The Perception of Honour-Related Violence in Female and Male University Students from Morocco, Cameroon and Italy

Abstract

The study investigates the perception of honour-related violence against women in female and male university students from three countries - Morocco, Cameroon, Italy – all considered honour cultures but different in terms of various other sociocultural factors, such as family structure and gender roles. One hundred fourteen Moroccan (47 females, 67 males), 106 Cameroonian (41 females, 65 males) and 103 Italian (51 females, 52 males) students attending Turin University and currently living in Turin, answered a questionnaire to evaluate an act of honour-related violence by a father against his daughter. The results showed that the perception of this act was influenced by the participants’ nationality: Italians evaluated the incident as more serious and more as a crime than Moroccans, and the latter more than Cameroonians. Furthermore, Italians attributed less responsibility to the victim and more responsibility to the assailant than Moroccans and Cameroonians did; accordingly, they also proposed more severe punishment for the assailant than Moroccans and Cameroonians. The results also showed an interaction between nationality and gender: Cameroonian women attributed more responsibility to the victim and less to the assailant than Cameroonian men, and Italian men attributed less responsibility to the assailant than Italian women. These results are interpreted in terms of the importance attributed to family honour in the three countries and their differences in social organisation and gender roles.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Comparison Between Italian Roman Catholics and Atheists

To test possible differences between Italian Roman Catholics and Atheists, a GLM was computed by considering religious beliefs as independent variable and the following measures as dependent variables: Crime, seriousness, victim responsibility, assailant responsibility, punishment. No effect of religious belief was observed, F(5, 97) = 0.607, p = .694. Descriptive results are reported in Table 6.

Table 6 Descriptive statistics for Roman Catholic and Atheist Italians with respect to the dependent variables

Appendix 2

Gentilissimo/a partecipante,

Di seguito Le verrà proposto la lettura di un piccolo scenario e alcune domande relative allo stesso. Quello che Le chiediamo gentilmente è di leggere attentamente questo scenario e scegliere le risposte a Lei più adatte; non ci sono risposte giuste o sbagliate e la compilazione del questionario occuperà all’incirca 5 minuti del suo tempo.

Grazie per la collaborazione!

Scenario

Cristine è una giovane di 17 anni e come tutte le sue coetanee le piace vestirsi alla moda, truccarsi il viso, uscire con le amiche e conoscere nuove persone. E’ innamorata di Marc, 21 anni, un bravo ragazzo con cui è fidanzata da oltre un anno ma la loro relazione è ostacolata da Antony, il padre di Cristine. Antony ha 55 anni ed è un uomo geloso che non vuole che la figlia viva in modo moderno come le coetanee e che frequenti ragazzi senza il suo consenso. Tuttavia, in sua assenza, Cristine esce di nascosto per incontrare Marc. Suo padre lo scopre e, vergognandosi profondamente del comportamento della figlia, la picchia violentemente e la segrega in casa.

Appendix 3

Cher/chère participant/e,

Dans la suite, on vous proposera la lecture d’un petit scénario et quelques questions. Nous vous prions de lire attentivement le scénario et de choisir les réponses qui vous semblent les plus adéquates; il n’y a pas de réponses justes ou fausses et la compilation du questionnaire vous prendra environs 5 min.

Merci pour votre précieuse collaboration!

Scenario

Cristine est une jeune fille de 17 ans et comme toutes les filles de son âge elle aime se vêtir à la mode, se maquiller le visage, sortir avec les amies et connaitre de nouvelles personnes. Elle est amoureuse de Marc, 21 ans, un garçon sérieux avec lequel elle sort depuis plus d’un an, mais leur relation est entravée par Antony, le père de Cristine. Antony 55 ans et c’est un homme strict qui ne veut pas que sa fille vive de façon moderne comme les jeunes files de son âge et qu’elle fréquente des garçons sans son avis. Toutefois, à l’insu de son père, Cristine sort pour rencontrer Marc. Son père le découvre et, ayant honte du comportement de sa fille, la frappe violemment et la renferme dans la maison.