We Know Men Harass Women. A New Study Tries to Explain Why
By Maggie Mallon. Photos: Getty Images.
It may be 2017, but when it comes to achieving gender equality, we still have a long way to go—particularly when it comes to sexual harassment.
Case in point: A recent study published by UN Women and Promundo, an organization dedicated to engaging men and boys in achieving gender equality, highlighted just how backward things really are—and provided some disturbing information as to how frequently men harass women while in public.
Between April of 2016 and March of 2017, 10,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 58 living in rural and urban areas of the Middle East and North Africa—specifically, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Palestine—participated in the organization's inaugural International Men and Gender Equality Survey. Researchers compiled data as part of a report on gender equality, titled "Understanding Masculinities," and found that most adults throughout this region adhere to "inequitable traditional attitudes."
In other words, a majority of men surveyed believe that a woman's role is to be a caretaker and run a household, while men should act as guardians for their female family members and make decisions. Though some women believed they should be given more autonomy, a majority of the women surveyed adhered to patriarchal beliefs.
Researchers found alarmingly high rates of domestic violence and abuse among the men surveyed across the four countries: 10 to 45 percent of married men said they had physically abused their wives; 20 to 80 percent admitted to using emotional violence.
Outside of the home, street-based sexual harassment, like catcalling and stalking, are incredibly common. Within the Middle Eastern and North African countries examined in the study, 31 to 64 percent of men said that they had behaved in such a manner (and 40 to 60 percent of women had been on the receiving end of street-based harassment). Researchers asked the male participants what motivated them to behave in such a way and found that "the vast majority of men—up to 90 percent in some countries—said they did it for fun, with two-thirds to three-quarters blaming women for dressing 'provocatively.'"
It should be said that street harassment is not an issue limited to this region of the world. As NPR reported, overwhelming majorities of women in places like Brazil, India, and yes, the United States have been subject to public acts of violence and harassment. But what stood out to the "Understanding Masculinities" researchers was which men were the ones perpetrating this behavior.
In places like Palestine, Egypt, and Morocco, it was younger men with higher levels of education who were more likely to harass women on the street—a departure from the general belief that men who are younger and more educated typically adopt a more enlightened view of women and gender equality. Researchers weren't clear on why this was the case, but they believe that it's a combination of several things, including high unemployment rates, political instability, and pressure to meet the needs of their families' daily lives. There is also a high correlation between men who display violent behavior toward women and those who have experienced violence within their own homes growing up.
"[Men] have high aspirations for themselves and aren't able to meet them," Promundo President and CEO Gary Barker told NPR. "So they [harass women] to put them in their place. They feel like the world owes them."
But whether it's a way for men to assert their power and boost their egos, or as they told researchers, "have a bit of fun," there is little regard or concern for the safety and well-being of women who experience this treatment. As UN Women and Promundo made clear, if this type of harassment is ever going to end—and not just in the regions surveyed—there needs to be major shift away from these patriarchal norms and a greater emphasis on education, a rejection of traditional gender roles, and a movement toward more political and economic stability.
This story originally appeared on Glamour.
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