Citizen Responses to Gender and Non-gender Based Violence in Criminal Wars

• In Event: Learning from Global Democratic Challenges and Innovations Mini-Conference III: Criminal Politics in Violent Democracies

Abstract

Across the world, the spread of organized crime and governments’ militarization of public security have resulted in numerous accounts of gendered and non-gendered crimes committed by both criminal and state armed actors, particularly in territories known for organized criminal groups’ control. Citizens’ support for all victims of violence, and thus willingness to stand for victims’ human rights, is quintessential for promoting democratic societies sustained in the rule of law. However, previous research shows that citizens are not favorable to all victims, but decide their level of support selectively depending on perceptions of victims’ innocence and personal experiences with crime. This study builds on the findings of previous scholarship by examining experimentally the extent to which attitudes toward victims in the context of criminal wars depend on four largely understudied characteristics: victims’ gender (men or women), perpetrators’ identity (criminal or state armed actors), the type of violence suffered (gender or non-gender based), and salience of organized criminal groups’ territorial control. The findings contribute to research examining the attitudinal and behavioral responses to violence by studying the topic through the lens of gender in a multi-violence context where both criminal and state violence are salient (El Salvador). The findings show that, although citizens are more likely to condemn sexual violence against women than other types of crimes, public opinion is more tolerant of all violent acts (gender-based or not) when committed by state armed actors than members of organized criminal organizations, particularly when aggressions occur in places marked by territorial control.

Author

• Abby B. Cordova, University of Notre Dame