Everyday machismo is the base of the iceberg that nourishes the most noticeable gender violence in society and, faced with this, we cannot look the other way.
November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Despite some progress, violence against women of all ages continues to be one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world today, affecting, according to UN data, more than one-third of women.
Violence against women constitutes a form of discrimination, which includes any act or threat of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, whether occurring in the private or public spheres. This form of violence arises from a social system that has historically discriminated against women and placed them in a subordinate position compared to men. There are different expressions of sexist violence, ranging from femicide to cyberstalking, which can occur in various contexts, from a family one to the workplace. Thus, sexual and gender-based harassment in the workplace is one of the manifestations of gender-based violence in society.
“Micro" machismo in the work environment
However, sexist violence is not always evident to everyone. We live in a patriarchal society that has normalized behaviours that, seen from a genderless viewpoint, seem natural and are present in everyday life. In this sense, the psychologist Luis Bonino developed the concept of micromachismos in the 1990s, which refers to subtle and everyday behaviours of control, imposition, and abuse of male power over women, which are often invisible in society and respond to internalized ideas and practices that are considered "natural and justified".
In response to the criticism that Bonino has received for using the term "micro", as it minimizes the seriousness of the violence subjacent to these behaviours, the author has pointed out that he used this term, not because these behaviours were less serious or small, but because they are exercised in "micro" spaces, those of everyday life. However, despite having become invisible, these behaviours continue to be a violation of human rights and, although the damage they cause is not necessarily visible (such as psychological damage), it is real, which is why it is so important to make them visible and to stop normalizing these behaviours. Even more so, considering that this type of daily machismo constitutes the base of the iceberg that nourishes the most explicit gender violence in society.
Examples of this type of everyday machismo are certain conducts in the workplace which, despite being expressions of sexual or gender-based harassment, are normalised by the people affected (and their environment). This is what is known as "technical harassment", which refers to the experience of a series of situations or behaviours that constitute harassment, even though the person being harassed has not been able to identify them. This is the case of repeated requests for dating, jokes with sexual content, compliments or comments of a sexual nature. The normalisation of these behaviours highlights the importance of making these manifestations of micromachismo visible and to recognise them, as well as adopting a position of zero tolerance towards them, making visible what is now "subtle" or invisible.
The ICM-CSIC's commitment
As part of the actions of the Gender Equality Plan, the ICM-CSIC ratifies its commitment to zero tolerance of sexual and gender-based harassment. To this end, the members of the Equality Group presented last week the internal launch of the CSIC's Protocol for Prevention and Action against sexual and gender-based harassment, with the aim of informing all the centre's staff about this resource, available to everyone in case of need. In addition, the staff was also informed of the forthcoming appointment of the two reference persons who will be responsible for the preliminary phase of communication with, and advice to, the victim, as well as to inform and guide them when making a complaint to the competent body of the CSIC (if they decide to do so). Finally, several training and awareness-raising sessions are planned for all the centre's staff, thus ratifying the zero-tolerance policy against all types of gender-based violence, from the most invisible and naturalised to the most obvious ones.