The open competition between legal recognition and social assessment: The case of partner violence

Abstract

Using evidence from Mexico, this article analyzes the problem of women’s subjective appropriation of rights within the framework of new laws about gender equality and legislation against gender-based violence. Although we found evidence that supports an incipient social transformation, from a culture of traditional feminine virtues to a culture of rights, there are still many obstacles that prevent women’s full embracement of a culture of rights. At the individual level, women experience a contradiction between claiming their individual rights (having a life free of violence) or keeping their social value and recognition (based on prescribed gender roles).