Reviewing Responsibilities and Renewing Relationships: Analysis of an Intervention with Men on Violence Against Women in India

Violence against women, particularly domestic abuse, is increasingly seen as a key women's rights issue in India. Some efforts to address domestic abuse have started to engage men. The current study focuses on the impacts of Men's Action to Stop Violence Against Women (MASVAW), a grassroots network of men in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. In addition to taking action on cases of domestic abuse, MASVAW challenges deeply ingrained gender norms that structure inequities which lead to violence as well as other forms of discrimination against women (son preference and sex ratio, dowry, early marriage and childbirth, etc). The purpose of our study was to determine the extent to which MASVAW activists incorporate gender-equitable attitudes and practices into their own lives, and to identify their influence on men around them. The cross-sectional, quantitative study includes four groups: MASVAW activists; men who have participated in a MASVAW event but who are not MASVAW activists; men living in an area where MASVAW has conducted outreach activities but who have not participated in an event; and a control group of men living in an area with no MASVAW activities. Our results find that MASVAW activists and MASVAW influenced men scored higher on measures of gender-equitable beliefs and practices than controls, suggesting that MASVAW activism is successful. Furthermore, men living in a MASVAW area scored higher in gender progressiveness even if they did not have contact with MASVAW themselves, suggesting a diffusion effect of social change.