Entitled to sex, regardless of consent: Asian men reveal in UN study on violence against women

As India comes to term with public outrage in the Delhi and Mumbai gang-rape cases, the UN recently released a study called 'Why Do Some Men Use Violence Against Women and How Can We Prevent It? Quantitative Findings from the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific’.

The study was done by talking to 10,000 men in Asia Partners for Prevention, a regional joint programme of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Women and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Asia and the Pacific. The men were from nine countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea.

The first ever multi-country survey to assess the prevalence of rape, violence against partners, and men’s reasons for committing these acts. The questions asked did not use the word 'rape' and were like, "Have you ever forced a woman to have sex?”, or “Have you ever had sex with a woman who was too drugged or drunk to indicate whether she wanted it?".

The answers included the "belief that men were entitled to sex regardless of consent" which was the justification for committing a rape. Half of the men who admitted to rape said they had committed their first rape as teenagers. The authors of the report urged better understanding of men’s lives following the finding that childhood abuse and neglect of a man were strongly correlated with his likelihood of committing rape as an adult.

In the study, marital rape was by far the most common type of rape, followed by the rape of an intimate partner. Only, one in 10 men admitted raping a woman who was not their partner.

The UN survey, 'Ending violence against women - From words to action' which was conducted to point out the reasons for rape and the solution pointed out to the preference for a male child that resulted in skewed sex ratios as the reason. This study claimed female infanticide, prenatal sex selection and systematic neglect of girls was why women were looked down in the family and the society at large in Asian countries that included India.

Dowry deaths where women were burnt and killed as their family was unable to pay their husbands and in-laws was also cited in the study. "According to official crime statistics in India, approximately 6,822 women were killed in 2002 as a result of such violence," the study says.

Sexual harassment, trafficking and treatment of widows in society was also mentioned in the study.

Equal treatment of women, education and empowerment were suggested as ways to end violence against women.

Both studies agreed that women were treated as objects due to the unequal status they have in society. Patriarchy, the practice in most Asian countries pointed as the cause of the thought process being cultivated that women have no say and are at the mercy of their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons.

"Families need to stop the unequal treatment of women. It's sad that even in the 21st century many women in India and other Asian countries continue to be treated as second class citizens. The problem is a family issue and needs to be address so that the problem can be nipped in the bud. It's not about a class but a feature of society as a whole, " said Mumbai based-psychologist Ophelia Anthony.

Payal Jadhav, 32, a teacher said, "Educated people don't behave much better than those who are less educated than them. I have faced sexual harassment from men in expensive cars and first class compartments. It's a mind set I feel."

Kavya Gill, 23, a student agreed and said, "There are the suited and booted lechers as well as the shady guys but yeah men just seem to think that they have a right to say things to women when they feel like they should."

Lata Sawant, 42, a social worker said, "When my daughter was born, my in-laws were very unhappy and wanted a boy. I chose to argue with them and even move out of my husband's home in the interest of my child. But not all women do so. The girl child is then treated unfairly and badly. The want for a male child happens in upper middle class families just as much as lower income groups."