Filipino men's familial roles and domestic violence: implications and strategies for community-based intervention
Box 1 Focus group discussion guide
To the facilitator:
Introduce yourself and ask each participant to give his name and a brief background of his work. Tell the group what you are goingto discuss – that it is about the roles of men in the family and conflicts within it – and the relevance of these topics in domestic violenceprevention. Tell the group participants about the need for their active participation. Tell the participants that the session will be tape-recorded.Probe answers.
Gender roles
1 What are the roles of men in the family? What are the roles of women in the family?
2How do men regard their position in the family vis-à-vis that of the position of their wives?
3 What factors are likely to contribute to building a happy marriage and family? What are the roles of men as husbands and fathersto make their marriage and family work? What are the roles of their wives and children?
Domestic violence
1 How common is conflict in the Filipino households? What are the types of conflict common in most households? Please describethese conflicts. Who initiates the conflict? Is it unavoidable and necessary?
2 What are the causes and consequences of these conflicts? How do men feel whenever they inflict harm on their partner? Arethey aware of the consequences of their violence?
3 How are conflicts resolved? Do couples in conflict know and approach any one person or group for help? Why or why not?
4 Is there a need for couples in conflict to change? Who should initiate change? How can change be initiated? What are their roles,especially that of men, in bringing about change?
Abstract
Men's gender roles have contributed to family violence, but the ramifications of these roles in the development of community-based programmes for men have not been given much attention. A small-scale qualitative examination of the familial context of Filipino men's positions and roles, and their domestic violence experiences and attitudes was carried out using eight discussion groups, each group with seven to eight members. Verbatim tape-recorded transcripts were analysed using accepted techniques for theoretical analysis to establish emergent themes. Discussants saw themselves as being at the helm of their families. Men were knowledgeable of and took responsibility for their gender roles exerting control over the focus and direction of all their family affairs, including the gender roles of their wives/partners. This control demonstrated facets of their hegemonic masculinity such as sexual objectification and dominance. Men in this society come from a traditional position of power, dominance and privilege. They will be particularly sensitive to interventions aimed at reducing violence against women which will enquire into their private lives. In their view, such interventions were both a direct challenge to their family leadership and a basis for ‘losing face’. Strategies for positive interventions include the need for male-sensitive and male-centred approaches which avoid demonising or stereotyping men.
