Impact Data - Violence against Women - Puntos de Encuentro

One of the messages of the TV show Sexto Sentido - particularly through the storyline on domestic violence - was designed to change attitudes toward violence - in particular, the notion that "domestic" violence is a private matter - and to raise awareness of Law 230, which defines domestic violence as a crime capable of sentencing and jail time. According to surveys, frequent viewers were more likely to have heard of Law 230: 43% of frequent viewers versus 34% of non-viewers (p=.006).

Participants with greater exposure to SDSI demonstrated 33% greater probability of knowing a centre that provides attention for cases of domestic violence. Twenty-three percent of those respondents who know a centre that provides attention for cases of violence attribute this knowledge to SDSI exposure.

There was a 48% greater probability of respondents having been to a centre that attends to cases of domestic violence in the last 6 months. Twenty-nine percent of those respondents who in the last 6 months have been to a centre that attends to cases of domestic violence attributed visits to SDSI exposure.

The extent to which Sexto Sentido can be said to have influenced views on violence to a large extent depends on the gender of the respondent. Young men, in general, were more likely than young women to view violence as a private matter.  However, Sexto Sentido does appear to have influenced how young men view violence in that this viewing is associated with the perception that violence is a public rather than a private matter.

Greater gender equity
Participants with greater exposure to SDSI had higher scores (i.e., more gender-equitable attitudes) throughout the intervention period than participants with less exposure to SDSI. The following are considered "attributable" to greater exposure to SDSI:

• The attitude of 17% of those respondents who do not believe that women are the ones who are responsible for avoiding pregnancy (12,128 young people in the 3 cities).
• The attitude of 11% of those respondents who do not believe that women should be solely responsible for housekeeping and caring for the children (7,326 young people in the 3 cities).

Changes observed in attitudes related to gender-based violence involve greater exposure, implying a greater probability (14%, p = 0.000) of not justifying physical violence (a man hitting his wife) under any circumstances. This probability was found to be greater among women than men and among people with higher schooling levels.

Increased sense of equality in relationships
Participants with greater exposure to SDSI demonstrated higher values in the power and control index (i.e., the person's sense of equal power in their couple relationships) than respondents with less exposure, despite an overall reduction in the population (p = 0.025).

Greater perception of collective efficacy related to situations of domestic violence
Participants with greater exposure to SDSI demonstrated 11% greater probability of perceiving capacities among their group of friends to jointly do something to solve problems of domestic violence - this despite the fact that there was an overall worsening in the perception of collective efficacy.

Survey results showed that two-thirds of Sexto Sentido viewers discuss the episodes they watch with someone else. The sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence topics were the topics on which viewers most frequently reflected.

Participants with greater exposure to SDSI demonstrated 62% greater probability of having talked with someone in the last 6 months about domestic violence, HIV, homosexuality, or the rights of young people. (Specifically on domestic violence: 53%). Twenty-one percent of those respondents who had talked to someone about one of these topics in the last 6 months attribute those conversations to SDSI exposure.