New research on masculinities and violence against women from China

A quantitative survey aimed at deepening understanding of men’s attitudes and behaviours regarding VAW and its prevention has recently been completed in one urban and one rural site in China. The survey findings will help inform future policy and programmes, and potentially serve as a baseline to monitor campaigns and initiatives to address men and boys’ attitudes and behaviours towards masculinity, gender equality, sexuality and VAW. The survey was undertaken by a research team in China in collaboration with UNFPA China, and with support from the All China Women’s Federation. The survey methodology was based on the Partners for Prevention regional GBV Prevention and Masculinities Research Project and adapted to the Chinese context. Men and women ages 18 to 49 years, who were randomly selected as a representative sample in the study sites, were interviewed. The sample size for the quantitative study was 1500 men and 1500 women. From 4-10 May, a training workshop was held for the data collection teams involved in the survey. Thirty-one interviewers, six supervisors and seven assistant supervisors completed the training. The China Research Team, led by participants from Tianjin Normal University , Beijing Forestry University and the China Women's University, conducted training on interviewing techniques, gender sensitisation and masculinities. Partners for Prevention advisors helped train the interviewers and supervisors on sampling, teamwork, quality control, ethics and safety measures. Partners for Prevention also provided training and technical assistance on the use of PDAs (palmtop computers). After two days of pilot testing, data collection began on 14 May and concluded on 27 May. Partners for Prevention and UNFPA China also visited the data collection in progress and observed the innovative ways that the regional research standards were adapted and applied in the Chinese context. The survey from China is part of Partners for Prevention’s regional Gender-based Violence Prevention and Masculinities Research Project in Asia and the Pacific. For more information, see http://partners4prevention.org/sites/default/files/documents/p4p_gbv_masc_research_project_leaflet.pdf or contact [email protected] For more information also see the UNFPA feature story, Probing Causes of Violence Against Women in China: Using technology to get the answer to sensitive questions about masculinities and gender equality, at: http://www.unfpa.org/public/home/news/pid/7841