867150

research-article2019
JIVXXX10.1177/0886260519867150Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceBrowne et al.

Original Research
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
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DOI: 10.1177/0886260519867150
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Experiences of Violence journals.sagepub.com/home/jiv

in “Post-Conflict”
Colombia

Amanda Browne,1 Cyril Bennouna,2

Khudejha Asghar,3 Catalina Correa,4
Arturo Harker-Roa,5 and Lindsay Stark,6

Abstract
Increasingly, researchers and practitioners are examining connections
between public and private cycles of violence. In complex emergency settings,
these cycles of violence often intersect with conflicting norms and values as
societies work toward sustainable peace. Gender norms, particularly norms
of masculinity, are not often highlighted in transdisciplinary violence studies.
Furthermore, few studies on either subject capture the perspectives and
experiences of adolescent boys. This study seeks to explore adolescent
boys’ (13-17 years) experiences with violence at home and in the community
in “post-conflict” Colombia. Thematic qualitative analysis of 20 interview
transcripts from 14 Colombian boys in Cundinamarca (n = 5) and Córdoba
(n = 9) revealed themes of conflict avoidance, hegemonic masculinity, and
opportunities for change in the form of positive coping habits. Further

1Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

2Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
3Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
4Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA
5University of Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
6Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA

Corresponding Author:
Lindsay Stark, Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, Goldfarb Hall Room 241,
Campus Box 1196, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
Email: Lindsaystark@wustl.edu
2 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 00(0)

research into social and emotional coping behaviors and linkages to

perpetuating violence between adolescence and adulthood is needed.

Keywords
violence, gender norms, adolescence, Colombia, armed conflict

Introduction
Colombia is a nation striving to consolidate peace after 50 years of armed
conflict between left-wing rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries, and gov-
ernment forces, further spurred by organized crime. This conflict internally
displaced 7,246,000 people as of December 2016 (Internal Displacement
Monitoring Centre—Norwegian Refugee Council, n.d.). In humanitarian set-
tings, evidence indicates that displacement and exposure to conflict may exac-
erbate violent dynamics within the household (Rubenstein, Lu, Macfarlane, &
Stark, 2017). There is an emerging interest in understanding how violence in
the community influences the perpetration of private violence in the home and
vice versa (Bermudez et al., 2019; Catani, 2010; Cummings et al., 2013;
Marcelin, 2015; O’Brien & Sampson, 2015). In recent years, researchers have
begun to document the variety of ways in which adolescents in particular
encounter violence in their homes, schools, and communities more broadly,
with grave implications for their health and psychosocial well-being (Stark
et al., 2017; Stark & Landis, 2016). Scholars and policymakers alike have also
come to recognize the important role that youth can play in interrupting cycles
of violence and building lasting peace (United Nations and World Bank, 2018;
United Nations Security Council, 2018). In the wake of Colombia’s 2016
peace accords, and as parts of the country remain unstable, it is important to
understand how adolescents in the country experience and come to terms with
violence in various parts of their social environments.
The literature consistently indicates that adolescence is a critical life stage
for developing one’s individual identity, risk-taking behaviors, and social and
emotional coping behaviors (Adams & Marshall, 1996; Erikson, 1968;
Steensma, Kreukels, de Vries, Cohen-Kettenis, 2013; Steinberg, 2005;
Waterman, 1982). Pubertal maturation and cognitive brain development
make adolescence a highly sensitive period, during which individuals are
more likely to engage in risk and adverse coping behaviors, such as substance
use and emotional internalization (Steinberg, 2005).
Dominant norms of masculinity influence both identity formation and
expression during adolescence. There is a growing body of literature that
illustrates how children actively resist dominant gender norms but tend to
face increasing pressure during puberty and adolescence to conform (Way
Browne et al. 3

