Patriarchy and Bullying: A Cross-National Analysis of 23 Education Systems Adolescent bullying is increasingly understood as behaviors that reflect and reinforce prevailing norms, cultures, and power structures within broader social contexts, yet the role of patriarchy in shaping bullying dynamics remains underexplored. Drawing on data from the 2016 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (N=89,345 adolescents, across 23 education systems), I examine how the frequency and targets of peer victimization are structured by group adherence to patriarchy at multiple levels. I specifically consider two manifestations of patriarchy: societal-level gender inequality and classroom-aggregated patriarchal beliefs. Results show that adolescents in societies with higher levels of gender inequality experience increased rates of bullying, and bullying is more prevalent in classrooms where students collectively hold stronger patriarchal beliefs. Adherence to patriarchy is especially salient in predicting the frequency of bullying against girls and overt forms of bullying like physical violence. Despite being structurally favored in patriarchy, the victimization risk of boys is also elevated in more patriarchal peer groups, in line with theories that enforcement of hegemonic masculinity provokes aggression and often involves attacking femininity in boys. Taken together, these findings suggest that gender inequality and patriarchal beliefs effectively explain variation in bullying victimization rates across contexts. Challenging unequal gender power relations and norms at both the societal and peer group level can have significant benefits in reducing adolescent bullying. Vulnerability or Agency? The Link Between Gender Nonconformity and Self-Efficacy Do adolescents who deviate from traditional gender roles exhibit higher or lower self-efficacy—the confidence in one’s ability to achieve personal goals? Existing studies suggest that gender nonconformity often elicits peer denigration, which may undermine one’s self-efficacy. However, it may also signify high self-efficacy as it reflects the agency to assert one’s identity despite societal pressures. Drawing on survey data collected from an inland province of China (N = 2,008), this study finds that gender nonconformity is associated with lower self-efficacy overall; yet, the effect size is weak, and the relationship exhibits strong non-linearity. Adolescents identifying as “equally feminine and masculine” report notably high self-efficacy. Exploratory analyses reveal two key mechanisms that might link gender nonconformity to self-efficacy. First, gender nonconforming students experience increased covert bullying and reduced peer validation, which significantly predict lower self-efficacy. Second, these students often reject traditional gender role beliefs and feel less pressure to conform—reflecting agency rooted in personal conviction and self-acceptance, though not directly tied to higher self-efficacy. Educators and policymakers should develop interventions to address covert bullying and strengthen social support for gender nonconforming students. At the same time, it is crucial to move beyond viewing gender nonconformity solely as a source of vulnerability and recognize that adolescents may actively engage in nonconformity as an expression of agency and resistance to social gender expectations. Explaining Gender Policing among Adolescents: The Role of Peers, Teachers, and Personal Gender Role Beliefs The enforcement of gender norms among adolescents, or gender policing, frequently involves aggression and denigration toward norm violators. Despite decades of research documenting how adolescents experience social sanctions for being gender nonconforming, why certain individuals are more inclined to police gender norms against their peers remains unclear. Do people police gender norms because they believe their teachers or peers endorse the norms? Or do they act based on internalized beliefs that view gender conformity as a moral imperative? Drawing on survey data from 2,008 students in China, this study shows that personal gender role beliefs are the strongest predictor of adolescent engagement in gender policing, while perceived teacher gender expectations have minimal influence. Critically, regardless of their own gender role beliefs, adolescents are more likely to police gender norms when they perceive their peers to hold rigid gender role expectations. Additionally, this study reveals that boys engage more intensely in gender policing than girls, particularly against gender nonconforming boys, suggesting that the enforcement of gender norms is more rigid among adolescent boys. Efforts to reduce gender policing must address both individual-level gender role beliefs and collective normative expectations, while recognizing the different ways boys and girls experience and enforce gender norms.

Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The sexual abuse of boys is regarded as a worldwide problem. Even in South Africa the sexual abuse of boys is described as an epidemic that as the social work phenomenon of women as perpetrators, can no longer be seen as rare. Although legislation, The South African Children’s Act, 38 of 2005 (2006) and The Sexual Offences Amendment Act, 32 of 2007, have contributed to a greater awareness with regards to the boy as victim of sexual abuse, there still is a lot of misconceptions with regards to the boy as victim of sexual abuse. A need for formal scientific research with regards to this problem was therefore identified and lead to the conducting of this study. Focusing on the sexual abuse of the boy in middle childhood was the purpose of this study, because the middle childhood is seen as the most vulnerable developmental phase for the boy to be sexually abused in. Social workers play a primary role in the prevention, early intervention, intervention and after care in this regard. This study was aimed at determining social workers’ opinions on the sexual abuse of boys in middle childhood. The purpose of the study was met through the five goals that were determined. The goals of the study were to discuss the middle childhood as developmental phase within a human developmental perspective and to describe the sexual abuse of boys as social work phenomenon, in order to develop insight with regards to the sexual abuse of boys. Goals determined for the purpose of this study also included the discussion of the sexual abuse of boys as social work phenomenon, focusing on the definition of sexual abuse, inclining factors to sexual abuse, the types of sexual abuse and the context and motivation for sexual abuse of boys. To discuss the different types of perpetrators in the sexual abuse of boys and to investigate the motivations of perpetrators with regards to the sexual abuse of boys were also goals that were determined. This study’s goals were also to investigate the opinions of social workers with regards to the sexual abuse of boys in middle childhood and to make recommendations regarding the promoting of social work service delivery to the sexually abused boy. The literature study that was undertaken builds a foundation for the problem of the sexual abuse of the boy in middle childhood to be seen, within the right context. An explorative and descriptive study was conducted with twenty seven social workers in the Western Cape, Olifantsrivervalley area as geographical area. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for data collection. The results were purposefully processed and analyzed according to a qualitative- and quantitative research method. The empirical study’s findings enabled the researcher to come to certain conclusions. Using the literature study, the empirical study, findings and conclusions that followed on that, recommendations could be made to social workers in order to promote social work service delivery to the sexually abused boy in middle childhood. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die seksuele mishandeling van seuns word as ‘n wêreldwye probleem beskou. Ook in Suid- Afrika word die seksuele mishandeling van seuns as ‘n epidemie beskryf wat net soos die maatskaplike werk verskynsel van vroue oortreders, nie meer as raar beskou kan word nie. Alhoewel wetgewing soos Die Suid-Afrikaanse Kinderwet, 38 van 2005 (2006), asook Die Wysigingswet op die Strafreg (seksuele misdrywe en verwante aangeleenthede), 32 van 2007, bygedra het tot ‘n groter bewustheid van die seun as slagoffer van seksuele mishandeling, bestaan daar steeds baie wanbegrippe ten opsigte van die die seun as slagoffer van seksuele mishandeling. ‘n Behoefte aan formele wetenskaplike navorsing met betrekking tot hierdie probleem is geïdentifiseer met die gevolg dat hierdie studie onderneem is. Vir die doel van hierdie studie is daar gefokus op die seksuele mishandeling van die seun in sy middelkinderjare, aangesien die middelkinderjare as die mees weerloosste ontwikkelingsfase beskou word vir die seun om seksueel mishandel te word. Maatskaplike werkers speel ‘n primêre rol in die voorkoming, vroeë intervensie, intervensie en nasorg in hierdie verband. Hierdie studie het daarom ten doel gehad om maatskaplike werkers se sienings oor die seksuele mishandeling van seuns in die middelkinderjare te bepaal. Die doel van die studie is bereik na aanleiding van vyf doelwitte wat gestel is. Die doelwitte van die studie was om die middelkinderjare as ontwikkelingsfase binne ‘n menslike ontwikkelingsperspektief te bespreek en om die seksuele mishandeling van die seun as maatskaplike werk verskynsel te verduidelik ten einde begrip met betrekking tot die probleem van seksuele mishandeling van seuns te ontwikkel. Doelwitte wat gestel is ten einde die doel van die studie te bereik, het onder andere behels om seksuele mishandeling van seuns as maatskaplike werk verskynsel te beskou, deur te fokus op die definiëring van seksuele mishandeling, aanleidende faktore tot seksuele mishandeling, die vorme van seksuele mishandeling en die konteks en motivering van seksuele mishandeling van seuns. Om die verskillende tipes oortreders in die seksuele mishandeling van seuns te bespreek en om ondersoek in te stel na die motiverings van oortreders ten opsigte van die seksuele mishandeling van seuns, was ook as doelwit gestel. Hierdie studie se doelwitte was ook om ‘n ondersoek te doen na die sienings van maatskaplike werkers ten opsigte van die seksuele mishandeling van seuns in die middelkinderjare en om aanbevelings te maak ten opsigte van die bevordering van maatskaplike werk dienslewering aan die seksueel mishandelde seun. Die literatuurstudie wat gedoen is het ‘n fondasie geskep om die probleem van die seksuele mishandeling van die seun in sy middelkinderjare, in die regte konteks te kan beskou. ‘n Verkennende en beskrywende studie is gedoen en het sewe-en-twintig maatskaplike werkers in die Wes-Kaap, Olifantsriviervallei area as geografiese gebied ingesluit. Semigestruktureerde vraelyste is benut om inligting in te samel. Die resultate was volgens ‘n kwalitatiewe- en kwantitatiewe navorsingsmetode verwerk en geanaliseer. Die empiriese ondersoek se bevindinge het die navorser in staat gestel om sekere gevolgtrekkings te maak. Na aanleiding van die literatuurstudie, die empiriese ondersoek, die bevindinge en die gevolgtrekkings wat daarop gevolg het, kon aanbevelings gemaak word aan maatskaplike werkers ten einde die maatskaplike werk dienslewering aan die seksueel mishandelde seun in sy middelkinderjare te bevorder.