Processos psicossociais na legitimação da violência de gênero: o papel mediador do sexismo entre estereótipos e mitos de estupro

Abstract

This thesis investigates the psychosocial processes that sustain the legitimation of gender-based violence, especially in Brazilian society, based on the premise that this violence is maintained not only by acts, but by a coherent system of cognitions and ideologies. The work is structured in two studies. Article I conducts a systematic review of the literature to map the explanatory associations between gender stereotypes, sexism, self-esteem, and gender-based violence. The review identified a procedural pathway (Stereotypes → Sexism → Violence ←→ Self-esteem), culminating in the proposal of a theoretical model that articulates how violence is legitimized. Article II empirically tests a refined version of this model, focusing on the legitimation of sexual violence and eliminating the Self-esteem variable due to a lack of correlation with the others. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) on a sample of 1430 Brazilians (M_age = 36.11; 63.8% women), the study investigated how Gender Stereotypes (Competence and Warmth) predict the acceptance of Rape Myths (RM), through the parallel mediation of Ambivalent Sexism (Hostile - HS; and Benevolent - BS). The structural model showed an excellent fit (CFI = .969; RMSEA = .039) and a high explanatory power, accounting for 70.9% of the variance in Rape Myths. The central finding is that Hostile Sexism (HS) emerged as the main and strongest mediator (β = 0.77), while Benevolent Sexism (BS) showed no significant direct effect. Furthermore, Competence and Warmth stereotypes functioned as protective factors, negatively predicting HS. Invariance (configural) and group difference (Kruskal-Wallis) analyses confirmed that, although the model's structure is valid for both men and women, the internalization of and adherence to these ideologies are modulated by gender and religious affiliation. The thesis concludes that the legitimation of sexual violence is a systemic psychosocial process, not a set of isolated beliefs, providing an empirical roadmap for interventions focused on deconstructing the stereotypes that fuel Sexism.