Gender Norms, Violence in Childhood, and Men’s Coercive Control in Marriage: A Multilevel Analysis of Young Men in Bangladesh
Outcomes: Gender‑Based Violence
View SourceKey Social Norms Take-aways This study uses the Gender-Equitable Men (GEM) scale to measure gender attitudes, with community-level aggregates from senior men (ages 35–49) serving as a proxy for social norms. Findings show that more equitable community gender norms are linked to less controlling behavior and more gender-equitable attitudes among junior men (ages 18–34). This highlights the importance of shifting entrenched community norms—especially among older men—to reduce coercive control in marriage.
Objectives The study investigates how community gender norms and exposure to violence in childhood shape junior married men’s (ages 18–34) gender-equitable attitudes and use of coercive control in Bangladesh.
Methods Using data from 570 junior men from the 2011 Bangladesh survey of the UN Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence, the study applies multilevel Poisson regression. Community gender norms were measured using GEM scale responses from 927 senior men (ages 35–49) in the same communities. Outcomes included junior men’s gender attitudes and reported use of controlling behaviors in marriage.
Results More equitable community norms were significantly associated with both higher endorsement of gender-equitable attitudes and lower use of controlling behaviors. Specifically, a one standard deviation increase in gender-equitable norms corresponded to a 27% increase in equitable attitudes and an 11% decrease in controlling behaviors. Childhood exposure to violence had only a modest effect on attitudes and no significant effect on behavior. However, in communities with low gender equity, the negative impact of childhood violence on gender attitudes was stronger.
Conclusions Community-level gender norms are influential in shaping younger men’s attitudes and behaviors in marriage. While exposure to childhood violence plays a role, the broader gender environment exerts a stronger effect. Interventions targeting community norms—particularly among senior men—may be effective in reducing coercive control and fostering gender equity. Using attitude-based proxies like the GEM scale can help identify communities where change is most needed.
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