Sociologists and anthropologists see gender as socially constructed. This means that when men and women are born, they possess only the biological traits that make them male or female. Everything else about being a man or a woman is assigned by society. In many cultures, the physical attributes of men have led to them being given the more “productive” roles, and they are molded to be more aggressive than women. Women, on the other hand, are seen as delicate and are shaped to be more passive.

Looking at this ad, we can see how it assumes that women are more likely to be victimized by violence. It reflects the ways by which men and women are socialized into particular behaviors that depend on how society constructs gender. The ways by which we shape men to be masculine and women to be feminine are apparent in responses to gender-based violence.

If there was no attribution of gender and societies relied simply on biological sex, how would men and women fare in society? Would the statistics on sexual violence be different?