et al., 2014). Such pressures may increase the likelihood of substance abuse
and antisocial behavior (Fleming, Gruskin, Rojo, & Dworkin, 2015; Way
et al., 2014). Although strong family ties may be a mitigating factor to the
pressures of conformity with gender norms, limited access to income or edu-
cation may exacerbate these pressures (Fleming et al., 2015; Flisi, 2016; Way
et al., 2014). Gender norms, particularly norms of masculinity, are not often
highlighted in transdisciplinary violence studies. Understanding the perspec-
tives of boys entering the identity-forming stage of their life cycle can help
identify key leverage points of intervention to prevent and reduce the per-
petuation of violence in families and communities affected by armed conflict
(Motti-Stefanidi, 2015).
Armed conflict in Colombia has shaped existing understandings and expres-
sions of masculinity, often exacerbating existing hierarchical and patriarchal
structures (Estrada, Ibarra, & Sarmiento, 2007). Violence against men who did
not conform to masculine norms and violence against women were weaponized
in revolutionary and guerilla movements, referred to as “aggressive manhood”
(Flisi, 2016; Viveros-Vigoya, 2016). Paramilitaries in Colombia were also
known to uphold particularly conservative norms and values, often killing those
who did not fall in line as examples for the rest (Estrada et al., 2007; Maldonado,
2014). Colombia’s past reintegration and demobilization efforts were unable to
transform the “aggressive manhood” learned in war, which continued within the
interpersonal relationships of ex-combatants (Flisi, 2016). This social and insti-
tutional context of armed conflict and structural oppression reinforce the norms
that drive these patriarchal behaviors.
Hegemonic masculinity describes the masculine norms that implicate
societal dominance and power (Connell, 1995). When men are unable to
exhibit hegemonic masculinity through their socioeconomic status, violence
and aggression often serve as the alternative (Connell, 1995; Fleming et al.,
2015). In settings where males have been systematically excluded from
employment or politics, as in the case of those impacted by armed conflict
and displacement, the pressure to reassert one’s masculinity increases
(Connell, 1995; Stark & Wessells, 2012). This assertion may manifest in pub-
lic life, private life, or both.
The discussion of public and private spaces refers to the two dominant
spheres in which violence occurs. Although there is no singular definition of
what constitutes “private” violence versus “public” violence, the common
trend in the literature indicates that intimate partner violence (IPV) and fam-
ily violence—or violence occurring within the household—constitute “pri-
vate” violence, whereas violence outside of the household qualifies as
“public” violence (O’Brien & Sampson, 2015; Rubenstein et al., 2017;
Shoemaker, 2001). For example, “the street” is often a male-dominated space
4 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 00(0)

for demonstrations of public violence in conflict-affected communities

(Bermudez, Parks, Meyer, Muhorakeye, & Stark, 2018; Sommer et al., 2018).
Approaches to address violence both in research and practice tend to be bifur-
cated between private violence, such as IPV, and public violence, such as
peer violence.
This bifurcation habitually excludes the role that hegemonic masculinity
plays in perpetuating violence across private and public spheres (Connell,
1995; Fleming et al., 2015; Stark & Wessells, 2012). In El Salvador, an eth-
nographic study of current and former male members of three major gangs
found that almost half of respondents reported leaving home before the age
of 15 due to household violence or family problems (Cruz, Rosen, Amaya, &
Vorobyeva, 2017). A study in conflict-affected Burundi found that a history
of family violence in childhood, severity of posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), and appetitive aggression among men were significant predictors of
later involvement in community violence (Nandi et al., 2017). Conversely,
exposure to armed conflict in communities—and the consequent stress placed
on caregivers—increased risks of violence within families in Northern
Uganda and Sri Lanka (Saile, Ertl, Neuner, & Catani, 2014; Sriskandaraja,
Neuner, & Catani, 2015).
Establishing safe and peaceful communities may require the support of
government structures and services, but sustainable peace also depends
heavily upon its roots in community and family systems (Walsh, 2011;
Wessells, 2012; Zelizer & Rubinstein, 2009). Families and communities
often educate youth about sociobehavioral norms and enforce adherence
to those norms (Braga, Weisburd, & Turcha, 2018). Families and com-
munities can support values and practices that foster a sense of cohesion
and diminish conflict (Adams & Marshall, 1996). Armed conflict and dis-
placement, however, often disrupt family and community systems, threat-
ening their ability to maintain and promote safety (Catani, 2010; Estrada
et al., 2007; Flisi, 2016; Wessells, 2012). When this happens, the risk of
crime and violence tends to increase (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls,
1997). For instance, experiences of abuse and neglect at home can be
significant drivers for youth, especially young men, to join an armed
group or gang (Cruz et al., 2017; Foy, Furrow, & Mcmanus, 2012;
Wessells, 2012).
Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) social ecological model highlights how indi-
viduals influence and are influenced by different layers of a complex ecosys-
tem—the personal, interpersonal, institutional, and societal (see Figure 1).
When looking at adolescent identity formation through this framework, the
role that factors in each nested societal layer play in reinforcing normative
gender constructs intersects with experiences of violence in other layers
Browne et al. 5

Figure 1.  Factors influencing adolescent male individual’s understanding of gender

norms and violence in Colombia.

(Jewkes, Flood, & Lang, 2015). For example, a boy whose father teaches
him not to cry or back down from a fight may become aggressive with peers
who challenge him. The perceived respect he receives from his peers in the
community as a result reinforces the concept of manhood the boy is learning
at home. Understanding what it means to “be a man” informs how men and
boys learn to respond to different experiences. By conducting research with
adolescent boys affected by Colombia’s armed conflicts, this study seeks to
illuminate linkages between public and private experiences of violence, con-
ceptions of masculinity, and attitudes toward violence to inform interven-
tions and policies seeking to interrupt cycles of violence in conflict-affected
countries.

