What is perhaps even more disturbing is that in this society, many people see gender violence as a problem of sick or damaged individuals and not as a social phenomenon the causes—and solutions—of which lie in much larger social forces.

That is why, for example, many men will declare that rapists should be severely punished, but then respond indignantly to the idea that widely held beliefs and norms about gender, sex, and power—including cultural ideas about manhood—are implicated in the ongoing sexual assault pandemic. So let me be clear. There is no such thing as an isolated incident of rape, battering, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment. These are not merely individual pathologies. It is not enough for us to ask in each case: “What went wrong in his life?” “Why would he do something like that?” These problems are much too widespread for us to think about them in such narrow terms.

Men’s violence against women is a major contemporary social problem that is deeply rooted in our cultural traditions. This does not in any way absolve individuals of responsibility for their actions.

Katz, Jackson. The Macho Paradox (p. 26). Sourcebooks. Kindle Edition.