Facing the Challenges: Creating and Sustaining Healthy Relationships and Societies

Abstract

This chapter examines effective strategies (from international treaties, government legislation, media and educational campaigns to NGOs) being used in Cameroon, Iceland, New Zealand, and the United States to support victim-survivors of gender violence, raise awareness, and challenge (de-normalize) gender violence. The most common argument used to defend the practice of violence against women and children is a cultural relativist one—that such practice is a part of “the culture” This defense values the preservation of the patriarchal family over the human rights of women and children. Drawing upon the research literature on inequality and masculinity studies, the chapter explores how healthier relationships and societies can be built. The argument reinforces the importance of a positive relationship between economic and gender equality in breaking the cycle of gender violence.