Method
This qualitative analysis uses individual interview transcripts from the
Transforming Households: Reducing the Incidence of Violence in Emergencies
(THRIVE) formative research conducted in Colombia from May to August
2017 (Bermudez et al., 2019; Mootz et al., 2019). The THRIVE initiative
represents a partnership between the CPC Learning Network and UNICEF.
The initiative was formed under the premise that, to better understand how to
6 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 00(0)

improve strategies for reducing violence in postemergency settings, the inter-

national community must better understand how affected populations iden-
tify and experience violence in public and private settings. Interviews with
adult caregivers and adolescents explored family dynamics, the impact of
conflict and displacement on these dynamics, and the social norms that per-
petuate or prevent cycles of violence. An interdisciplinary research team
from the University of Los Andes and Columbia University conducted the
study. This analysis includes all of the adolescent male participants from the
larger THRIVE dataset.

Setting
Data collection took place from June to August 2017 in two different loca-
tions selected in partnership with UNICEF Colombia. The first location was
an urban area in the department of Cundinamarca. Over the last two decades,
the population in this area has swelled dramatically as it receives Colombians
displaced from around the country (Maldonado, 2014). The second location
of the study was a periurban town in the department of Córdoba located near
one of the demobilization zones for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC). Although it does not take in the quantity of internally dis-
placed persons (IDPs) that urban centers do, Córdoba is home to over 300,000
members of displaced and conflict-affected families (Colombian Victim’s
Unit, 2018).

Participants
A total of 73 Spanish-speaking adult and adolescent female and male partici-
pants were interviewed on multiple occasions (on average four interviews
per participant) across both sites. This analysis achieved saturation through
examination of transcripts from the 20 most relevant interviews with all 14
of the adolescent male participants in this study, aged 13-17 years (n = 14).
10 of the transcripts are from five participants in Cundinamarca, and 10 of
the transcripts are from nine participants in Córdoba. Participants were pur-
posively sampled through community leaders and organizations working
with IDPs and communities experiencing high levels of insecurity. The
inclusion criteria sought individual representatives of households impacted
or displaced by the conflict where at least one adult and one child were liv-
ing. None of the participants were from the same household. Participants
were paired with one of four Colombian interviewers for a series of four
interviews.
Browne et al. 7

Data Collection and Analysis

Colombian researchers conducted individual interviews in Spanish. These
interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed in Spanish, and translated into
English. The study applied a participatory photo elicitation approach, where
participants were invited to take photos related to prompts about family rela-
tionships, family safety and well-being, changes to family dynamics during
displacement, and gender norms (Epstein, Stevens, McKeever, & Baruchel,
2006; Mitchell & Sommer, 2016). The photos were used as a prompt to facili-
tate participant-driven narrative conversation within the semistructured inter-
view setting. The exercise included four interview sessions to build rapport
between the participant and their interviewer. The first interview encompassed
the meaning of family, including its composition and strengths; the second
addressed challenges, decision making, and safety in the family; the third dis-
cussed gender roles and norms; and the fourth probed more deeply on some of
the more sensitive issues raised during previous sessions and offered opportu-
nities for participants to propose their own ideas for strengthening family well-
being and community safety. Each interview lasted between 1 and 2 hours.
Through thematic content analysis and constant comparative method, the
lead analyst conducted a full review of the data set to develop initial themes
related to the research questions (Braun & Clark, 2006; Creswell & Poth,
2016). She then defined an initial set of conceptual codes and applied them
systematically to blocks of text using Dedoose (v7.6.17). Memos were used
to flag excerpts regarding gender norms and expectations. Three transcripts
were double coded by another researcher to reassess and revise code defini-
tions. The lead analyst then revisited and reclassified axial codes to create a
final codebook that guided the mapping of initial themes related to the central
research question within the framework of the social ecological model
(Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Coding was conducted primarily in Spanish, and
English translations were verified with Colombian counterparts involved in
the study. The coherence and saturation of identified themes within the total-
ity of the data were continuously reassessed through consultations with the
principal investigator and field researchers.

Ethics
Research staff involved in data collection activities underwent a 2-week
training that covered study aims and objectives, ethical procedures for
research with children and adults, referral pathways for participants in need
of acute assistance, gender-based violence and child protection concepts and
practices, use of audio-equipment, and qualitative methods utilized in the
8 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 00(0)

study. The research team administered one-on-one informed assent and con-
sent in Spanish with adolescent participants and their caregivers, respectively.
Research staff monitored participants for signs of distress during interviews
and reminded participants that they could refuse to participate at any time.
Since the interview exercise involved taking photos in their homes or com-
munity, participants were instructed to prioritize personal safety and safety of
others when taking photos. Deidentified photos were stored in a secure server,
and all photos were erased from all study devices. The research was approved
by the Columbia University Medical Center’s Institutional Review Board
(IRB) (AAAR1039) and the University of Los Andes’ IRB (Act 699-2017).

