{"id":17716,"date":"2021-07-19T14:07:14","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T13:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/?p=17716"},"modified":"2024-02-06T15:32:26","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T15:32:26","slug":"its-time-to-flip-the-sexist-script-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/its-time-to-flip-the-sexist-script-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Safe blog: It\u2019s time to flip the sexist script"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s time to flip<\/strong> the sexist script<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Tuesday 20th July 2021<\/span><\/b>: Today, <\/span>Women’s Aid and the University of Bristol publish new research,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cGendered experiences of justice and domestic abuse. Evidence for Policy and Practice\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Lizzie McCarthy<\/strong> and Sarah Davidge<\/strong> explain why it is vital that we recognise the role sexism and misogyny play in setting the scene for domestic abuse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read the report here.<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our answer\u00a0would be that even though\u00a0anyone can\u00a0experience\u00a0domestic abuse and should have access to appropriate support,\u00a0t<\/span>he evidence\u202fshows\u202fus that\u202f there is a disproportionate impact on\u202fwomen. We know that women are more likely to experience domestic abuse,\u202fare more likely to be subjected to coercive control (those abusive actions that restrict personal freedom and instil fear) and\u202fare more likely to be seriously\u202fphysically and mentally harmed or killed.\u202fThe kinds of support they need also tend to be very different.\u202f<\/span> See the Safe<\/em> blog from November 2020, Why data matters when talking about domestic abuse<\/em><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The question\u00a0we ask\u00a0is, why are women so much more likely to experience abuse and why is this experience so different to men?<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

The answer is because\u00a0domestic\u00a0abuse perpetrated by men against women is part of wider sexism and misogyny.\u00a0It is rooted in women\u2019s unequal status in society and is part of the wider social problem of male violence against women and girls.\u00a0The root causes of domestic abuse are different for women and so\u00a0<\/span>the responses to tackling that abuse\u202fin policy and practice\u202fhave to\u202fbe different\u202f too.\u202f\u202fSimilarly, it is important to consider how other experiences of inequality shape survivors\u2019 experiences of abuse- including the barriers and discrimination faced by Black and minoritised survivors, LGBT+ survivors, disabled survivors and older and teen survivors. \u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We know from our work with survivors that sexism and misogyny permeate their experiences of domestic abuse.<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Feminist writers and activists have been speaking out about harmful gendered stereotypes and their link to male violence against women and girls for decades.\u202fWomen\u2019s Aid and the University of Bristol have come together to take a fresh look at this. Together, we analysed the interview transcripts of 37 survivors who had taken part in the recent ESRC* funded <\/span>Justice, Inequality and Gender-based Violence Project<\/span><\/a>.\u202fWe looked for \u2018gendering discourses\u2019 to see where sexism and misogyny had played a part in survivors\u2019 experiences of abuse.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today\u202f(20<\/span>th<\/span>\u202fJuly 2021)\u202f we\u2019ve\u202fpublished\u202fa report\u202fon\u202fthe findings,\u202f<\/span>Gendered experiences of justice and domestic abuse. Evidence for policy and practice<\/i><\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong>\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

We found that sexist myths which are part of everyday society had enabled and shaped the survivors\u2019 experiences of abuse. <\/span>Here are three common sexist scripts that featured in survivors\u2019 experiences of abuse, with quotes from the survivors we interviewed:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Sexist script:<\/strong> Women and men should play traditional roles in the household<\/h2>\n

