This story is part of the SBS health and wellbeing initiative Mind Your Health. Click to visit the portal, featuring digital stories, podcasts and videos in English and multiple languages.
When someone's surroundings are marked by violence, it may be difficult to clearly identify it.
In some countries, the violence experienced at home, in public spaces and in the media is so normalised that some people end up tolerating it, or even replicating it.
However, when that person migrates to other societies such as Australia, where the fight against violence, in particular violence against women, is widely condemned, they may face many social, mental health and even legal problems if they do not learn to change certain behaviours.
Uruguayan-Australian psychologist Carlos Camacho specialises in the culture of "machismo" that some men from Spanish-speaking countries have inherited, where the value of a man is measured by his physical strength, courage and violent response to any disagreement.
“[Machismo] is based on power. Unfortunately, for some men, especially some men from Latin American countries, they see power as something physical, something that is related to strength," Mr Camacho says.
READ MORE
Walk Against Family Violence
According to the specialist, this cultural identity can become a problem if violent reactions not only occur at home, but also at work or in public.
“It is an identity problem for men who associate their value or capabilities 'as a man' to power, and cannot speak or communicate well, so they sometimes react physically," Camacho explains.
Violence is accepted, celebrated in some cultures
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), violence is the “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, against another person or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation.”
The levels of violence experienced by some Latin-American societies have become not only a security problem, but also a public health problem.
In addition to the high rate of deaths caused by daily violence, millions of women, men and minors suffer injuries, permanent disabilities or mental health problems.
Latin America is the region with the highest homicide rate in the world, three times higher than the world average.
In these countries, more than half of all children experience violence, while 12 per cent of the elderly population report being abused. According to the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), one in three women has experienced physical violence or sexual violence by their partner in the region.
In this context, machismo is something that is accepted, encouraged and sometimes even celebrated in some social groups, television series or programs broadcast through digital platforms.
Violence and machismo are so widespread, it is difficult for many people to understand that this behaviour is something that must be stopped.
“Violence obviously creates more violence,” Mr Camacho says. He points out that many of these attitudes originate from parenting, particularly that of men.
“Men see that there is a certain level of accepted violence, that certain things are done with violence and sometimes quite significant violence", he explains.
Mr Camacho believes the normalisation of street violence is then extrapolated to other contexts or environments, or imported into the household, as it is interpreted as a powerful means to gain something or obtain an advantage.
However, the specialist explains that fortunately, traits such as machismo or toxic masculinity are topics that are being discussed and, little by little, progress is being made.
“We have made progress in almost every society. There are societies that, for very complex reasons, have not seen much progress, but in ours, in Latin America, there has been good progress in the way that men and women have the right not to be violently attacked by anyone, least of all by their partners," he says.
“We have seen progress, but there is still a lot to be done, especially in our communities. It is an identity problem, in which men sometimes associate machismo with manhood and because they cannot speak or communicate well, they sometimes react physically. It's a problem that has a solution, because it's a communication problem."
It is possible to change certain behaviours?
When a person migrates, they take with them their culture, language, life experiences and social references, among other things.
That is why it is sometimes difficult for someone who has learned certain behaviours to understand that in their new society the codes, values and parameters are different.
According to specialists, culture shock can lead a person to feel lost, misunderstood or lose control when they fail to understand why their behaviour is not received or interpreted in the same way as in the society from which they came originally. This also applies to violent behaviours and power dynamics.
Some men who feel that way have to make a decision, a rational decision and think about what their plan is going to be: are they going to be in a constant battle against a society that is advancing or can they adapt?
According to Mr Camacho, the important thing is that the person understands that this change is not only for the benefit of their partner, their family and the society that surrounds them but for themselves.
“I know of several cases of young Spanish-speaking men who are going to court for domestic violence and they're not bad people, they're not criminals, but they've had bad reactions to situations - and maybe just one, which is enough - to destroy their family, destroy themselves, and their careers," he says.
And they go to jail because of a bad reaction.
Mr Camacho says therapy can help those men identify the cause of the problem.
“They often talk about their childhood or adolescence, and say, 'I saw my father hit my mom'. And I tell them, 'look, there are two men in the same situation: the first one, who saw his father treat his mother badly; and the second one who saw that too but decided not to do the same thing,'" the psychologist says.
"That's the man you have to be. Stop [the cycle of] violence, don't justify it."
According to Mr Camacho, it is possible to change behaviours, control reactions and adapt to new codes, but this is a journey that each individual has to take on a personal level.
Learning to identify behaviours that lead to situations of violence or mental health problems such as depression or anxiety is a first step. Talking about them and analysing them is the next.
National mental health services and helplines
- Lifeline - 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636
- Suicide Call Back Service - 1300 659 467
- MensLine Australia (help for men) - 1300 78 99 78
- Relationships Australia 1300 364 277