Results
Upon comparing private and public experiences of violence, several patterns
emerged, as detailed in the following three subsections. The first subsection,
“Exposure to Violence,” captures commonalities between the types of vio-
lence the boys witnessed or experienced. “Masculinity in Context,” the sec-
ond subsection, illustrates norms of masculinity as well as boys’ own attitudes
about what it means to be a man in their communities. Finally, the “Coping
attitudes and behaviors” subsection demonstrates boys’ shared practices and
attitudes toward managing stress and conflict.

Exposure to Violence
Household violence.  Fights at home were often over money and the costs of
food and other necessities, with alcohol often exacerbating these familial
conflicts. Although not all boys identified as forcibly displaced, many had
also moved because of economic insecurity or conflict in the household. Par-
ticipants often described observing fights between their parents at home. In
some cases, aggression was illustrated through the male caregiver’s efforts to
control or assert himself with the mother. Control tactics included several
forms of abuse, including violence, as in the case that follows:

Respondent (R): Well, in my home we had that case with my dad, the men
always try to rule the women. There’s abuse, hitting, or verbal humili-
ation. They say “no, you’re a woman, you’re good for nothing.” My
dad said that, “If you’re not good at making rice how would you be
good at other things.” (Cundinamarca, Age 17)

Another participant also described how conflict between siblings and

between parents and siblings could escalate to physical violence within the
household:
Browne et al. 9

R: When my sister fought with my brother, sometimes they would grab the
knife and stuff and when my mom would argue with them, my mom
would try to hit them and my older brother, well, he would hit her.
(Córdoba, Age 14)

Corporal punishment was a common occurrence among participants, and

some participants demonstrated acceptance of the practice. In some cases,
when dealing with siblings, participants described mimicking their parents’
disciplinarian style. One boy explained how and why his parents punished
him, noting that both parents hit him for things like not paying attention,
fighting, and hitting his sisters, as illustrated by the following:

R: My dad sometimes [hits me] because I hit my sisters.

Interviewer (I): Why do you hit them?
R: Because they hit me, since I am the older brother I have to set an exam-
ple. Sometimes I punish them because they did something bad.
(Córdoba, Age 13)

Participants also described witnessing or overhearing disputes and alterca-

tions within neighboring families in both Cundinamarca and Córdoba. In
Córdoba, participants referenced overhearing such disputes, whereas in
Cundinamarca, the boys spoke more about witnessing intimate partner vio-
lence in shared or public spaces, as described by the following:

R: We see a lot of fights in the streets. Sometimes you see they are fighting
and it’s always because the man is not attentive to the children or
because he doesn’t help [the woman] with money, so the women are
always telling them to mind the children. I’ve seen that several times
here. (Cundinamarca, Age 14)

Examples like the previous quote highlighted the enmeshment of private and
public acts of violence, in this case IPV occurring in the public setting of “the
streets.” The blurring of these boundaries seemed to normalize violence in
the daily lives of participants.
Whether participants experienced violence as victims or witnesses, they
described a lack of communication skills within the household as perpetu-
ating cycles of family violence. For instance, as one 17-year-old partici-
pant from Cundinamarca explained, “Here, everyone resorts to hitting
each other, but it ought to be [resolved] through dialogue.” The use of both
verbal and physical violence impacted trust and communication with care-
givers in the household. A participant described his relationship with his
parents as follows:
10 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 00(0)

R: For example, we get along, but I don’t tell them everything. It’s like,
that feeling I’ve always had, that if I tell them something, what’s going
to follow right away is the belt, to hit me or punish me or take my
things away. It’s better I save it and tell a friend. (Córdoba, Age 17)

Family dynamics like those described further contributed to the boys’ con-
cept of violence as normal. Normalization resulted in a type of dissociation in
which boys reported feeling numb to violence, as illustrated by the following
participant:

R: Well my mom is not a person who knows how to speak with you, but
rather [she communicates] with violence, with bad words, with beat-
ings, so she thinks that will solve everything [. . .] So today they also
hit me and stuff, but I, well, they tell me “pay attention or I’ll hit you or
something.” And so hit me, hit me ‘cause honestly, I don’t feel any-
thing. (Cundinamarca, Age 14)

Armed conflict and rule of law.  In both sites, gangs and armed groups used
violence to enforce their own authority over the community. In some neigh-
borhoods, this was to enforce borders with other neighborhoods to protect
their own drug markets from rival gangs. In other situations, it was either to
exact vigilante justice for crimes committed in the neighborhood, as in the
first excerpt below, or to invoke fear in an effort to stave off an enemy, as
illustrated by the second excerpt:

R: . . .those men on those blocks, over where I live, it’s a hot zone. Like,
they’ll kill me for something dumb like that. There’s a man they had
robbed the other day and I was with the kid that robbed him. He went into
his house and I left because they were [spraying] bullets, and like I was
there, the man saw me with him and the next day they were blaming me
just for hanging out with the kid, you could say. (Cundinamarca, Age 13)
 --
R: When the paramilitaries came, everything fell apart. They started to kill
people for planting [coca] or because they were collaborating with the
guerillas . . . and if you collaborated with the [paramilitaries], the gue-
rillas would kill you. (Córdoba, Age 16)

