Slow thinking on women experiencing gender-based violence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70478/apuntes.psi.2025.43.05Keywords:
Gender-based violence, Stereotypes, Women, Myths, MisconceptionsAbstract
During the intervention with women who have suffered any kind of gender-based violence, different professionals will make decisions (e.g., whether to believe them or not) and attributions about their behavior (e.g., holding them responsible for the violence they suffer), which are mediated by their pre-existing stereotyped, and sometimes erroneous, beliefs about these women. Such inadequate intervention by those who are supposed to help and/or protect the victims can lead to secondary victimization.
This work aims to illustrate the relevance of such stereotyped thinking by highlighting its role in people’s decision-making. We will start with Daniel Kahneman's distinction between fast and slow thinking, focusing on the former and relating it to gender stereotypes and the role they play in our decisions and judgements. Subsequently, we will delve into three stereotyped beliefs about women who suffer gender-based violence to contrast them with what psychological research shows about these women and their experiences: (1) Considering that women victims do not react to violence, (2) Believing women are lying if they do not file a complaint immediately after an episode of violence, and (3) Believing women lye if their narrative shows some inconsistencies.
The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of becoming aware of these beliefs and the need to replace them with evidence-based thinking to reduce the risk of secondary victimization. This necessarily requires training and professional specialization based on psychological research.
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