{"id":6235,"date":"2025-08-15T13:57:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T11:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fenestra.sk\/?p=6235"},"modified":"2026-02-16T14:12:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T13:12:38","slug":"violence-against-women-learned-behaviour-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fenestra.sk\/en\/violence-against-women-learned-behaviour-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Violence against women is a learned behaviour"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past, there have been <strong>several theories on the causes<\/strong> of violence against women.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the most common theories was that men who commit intimate partner violence do so because they suffer from <strong>a mental illness<\/strong>. It was also assumed that violence was a manifestation of a psychological disorder, a \u201closs of control,\u201d or an inability to manage emotions. <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, long-term research <strong>has disproven this theory<\/strong>. Most abusive men were not diagnosed with any mental disorder. The prevalence of mental illness in the general population is relatively low compared to the widespread experiences of women with intimate partner violence. Studies of perpetrators\u2019 psychological profiles also showed that their behavior does not align with typical signs of a mental disorder. Their abusive behavior is targeted at a specific person \u2013 a partner or spouse \u2013 and is connected to exerting and enforcing control and power over the woman and her life.    <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Another theory<\/strong> was the concept of \u201clearned helplessness\u201d in women. According to this theory, women who repeatedly experience violence without a way to stop it develop a sense or belief that their actions \u2013 asking the partner to stop, seeking help \u2013 cannot change the situation. Critics, however, have pointed out that the characteristics attributed to learned helplessness \u2013 low self-esteem, passivity, lack of initiative \u2013 <strong>are <\/strong>often <strong>the result <\/strong>of the violence itself, not its cause.   <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moreover, intimate partner violence <strong>evolves over time<\/strong>. Even though women may experience periods of helplessness, many at other times seek solutions, seek help, protect themselves and their children, or end the relationship. Modern research shows that <strong>women <\/strong><strong>are not <\/strong><strong>passive <\/strong>in situations of abuse.  <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A turning point: violence is deliberate and purposeful<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the advancement of research, experts began focusing on <strong>patterns of behavior and the dynamics of abusive relationships<\/strong>. It is no longer considered true that abusive behavior toward a partner is a random \u201coutburst\u201d of emotion \u2013 on the contrary, it is often <strong>deliberate, purposeful<\/strong>, and <strong>controlled<\/strong>. The abusive man chooses when, where, and whom to harm \u2013 usually only the partner, often when there are no witnesses.  <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Social norms and stereotypes as a breeding ground for intimate partner violence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Research shows that abusive behavior is most often the result of social learning, not innate factors. Children who grow up in families with domestic violence may adopt these patterns: <strong>boys may learn<\/strong> that using violence to enforce obedience or loyalty is acceptable, while <strong>girls may learn<\/strong> that being humiliated or controlled by a partner is \u201cnormal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this way, violence is transmitted from generation to generation \u2013 not genetically, but through learned behavior. <strong>Abusive men<\/strong> <strong>may learn<\/strong> from home, school, media, and social role models that it is acceptable to disrespect, humiliate, ridicule, or publicly criticize or comment on women\u2019s appearance and bodies. And they also learn that not only is such behavior acceptable, but it often goes unpunished. <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some <strong>persistent historical and cultural beliefs<\/strong> \u2013 for example, that \u201cthe man rules the household\u201d or that a woman must obey \u2013 create an environment where abusive men find support or justification for their behavior. Similarly, the idea that women are responsible for maintaining the family persists, and if a relationship fails, the woman is often blamed for \u201cbreaking up the family.\u201d <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Intimate partner violence against women<\/strong> is not an outburst of emotion but <strong>learned, deliberate<\/strong>, and <strong>purposeful behavior <\/strong><strong>aimed at<\/strong> gaining power and control over a woman.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This shift in understanding the causes of intimate partner violence is crucial for intervention: <strong>addressing <\/strong>violence against women cannot rely solely on treatment or therapy \u2013 it must <strong>focus on the perpetrator\u2019s responsibility<\/strong>, behavior change, social prevention, and transformation of societal and cultural norms.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>To truly eliminate<\/strong> violence against women, <strong>we must stop excusing<\/strong> abusive behavior and address it where it originates \u2013 in learned behavior patterns and social norms that tolerate inequality, humiliation, and lack of respect for women.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Activities of Fenestra Counselling and Intervention Centre in 2025 are supported by the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic through the grant program for providing professional assistance to victims of crime, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic within the grant for promoting gender equality and equal opportunities, and the Ko\u0161ice Self-Governing Region.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em> Fenestra bears sole responsibility for the content of this article. <\/em><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the past, there have been several theories on the causes of violence against women. One of the most common theories was that men who commit intimate partner violence do so because they suffer from a mental illness. It was also assumed that violence was a manifestation of a psychological disorder, a \u201closs of control,\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6239,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Violence against women is a learned behaviour - FENESTRA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fenestra.sk\/en\/violence-against-women-learned-behaviour-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Violence against women is a learned behaviour - FENESTRA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the past, there have been several theories on the causes of violence against women. 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