Masculinity in Context
Interviews yielded insight into the expectations and common beliefs of mas-
culinity as well as their intersections with or diversions from the boys’ per-
sonal attitudes.
Browne et al. 11

Traditional norms. Participants tended to describe “responsibility” as an

expectation of men, particularly in the home. “Responsibility” primarily
included income generation to support their family and, in some cases, taking
on a leadership role in the household. Although in many cases, responsibility
translated as the man having sole decision-making power, some participants
spoke about it as compromise and shared decision-making with others in the
family. For example,

R: A home to me means a responsibility. Like, if I were the man of the

house, if I had a wife and kids, I would have to be more responsible,
more careful. I couldn’t make decisions alone, I would have to include
the family, the home, and put off what I want to do. (Córdoba, Age 16)

Other common expectations were illustrated through gender comparisons with

women. One participant explained how being a man exempted him from the
level of punishment his sister received for interacting with the opposite sex:

I: Do they also hit your sister?

R: They scold her. They hit her too, because sometimes she starts talking
with a boy and my dad is very jealous. He doesn’t like her going out
with boys because she will wind up with a belly [pregnant], that’s what
he says.
I: And do they say anything to you about talking with girls?
R: No, because I am a man. She is a woman and has to be more careful
than I do. (Córdoba, Age 14)

Protection as a man’s role and perpetuating cycles of violence.  In addition to

these traditional norms of responsibility and authority, protection was another
assumed expectation of men and boys. A few described how they would
intervene to protect their mother when her partner would get violent. These
accounts usually involved physical altercations. For example,

R: I was very little. My brother was in bed, almost a newborn and the old
man . . . I remember we were in the dining room with my mother and my
brother and that man was drunk, arguing and arguing. Then my mom
was serving dinner when “PAAAH” I saw him hitting her. I was really
mad. I jumped on top of him and then I went to the kitchen, I got a knife
and stabbed him in his leg [laughs]. Then the man went away because I
told him I was going to kill him [laughs]. (Cundinamarca, Age 17)

For boys who took on the role of “protector,” such scenarios highlighted
how they would often perpetuate cycles of violence rather than disrupt them.
12 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 00(0)

In both private settings, as well as in la calle (“the street” in English), partici-

pants spoke about using violence as a deterrent to protect themselves from
further violence in the future. This was particularly true for participants in the
more urban setting of Cundinamarca. For example, one participant described
that he would beat his brother to teach him how to survive on the street:

R: I teach him to be brave because he used to be so squeamish and every-

one would pick on him and well, no.
I: How did you teach your brother?
R: To respond by going at him hard. (Cundinamarca, Age 17)

Further illustrating the need to teach his brother how to be “hard,” the same
participant explained how aggression and fighting were the only ways to earn
respect to be left alone by peers or bullies in the neighborhood:

R: Why am I going to let someone hit me? If you want them to treat you
like that, well, [you have to] seem hard and have balls and earn your
place. And, well, that’s how the kid has learned how to survive in this
neighborhood. No one messes with him. They know the kid is serious.
He just studies and that’s it, and if they touch him, the kid is fierce
[laughs]. (Cundinamarca, Age 17)

Contesting hegemonic masculinity.  Despite using traditional gender norms to

distinguish between men and women, participants also described their own
attitudes and beliefs that were discordant with some of the more common
behaviors. Some of the participants expressed a clear distaste for expecta-
tions of drinking, smoking, and hypersexuality. As one 17-year-old from
Cundinamarca explained,

Being a boy in my case, they tell you to be responsible. But being a boy here is
seen as being like the one that smokes the most, the one who drinks, the one
who has more girlfriends. So that way even the little kids are looking for a
girlfriend and that’s kind of gross, no? Let’s say the boys that are 10, 11 years
old are already smoking, they say that’s part of being a boy, to be a “macho.”
Even to me, some friends told me once that when they smoked for the first time
it was because they had to demonstrate that they were men. So, I said “oh no
but that’s very gross!” (Cundinamarca, Age 17)

Rather than use violence or force to protect family members, a few boys
expressed their desire to do so through dialogue. One 15-year-old participant
from Córdoba explained what he and his brothers would do if their sister ever
Browne et al. 13

told them their father was abusing her. When the father claimed that she did
something badly, the participant and his brothers would tell their father,
“that’s not reason to hit her. You should sit her down and explain whatever it
is. Don’t hit her cause that’s bad.”
Other participants explained that they learned how to be men through the
bad examples of other men in the street or in their homes:

