R E S U M E N La violencia contra las mujeres es actualmente considerada como violencia basada en el género y reconocida como una violación de derechos humanos y un problema social de proporciones epidémicas, tanto por diferentes organismos internacionales como por muchos gobiernos. De acuerdo con esta consideración, los estudios para analizar y caracterizar esta violencia deberían situar el género como categoría central de análisis (esto es, deberían ser investigaciones específicas de género, o, al menos, sensibles al género). Sin embargo, a pesar de ello, no pocos textos y trabajos científicos aún se llevan a cabo desde la denominada "ceguera" de género. Se reflexiona sobre posibles repercusiones de esta "ceguera" y sobre la necesidad de partir de un marco de interpretación que sitúe el género en el centro del análisis y dimensione adecuadamente este problema. Para ello se toma como ejemplo la forma más común de violencia contra las mujeres, la que ocurre en la pareja. Gender in the analysis of intimate partner violence against women: From gender "blindness" to gender-specific research A B S T R A C T Violence against women is now regarded as a gender-based violence and recognized as a violation of human rights and a serious social problem of epidemic proportions, both by different international organisms and by governments in a growing number of countries. According to this consideration, studies for the analysis and characterization of this violence should place gender as a central category of analysis (i.e., they should be gender-specific or, at least, gender-sensitive). However, despite this, not a few scientific texts and papers continue to be written from what has been termed gender blindness. This article reflects on the possible repercussions of this "blindness", and on the need to start from a framework of interpretation that places gender at the centre of analysis and adequately dimensions this problem. For this, the most common form of violence against women is taken as an example, that is, the one that occurs in intimate partner relationships.

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is an epidemic social and public health problem. Research has consistently found evidence for a complex etiology of IPVAW resulting from the interaction of many factors, among which gender-related norms and attitudes are among the main drivers of this violence. Public attitudes toward IPVAW are especially important because attitudes rejecting, condoning, or fostering such behavior are social factors that contribute to a climate of tolerance or refusal that can shape the social environment in which such violence takes place. Given the importance of these attitudes, the availability of reliable, valid, and concise measures is critical for both research and intervention purposes. The evidence shows a probable bias of direct or explicit assessment measures of IPVAW attitudes, and it has been suggested that they should be complemented by indirect or implicit measures. In this context, the main aim of this paper was to examine how implicit and explicit attitudes toward IPVAW differ among a Spanish population. An opportunity sample of 693 students took part in this study. Two direct or explicit measures (the Inventory of Distorted Thoughts about Women and Violence, IPDMV, and the Inventory of Beliefs about Intimate Partner Violence, IBIPV) and one indirect or implicit measure [the Gender Violence Implicit Association Test (GV-IAT), a personalized form of the Implicit Association Test (IAT)] were applied. The results obtained show that the psychometric characteristics of the implicit measure used (GV-IAT) are acceptable. Additionally, we obtained significant differences by gender, IPVAW knowledge, IPVAW involvement, and political opinion when we measured IPVAW attitudes by implicit measures. However, when we measured these attitudes by explicit measures, we only obtained significant differences by gender and political opinion. Finally, the results highlight the important differences between the levels of strong IPVAW rejection measured with explicit and implicit measures, confirming the traditional discrepancy between explicit and implicit measures of attitudes. In summary, the results obtained provide additional support for the idea that GV-IAT constitutes a promising assessment tool to complement explicit measures for attitudes toward IPVAW.

Intimate partner violence against women is a social and women’s health concern. Much effort has gone into providing services and support for victims of this violence. By contrast, intervention programs focusing on the batterers themselves have received far less attention. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic review of the evidence regarding the effectiveness of batterer intervention programs (BIPs) implemented in Spain as provided by research published in peer-reviewed journals and scientific reports. The results obtained show that assessment focuses mainly on evaluating whether there is an improvement in the psychological variables of abusers. In cases where the rate of success or failure is analyzed, it is important to note the high drop-out rates observed, and the wide variability in success and improvement rates obtained. In summary, the results obtained in this revision allow to corroborate the assumption that associated with BIP is a lot of controversy, since its construction, its implementation, its assessment, and its effectiveness.