“I Reject it, But That’s What Normally Happens”: Grey Zones of Gender-Based Violence and Gender Roles in Young People

Abstract

There has been growing concern about the increase in gender-based violence (GBV) among young people. The aim of this study was to explore the grey zones in GBV alongside gender (masculinities and femininities) discourses in young adults. We used the concept of a “grey zone” as an analytical tool to identify possible contradictory discursive positions where the notions of victims and perpetrators of GBV converge and become ambiguous. We performed a qualitative study based on 20 semi-structured interviews and 4 focus groups (October 2019 to February 2020) in Spain with a sample of 49 cisgender women and men, aged between 18 and 24, some involved in feminist activism and some not. We conducted a sociological analysis of the discourse system. Study findings show how culturally constructed gender norms intervene in the ways in which young people understand and deal with GBV. When asked general questions about GBV, this concept was problematized along with gender assumptions and two discursive positions were identified: the discourse of “men as authors of GBV” and the discourse of “GBV as an individual genderless issue.” When vignettes of everyday GBV situations were shown, grey zones became visible when discussing subtle forms of GBV influenced by the myths of romantic love, victim-blaming around sexual violence, digital GBV and bystander men intervention on GBV. In those grey zones, discourses on GBV were articulated around unequal notions of gender that, in turn, served as its justification, reproduction, and normalization. The grey zones identified represent contexts of oppression that illustrate how GBV is systematically reproduced, as well as the ways in which young people can be involved in it, perpetuating power and health inequalities. Our findings provide information as a guide to design GBV interventions and prevention actions that incorporate a focus on gender configurations.