R: Well, sometimes if the boy sees that his father behaves that way, he
does the same thing, but in my case, I tried to do my best. I thought “no,
I don’t have to be like my father, I don’t have to be so crazy” . . . I like
it because I helped my brothers and they didn’t have that concept of a
violent person. (Cundinamarca, Age 17)
 --
I: Can you give me an example of a situation in the street that has taught
you how to be a man?
R: When you are going down the street and you see a man being disre-
spectful with a woman, or when you see things that a man shouldn’t do.
Like those street people, those crazies, like that. Not me. A man should
never want to be a man like that, ever.
 (Cundinamarca, Age 17)

In talking about norms and expectations, particularly of men, in their families

and communities, participants highlighted some of the consequences an
absentee father or disrespect for their mothers has had on their experience.
One participant attributed his dropping out of school to his father’s perceived
apathy:

R: I didn’t like studying because I needed so many things and since [the
school] needed to have some meeting with my dad and my dad wasn’t
there. He would be out in the street, who knows where. And I told him
that I wasn’t going to study anymore and it was his fault. Because I
needed things and he wasn’t providing that. I needed him to support me
at school and he wasn’t there either. That’s why I didn’t want to study.
(Córdoba, Age 15)

These participant insights point to a nuanced tension between social norms

related to hegemonic masculinity and personal attitudes. Although many of
the boys spoke of aggressive behaviors and patriarchal dominance as accepted
norms, they also conveyed a desire to be a different kind of man. One with
less violence and misogyny.
14 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 00(0)

Coping Attitudes and Behaviors

Although participants discussed common coping responses for stress, such as
seeking social support and physical activity, many struggled to identify adap-
tive coping skills for conflict. Conflict avoidance was the most common
response to questions about managing or responding to interpersonal con-
flict, often as a replacement for communication or as a means of coping with
tension at home.

Conflict avoidance. Conflict avoidance was described as a typical coping

mechanism and usually involved going to la calle or self-isolating in one’s
room. This behavior was described as happening as a response to conflict
between adolescent boys and parents as well as when conflict arose between
parents or with other family members. The following excerpts illustrate how
leaving and going to la calle were typical responses to conflict in their house-
holds. These examples also reinforce the previously identified challenge of
ineffective communication skills among family members:

R: The problems? Well, in the house I don’t, I don’t think that there are
many problems. Well there [are] problems that my dad has with mom
in the house that I don’t get involved in. Like, I see them arguing there
but I don’t know why, what I do is go to the street and leave them there
to argue. (Córdoba, Age 17)
 --
I: For example, in that difficulty you were telling me about your mom,
with her drinking, how do you think that can be solved? Would you talk
to her?
R: No, oh no you can’t talk with my mom. She starts to mess around. I tell
her something and she gets offended: “Ah, it’s that you’re out more on
the streets than here.” Well I don’t say anything and I leave.
(Cundinamarca, Age 13)

Although la calle served as a place to escape to when there was conflict

at home, there were differences in how participants from different locations
spoke about coping with violence there. In Cundinamarca, as previously
illustrated, aggressively confronting conflict in the street was described as
the best way to avoid conflict in the future. Contrastingly, in Córdoba, par-
ticipants described staying out of the street, particularly at night, to avoid
conflict in the community. As a 17-year-old participant from Córdoba
explained, “Everything is normal here inside [the house]. You don’t feel any
risk or anything, no danger. But in the street, you run the risk of anything.”
Browne et al. 15

Furthermore, caregivers played a significant role in discouraging partici-

pants from going to la calle in an attempt to protect them from armed groups.
As one 15-year old explained, “we used to go out a lot at night, to the street.
My grandmother told us not to go out to the street because there were some
men taking kids in the night to who knows where.”

Social support.  Many participants demonstrated adaptive coping skills when

faced with stress, despite noted communication challenges illustrated by the
practice of conflict avoidance. Protective factors included positive relation-
ships with a family member, active engagement in school, and goals for the
future. In Cundinamarca, when one 17-year-old participant told his family he
wanted to study sports management, “they respected my decision . . . even
though it doesn’t make so much money . . . in the end they always under-
stand.” Participants in Córdoba spoke more about relying on friends or fam-
ily members outside the home for advice or to talk about things they could
not discuss with their parents.

