Culture of cool
The Culture of cool: getting in early to prevent domestic violence
Key messages for early intervention arising from the research
The underlying thesis of this project is that men's violence towards women is preventable. This study aims to identify the social and cultural values and beliefs that inform ownership practices and in doing so increase the possibilities for preventing men's violence towards women by bringing the language, values and beliefs that support ownership practices out of the unspoken realm and into conscious awareness. When the language, values and beliefs that inform ownership practices are made overt, the history of them, the impact of them and the behavioural trajectories of them are open to critical appraisal. These appraisals open up possibilities for resistance.
If young people are more informed about these practices they will be more able to resist them in their own relationships. The practices of dominance and entitlement that emerge from social and cultural pressures can no longer be considered "natural" or "just the way things are" for men and women. Young people's actions in relationships become informed conscious choices.
The intention of this research is that the knowledge uncovered can be employed to construct new curricula in schools and to inform existing curricula which work towards the early intervention and the prevention of domestic violence. It is hoped that these curricula will involve critically reflecting on our cultural heritage - questioning historical and current media representations and other institutional practices that promote ways of being which work against ethical and just behaviour in boyfriend/girlfriend relationships - and promoting egalitarian relationships which appear to protect women from men's domestic violence.
This research demonstrates that qualitative research of this nature can provide important knowledge about the relationship between culture and violence and can usefully inform early intervention and prevention practices.
Early intervention involves identifying the early warning signs.
In this study the following early warning signs of a controlling or possessive relationship were identified through focus group discussions with young women:
- the boyfriend has a sense of entitlement - he assumes he knows what the young woman wants
- he acts as if he owns her
- he makes increasing denigrations of things she likes such as her dress sense
- there are increasingly extreme put-downs commonly involving her sexuality
- he engages in surveillance - this begins with frequent loving phone calls and increase to demands that she account for how she spends her time
- she loses her sense of pleasure and her sense of her own identity
- she becomes increasingly isolated from friends and family.
Recommendations for prevention are:
- young people are taught, through critical cultural studies, to critically appraise contemporary cultural constructions which objectify women and which limit identities of men
- links are made between the objectification and the subjugation of young women in media representations and the treatment of young women as possessions in relationships
- education campaigns promote ethical and just relationships
- the Campaign for Action on Family Violence be opened up to address the violence experienced by young women from their boyfriends
- early intervention be directed towards young women through education campaigns available at sites of their everyday activities.
Key messages for people working in the NZ family violence sector:
- That qualitative research is used to provide new understandings to assist in the development of a prevention focus towards domestic violence and in the development of knowledge that would contribute to prevention programmes.
- That existing women's organisations seek funding for young women's education programmes.
- That social service providers, school guidance counsellors, health providers, mental health services and family planning staff learn about young women's experiences of ownership practices by boyfriend.
- Ensure that the opportunities exist for young people to get education about the early warning signs and about ethical and respectful relationships and decision-making.
- Use young people's language - the language of cool to promote ethical and just relationships.
- Ensure social service and health providers routinely enquire about the young person's relationships and about how decisions are made within this relationship: about the quality of the relationship.
- Ensure social service and health providers enquire about the relationship between drug and alcohol use and relationship problems.
- Identify the early warning signs - teach young women, their parents and caregivers to be aware of the early warning signs of ownership practices and to be able to identify ethical and justice decision-making in relationships.
