Thinking about femicidal violence. Approach to a propposals of Michel Wieviorka and Rita Segato

Abstract

The debate and exploration of the conceptual foundations and interpretative frameworks for analyzing and addressing gender-based violence against women have garnered significant interest across various fields of knowledge. These fields attribute its causes to structural conditions, individual attributes, multiple variables, or risk factors. The most accepted theories emerge from the social sciences, emphasizing a gender perspective. However, theoretical approaches within this framework have been criticized, particularly for sidelining the analysis of masculinity—how the patriarchal system affects men, establishes hierarchies among masculinities, and influences their vulnerabilities and conflicts, especially as women demand equitable power distribution and social relations. This article aims to explore gender-based violence through the social and individual configuration of the perpetrator. Drawing on Michel Wieviorka’s emphasis on placing the subject at the center of analysis and Rita Segato’s concept of the patriarchal, historical, and structural “mandate of masculinity,” this work develops a relational perspective to better understand femicidal violence.