It’s better I save it and I tell a friend. I know that that doesn’t help me, but he
can provide me some support. You know, it’s very different to tell that to your
parents. They go crazy, they get carried away and they react by screaming at
you or hitting you. Sometimes they react badly, but I don’t think a friend reacts
badly like that. (Córdoba, Age 17)

One time, I made a decision that wasn’t so good at school. The community
judged me a lot because of it, so I found refuge with my aunt. I went and told
her everything and she told me, “don’t worry, time erases everything.”
(Córdoba, Age 16)

Sports and recreation.  Participants in both locations mentioned physical activ-

ity as a coping mechanism. Sports provided some participants a reprieve
from their troubles, as one 17-year old from Cundinamarca described,
“because in my case, when I [play sports], I forget about everything and I
don’t need to smoke because when I train everything goes away. If I have a
problem, it disappears.” Exercise was also referenced as a more beneficial
alternative to adverse coping practices, like self-harm or hitting things:

R: Well, before we moved I didn’t have so many problems. I wasn’t so

rebellious. When we moved, they didn’t manage it very well since my
aunt wasn’t there and it was just my mom. I would hit things because I
wasn’t cutting myself then. I wasn’t training at the time, so I didn’t
have any other alternative but to hit things. (Cundinamarca, Age 14)
16 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 00(0)

In Córdoba, participants mentioned finding fun activities to distract them

from feelings of anger or stress, as exemplified in the following excerpt:

R: Sometimes, I get home and I am angry and stuff and I don’t have any-
thing to do. I don’t know what to do. To calm down, I will go to the
street to play, or if they don’t let me go out then I will draw. (Córdoba,
Age 14)

Discussion
“La Calle” and Masculinity in Latin American Contexts
The interaction between the household and the street is one of the clearest
examples of how boys learn to navigate gendered differences between public
and private violence. What is interesting about this interaction in the context
of Cundinamarca and Córdoba is that boys not only perceive the street to be
dangerous and problematic but also find refuge there when there is conflict at
home. In Colombia, la calle, by all accounts, is a “man’s world” in that it is
full of vice, violence, and mobility, as recent studies in other conflict-affected
settings have also found (Bermudez et al., 2018; Sommer et al., 2018). This
male-dominated space tends to be considered inappropriate for women and
girls, who are expected to stay home to look after their children or other
household activities. This understanding of la calle upholds the traditional
notion of machismo, yet the boys’ stories portray a much more nuanced, per-
haps conflicted, concept of what manhood means (Willis, 2004).
The dynamics of the street, particularly in Cundinamarca, revolve around
specific norms regarding respect and honor. As one participant explained,
standing up for oneself through aggression was the best deterrent for future
conflict and a means of garnering respect. Another described how violence was
a “hot-blooded” consequence for those who did not respect a neighbor or their
property. These notions go back centuries across several cultures (Baird, 2012;
Shoemaker, 2001). In the context of this study, such norms led to perpetuating
cycles of violence both in the street and at home under the auspices of protect-
ing family members from further conflict. Societal factors, such as the coun-
try’s history of armed conflict and colonialism, align with the perpetuation of
“aggressive manhood” in the family and community systems, however, there
were signs that some of these ideas were shifting among participants. Although
most participants were aware of these norms and expectations, not all of them
agreed that certain behaviors were necessary to prove their masculinity.
Increasingly, studies connect expressions of masculinity in public spheres
like la calle to experiences in private spaces in the home, particularly, among
gang-involved youth (Cruz et al., 2017; Foy et al., 2012; Wessells, 2012).
Browne et al. 17

Although gang-involvement among this study’s participants is unknown, our

analysis found that conflict in the home drove most participants out to la
calle, where they were increasingly exposed to community violence, alcohol,
and drugs—all things inextricably linked to what they were presumably try-
ing to avoid at home. This finding aligned with our conceptual framework
(See Figure 1), where exposure to violence and drugs overlap with commu-
nity, family, and peer systems. The exposure to multiple types of violence
further normalized maladaptive approaches to conflict resolution, such as
avoidance or “feeling numb,” highlighting the need for more accessible pro-
social services or activities in participant communities.
Although the Colombian government has taken positive steps to better
address gender norms and behaviors through the creation of the Sub-
Commission on Gender, the underlying trend through these iterations of
hegemonic masculinity is an emphasis on violence and aggression as critical
for masculine identity, particularly in oppressed, conflict-affected societies
(Flisi, 2016; Sommer et al., 2018). Gender transformation in such contexts
takes time. As Colombia continues to learn from past efforts, it will be impor-
tant to recognize the connections between public and private displays of mas-
culinity. Placing equal emphasis on gender transformative approaches to both
political and domestic violence, especially during reintegration efforts, is
critical (Flisi, 2016). The boys in this study explicitly state their disagreement
with many traditionally aggressive norms. Although they highlighted sports
and supportive family members as adaptive means of coping, there is a need
for further support to adopt culturally sensitive alternatives.

