Gender Violence as a Social Problem in Spain: Attitudes and Acceptability

Abstract

Although violence against women (VAW) is not strictly a new phenomenon, its visibilization and the social rejection it produces are recent and, in this sense, it would be appropriate to consider it as an emerging social problem. This paper analyses how a particular form of this violence, intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW), is currently considered as a social problem in Spain. We present some data from different surveys carried out previously in Spain. Specifically, this review provides an overview of acceptability and public attitudes that support the use of this violence and focuses on the effect of gender and gender role attitudes. The data review shows that Spanish society as a whole, considers IPVAW as a social problem and rejects it, but there are still some violence-supportive attitudes, such as victim blaming, and also a gender gap in the consideration of this violence. We discuss the implications of these data on the management and prevention of IPVAW.