Violence against women is related to the patriarchal structure, which treats girls and women with less value based on gender-based roles and power in the family and society. Considering males as the dominant gender due to the social construction of hegemonic masculinity can legitimize domestic violence in different excuses. Women living in the slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh, are vulnerable to a higher risk of domestic violence than women in other parts of the country. Studies show how education levels, household wealth, and patriarchal attitudes regarding gender are important factors associated with violence against women in the slum. However, perspectives of slum men are missing from the discourse on domestic violence. Our research aims to explore slum men’s perspectives on violence against women that will provide insight into how social construction of hegemonic masculinity could perpetuate justification for violence against women. During longitudinal research comprising in-depth interviews with 30 men in two urban slums in Dhaka in 2021 during Covid 19 pandemic, we found how men tend to perceive violence as men’s response to the financial crisis, an instrument of control and disciple enacted on women’s bodies, and as an everyday expression of disagreement and frustrations which are associated with living in the vulnerable informal settlement context. Behind such perceptions of violence lies the social construction of manhood that normalizes it as an act of anger, and stress release, and tied to their identity as the more powerful gender. The significance of this study lies in understanding the role of intersectionality in violence against women by incorporating slum men’s perspectives and analyzing the relationship between hegemonic masculinity and violence. The findings of this study will be helpful to open up more conversations on male allyship in the slum contexts, which remain complex in the context of South Asia.
