Online Social Influences and Men’s Acceptance of Violence Against Women

Online Social Influences and Men’s Acceptance of Violence Against Women

In the digital age, social interactions have increasingly moved online. With that, misogyny can largely be found on many social media forums. In this poster presentation, I will provide a systematic review of the literature, exploring the impact of exposure to online misogyny on men’s acceptance of sexual violence (SV) and intimate partner violence (IPV), and the potential buffering effect of bystander intervention.

Past research on social norms provide a theoretical basis for my work. It has been found that men tend to misperceive social norms, overestimating their peers’ support for violence in intimate relationships¹and underestimating the importance that their peers place on sexual consent². This misperception then negatively influences their own adherence to consensual sexual activity^2,3and increases their levels of IPV¹. Additionally, research on male peer social support suggests that when men are exposed to peer rape-supportive attitudes, it notably normalizes this misperception and increases their acceptance of SV^4,5,6. Research on IPV also suggests that male peer support can act as a mechanism of stress reduction after perpetration of nonsexual woman abuse, further encouraging such violence⁷. In contrast, when men observe a peer challenge violence against women (VAW), it provides them with accurate normative data and counters any misperceptions^2,8. This suggests that bystander intervention may be a successful tool for minimizing the negative impact of male peer social support. Moreover, research indicates that hostile sexism significantly predicts men’s acceptance of VAW⁹and has also been found to moderate the effect of peer influence on men’s acceptance of SV¹⁰, warranting further exploration. Applying this framework to the virtual world, online spaces provide misogynistic men with an arena to gather and anonymously create counter-cultures that support their harmful views, further normalizing them^11,12.

Overall, existing literature suggests that exposure to peer anti- or pro-VAW attitudes in live interactions can influence acceptance of SV and IPV among men^2,4,7,8. However, it is unknown if these phenomena have the same influence when the interactions take place online. My poster presentation will explore this gap in the research. I will provide a systematic review of the literature, provide direction/suggestions for necessary research to address this gap, and discuss the potential implications of this research for the SV and IPV prevention sector. My poster falls into the Research and Theory sub-conference theme.