Male university peer-educator students’ understandings of masculinities and their connection to gender-based violence.

Abstract

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious concern in societies worldwide. In recent years there has been much focus on GBV at institutions of higher learning, with research showing female students being the main victims of violence perpetrated by men. Men being the main perpetrators of violence puts masculinities under the spotlight and calls for a deeper understanding of how men construct and conduct themselves. Against the backdrop of research investigating the link between masculinities and violence, this study focuses on male university peer-educator students’ (MUPES’) understandings of masculinities and their connection to GBV.1 Given the continued global efforts to involve men in the fight against GBV, and the realisation that peer education can improve students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in different fields (e.g. sexual health issues, sexual violence prevention and social issues), the study sought to explore how MUPES’ understandings of masculinities contributed towards reducing GBV or maintaining the status quo.

This qualitative study draws on gender theories that view masculinities as socially and culturally constructed rather than being biologically determined. Biological determinism positions men and women as inherently different and opposite, hence facilitating justified male power and female subordination. Important in understanding male power and GBV is how men construct hegemonic masculinity, which is a form that highlights that some masculine expressions are powerful and regarded as more valid than others. Understanding hegemonic masculine norms is key, as they are important components to disrupt for the prevention of GBV. The data were generated by means of a mapping workshop, individual interviews and focus group discussions with drawings from a purposively selected group of male students who lived at the university residences and were members of the Campus HIV/AIDS Support Unit (CHASU).

The findings suggest that MUPES are aware of gender inequalities and how these promote violence, and understand GBV as emanating from asymmetrical gender power within sociocultural processes. The findings also highlight the hegemonic campus masculinities that were constructed around materiality, contributing to the unequal gender relations through female students’ perceived consenting behaviours that suggested legitimation to their subordination. The MUPES constructed themselves in complex ways, as their articulations vacillated between complying with and challenging hegemonic masculine norms. They viewed themselves as having the capacity to deconstruct the harmful campus masculinities and rework their own limiting identities, as well as to encourage positive change in other male students. The findings also point to the importance of peer education as a vital platform that enables male students to take the lead in discussions about gender norms that produce and promote GBV. Most of the male peer-educator students who participated in the study embraced the expectations and responsibilities that accompanied their position, their articulations being characterised by varying degrees of reflexivity. This study argues for the importance of encouraging young men to engage in reflecting on their own beliefs and practices, and then to extend that process to working with other young men, and thus challenge and rework the harmful masculinities that lead to GBV at universities.