Flipped script:<\/strong> Patriarchal roles in the home can enable domestic abuse<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cIt really became apparent to me in \u2026 we moved in together \u2026 and it was very much \u2026 it was my job to run the household, and his to basically tell me what to do.\u201d\u202f<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust to be subservient and just do everything that he said and not to have a voice or an\u202fopinion,\u2026\u201d\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026[he] didn\u2019t lift a finger round the house but expected me to do it. I\u2019d be called to account if things weren\u2019t done.\u201d\u202f<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026kind of everything revolved around him\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Survivors\u202fspoke\u202fabout a hierarchy of roles in their homes or intimate relationships.\u202fFor the survivors we interviewed, the man was in charge as\u202fthe \u2018head of the household\u2019,\u202fand the woman had the unchosen role\u202fof\u202fthe \u2018homemaker\u2019. The survivors were\u202ftasked with household chores or running the home efficiently,\u202fwithout having\u202fany say in\u202fhow this work was\u202fcarried out.\u202fThey\u202fspoke of how their male intimate partners often\u202fdictated\u202fexacting rules about how household work\u202fhad\u202fto be\u202fperformed, even though\u202fthe men usually refused to participate in\u202fthis work\u202fthemselves.\u202fMale authority in the household or relationship was both underpinned\u202fand reinforced by male violence and\u202fabuse.\u202fEvan Stark in his 2007 book on<\/span>\u202fCoercive Control<\/span><\/i>\u202fargues that it is easier for men to coerce women through household work (rather than vice versa) because\u202fthis is\u202falready socially\u202faccepted\u202fas \u2018women\u2019s work\u2019\u202f(i.e.\u202fthese are\u202fhousehold roles that women are already socially expected to perform).\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Sexist script:<\/strong> Women are sexual objects<\/h2>\n

Flipped script:<\/strong> The sexual objectification of women underpins domestic abuse<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think just sort of like the society that we live in at the moment it very much pushes that idea\u202f\u2026 women are objects and they\u2019re very much sexualised and\u202f…\u202flike yeah, they\u2019re there for men, like yeah there for the use of \u2026 which is \u2026 yeah that\u2019s really bad.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The female survivors we interviewed often described themselves, and how they perceived others saw them, in terms of sexual objects. They were seen as existing for the pleasure of men and expected to engage in sexual activity that was controlled and defined by their abusive male intimate partners. The interview transcripts included\u202freports of\u202fmany offensive sexualised terms\u202fused against\u202fwomen (\u201cdirty bitch\u201d, \u201cslag\u201d, \u201cslut\u201d, \u201cnympho\u201d)\u202f that were never applied to men. Women\u202f were seen as possessions, aggressively\u202fand jealously\u202fguarded by their male partners or \u2018owners\u2019.\u202f The survivors\u202fcommonly described being\u202froutinely\u202fsubjected to rape and sexual coercion\u202fand harassment\u202fin their intimate relationships. It was this most intimate part of a relationship that\u202fabusive\u202fmen used to cement their power and control over women.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Sexist script:<\/strong> Woman are crazy and over-emotional<\/h2>\n

Flipped script:<\/strong> Women are silenced with the labels of \u2018crazy\u2019 or \u2018over-emotional\u2019\u202fwhen they try to talk about domestic abuse<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe courts are extremely sexist places, and there is still very much a thing about an angry loud woman is crazy, you know, and abusive men are charming \u2026 and charming with professionals.\u201d\u202f<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026they\u2019re painting me as this crazy woman…\u201d\u202f<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The survivors we interviewed told us how labels of mental illness had long-lasting negative implications for them. Survivors themselves were seen as problematic rather than the abuse and violence committed against them being identified as the problem. This label of \u2018crazy\u2019 was a\u202ftool perpetrators\u202fcould use to threaten survivors or call their credibility into question. Being mentally ill,\u202for showing mental or emotional distress,\u202fseemed to be all too easily linked into wider stereotypes about women as a group being supposedly unstable, over-emotional or hysterical.\u202fLabels of being\u202fmentally unwell overshadowed many of the\u202fsurvivors\u2019\u202fexperiences of external responses to domestic abuse (including in court, in interactions with the police and responses from friends and family) and\u202fformed\u202fa significant barrier to accessing justice and support.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How can we flip the sexist script?\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Along with\u00a0our new report<\/span>\u00a0\u201cGendered experiences of justice and domestic abuse\u201d<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0we have today launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #FlipTheSexistScript.\u202fIt is\u00a0<\/span>impossible to disentangle women\u2019s experiences of domestic abuse from the violence, abuse and harassment that they are subject to elsewhere in their lives.\u00a0Here\u2018s what we think needs to happen to #FlipTheSexistScript:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n