Implications for Interrupting Cycles of Public and Private

Violence
Normalization or desensitization to violence within these narratives occurred
often, from resigned laughter about violence within families to descriptions
of numbness to physical violence. The overlap of influential factors between
peer, family, and community systems helped to illustrate this normalization
of violence (see Figure 1). This accumulation of stress increases risks of emo-
tional and behavioral problems, particularly when extended family structures
are not accessible (Cummings et al., 2013; Saile et al., 2014; Sriskandaraja
et al., 2015). In the absence of extended family, interventions that help fami-
lies identify alternative social supports may ease the burden of stress that
exacerbates violence dynamics at home. In addition, offering youth engage-
ment programs that help to engage adolescents in prosocial alternatives to la
calle would further support violence prevention efforts, particularly in more
urban environments (Marston, 2019).
18 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 00(0)

Although there were several examples of traditional machista behavior,

there seemed to be an open-mindedness among these young boys, providing
a potential pathway to interrupt the cycles of violence they had witnessed and
experienced (Brook et al., 2003; Friedemann-Sanchez & Lovaton, 2012;
Fuller, 2012). Interventions seeking to empower women and girls are impor-
tant, and it is also critical to involve boys in violence prevention efforts early
in adolescence. Although the body of evidence is small, violence prevention
interventions that incorporate gender transformative norms tend to be more
impactful (Jewkes et al., 2015). Furthermore, using an ecological approach to
apply multiple interventions across several systems may contribute to sus-
tainable changes in normative behaviors (Asghar, Rubenstein, & Stark, 2017;
Heise, 2011; Jewkes et al., 2015).

Limitations
As this is a qualitative analysis of a nonprobability-based sample, findings
are limited in scope and application. Due to security concerns, the team relied
heavily on community leaders to identify and recruit participants, which may
have contributed to selection bias. In some cases where the schedule did not
allow for four full sessions, the third and fourth sessions were consolidated
into one session. Given that there were fewer participants in Cundinamarca,
only one transcript per participant was used for participants from Córdoba.
This may have skewed the findings by allowing for a deeper examination of
the Cundinamarca context, despite having more perspectives from Córdoba.

Conclusion
This study explores the intersection of adolescent boys’ experiences with
public and private violence in an effort to elucidate implications for violence
prevention programming in Colombia. It contributes the voices of adolescent
boys, often overlooked in literature seeking to interrupt cycles of violence
against women and girls. This study provides insight into their exposures to
violence and masculinity as they begin to carve out their own identities. It
highlights both adaptive and maladaptive coping behaviors that contribute to
patterns of violence and hegemonic masculinity, as supported by existing
literature. In addition, it exposes nuanced values and beliefs about gender and
safety from the next generation of men in these Colombian communities.
This study complements existing literature by offering opportunities to help
shape programs seeking to strengthen protective factors among children and
young adults impacted by violence. Further research into social and emo-
tional coping habits of adolescent boys experiencing violence as well as their
linkages to violence in adulthood would be beneficial.
Browne et al. 19

Acknowledgments
Authors would like to acknowledge Hanna-Tina Fischer for her support with code-
book development and interrater reliability, the THRIVE research and analysis team
(Lina Camperos, Anna Hoover, Elizabeth Meyer, Jennifer Mootz, Audrey Mumey,
Alina Potts, Amy Ritterbusch, Maribel Ruiz, Leonardo Romero, and Joolan Saroor),
and our community partners and participants who graciously shared their time and
stories with us.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.

ORCID iD
Lindsay Stark   https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8775-9735

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Author Biographies
Amanda Browne, LMSW, received her Master’s degree in social work and public
health from Columbia University in May 2018. She has more than 8 years of experi-
ence in community violence prevention including initiatives in Cameroon, Colombia,
El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. Ms. Browne currently practices Multi-Systemic
Therapy (MST) for at-risk youth in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Cyril Bennouna is a PhD student in comparative politics and international relations
at Brown University. Mr. Bennouna has previously held senior research positions at
Columbia University’s Program on Forced Migration and Health, the CPC Learning
Network, and the Center on Child Protection and Wellbeing (PUSKAPA) at the
University of Indonesia. He has a Master’s in public health from Columbia University.
Khudejha Asghar is a doctoral student in the Department of Population, Family, and
Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins University, with experience in mixed-methods
research on intersections of violence against women and children amidst political
conflict in Colombia, DRC, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Pakistan.
Catalina Correa, MSc, PhD candidate in Community Health and Prevention, Drexel
University. A psycholgoist in training, Catalina has worked extensively in the NGO
sector on human and women’s rights focusing in sex workers right to health, violence
prevention, forced displacement, harm reduction and drug use. As a scholar, she
focuses on how forced migration and violence impact women’s physical, mental and
sexual and reproductive health in Global South contexts.
Arturo Harker-Roa, PhD is an assistant professor at the School of Government at
the Universidad de los Andes. His expertise lies in applied microeconomics and quan-
titative public policy evaluation. His recent research projects focus on the impact of
urban violence on academic performance and psychotherapy to protect early child-
hood in the context of civil violence in Colombia.
Lindsay Stark, DrPH, is an associate professor at Washington University in St.
Louis’ Brown School and an internationally recognized expert on the protection and
wellbeing of women and children in situations of extreme adversity. Dr. Stark’s par-
ticular area of expertise is measuring sensitive social phenomenon and evaluating
related interventions that seek to reduce violence, abuse, and exploitation of women
and children.