed, in this perception, GBV is viewed as being only a set of harmful practices. Those practices rely on social, cultural, and customary considerations that vary from one community to another. They can take various forms: honour killings, selective abortion, forced sexual initiation, genital mutilation, early marriage, breast ironing, food taboos, female infanticide, dowry, etc. Overestimating the importance of culture in shaping gender roles leads to racial79. Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York, Basic Books: 1973). 80. Audrey Heine and Laurent Licata, « Genre et culture », in Les psychologies du genre. Regards croisés sur le développement, l’éducation, la santé mentale et la société, ed. Vincent Yzserbyt, Isabelle Roskam, and Annalisa Casini (Bruxelles : Mardaga, 2021) : 243. 81. Ibid.: 256.
