SOCIAL NORMS AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN BULGARIA

Abstract

In sociology, social norms are usually understood as written or unwritten expectations of actions and behavior within predefined typical social interactions. From a theoretical point of view, social norms play an important role in explaining violence against women, insofar as they set expectations for men’s and women's behavior in different contexts (e.g., in the family), including in the context of interactions involving violence to which they are subjected. Social norms related to the roles played by men and women are not the only ones that can influence the wider spread of violence against women. Social norms that normalize violence itself can also play a role. The social legitimacy of violence is greater the more widespread the beliefs are that the perpetrator has the right to use violence and that the victim deserves the violence inflicted upon her. In addition, social norms contribute to the normalization and social legitimization not only of physical and sexual violence against women, but also of other forms of violence, such as psychological and emotional violence. In these cases, the perpetrator activates gender stereotypes, making the victim believe that she herself is the cause of the feelings and emotions she experiences. In addition, social norms influence the behavior of women who have experienced violence, including their tendency to turn to formal or informal sources of support. Thus, the decision of women who have experienced violence to seek support is largely determined by their own perceptions of the social norms shared by the community. Based on data from a nationally representative survey of the population over 18 years of age in Bulgaria, conducted between January 16 and February 24, 2025 among 1,017 respondents using the direct standardized interview method, this report describes the prevailing social norms regarding violence against women and analyzes their impact on its prevalence in its various forms (physical, sexual, economic, psychological, and emotional) in Bulgaria. It has been established that although violence against women is generally considered a public problem, there are still culturally conditioned perceptions that it belongs more to the private sphere. This, in turn, leads to the emergence of social norms that legitimize certain forms of violence against women and reinforce the belief that, in gender relations, certain forms of violence by men do not go beyond the generally accepted boundaries of the typical male role. In this regard, there is also evidence that such beliefs are shared by a significant proportion of women. As a result, not all manifestations of violence are recognized as such and are not reported by victims, which in turn leads to an underestimation of the true extent of this negative phenomenon