Gender violence in young people today
The psychologist Eva María Cabrero Aparicio (2016) indicates that the violence that is exercised in relationships is a problem that occurs and that affects all ages, races, social classes and religions. It also states that there are various authors who try to explain through a series of theories why such violence is exercised in relationships among young people. They intend to express how there are factors such as interaction, learning or imitation of behaviors, the predominance of patriarchy or even the various environments in which an individual moves, which can influence the acquisition of violent behaviors of the same. These theories are:
Attachment theory
This theory belongs to the psychoanalyst John Bowlby, who states that all people will relate in one way or another to the rest attending two important figures in his life, the mother and the father. That is, their interactions will be determined by these two figures and will influence both the beginning and in the development of aggressive behavior.
Bowlby states that those teenagers who come from homes in which they were ill -treatment, who have certain problems to control their emotions, or that it is difficult for them to solve the problems will have more chances of establishing conflicting relationships.
Therefore, from this theory it could be concluded that the violence exercised in adolescence could be due to the negative experiences they suffered in childhood (example: aggressive behaviors of the parents, child abuse, lack of attachment …) and that in turn, would generate problems such as dysfunctional patterns in adulthood.
Social Learning Theory
This theory was raised by Albert Bandura in 1973 aims to give an explanation about how we learn in childhood is motivated by an imitation of everything we see (Cabrero Aparicio, 2016)
Thus, as a result of this theory it can be established that the aggressive behaviors that occur in pairs of teenagers are a consequence of an imitation or learning of them, either because it has had a personal experience or because it has been complicit in relationshipsin which violence has occurred. Therefore, the conclusion taken from this theory is that people who are exposed to violent behaviors will have a greater probability of expressing such violence than those that have not been exposed to it.
However, even if this occurs in many cases, the reality is that each person creates their own development process, and not all adolescents who have been victims of aggressions in their relationships, have been in childhood or with previous couples.
Feminist perspective.
There are authors such as Leonor Walker who try to explain the phenomenon of violence that is exercised in couples attending to social and gender inequality, reinforced by a greater power of men over women. This theory refers to the so -called patriarchal system, in which women are reduced to the control and mastery of man. It is following this patriarchy when gender violence arises, whose purpose is to give power to men and weakness to women, creating a situation of inequality between the two.
This same theory also affects the youth population, since they are increasingly influenced by traditional systems that instill some roles, values and beliefs based on gender inequality.
Social exchange theory
This theory, proposed by George C. Homans in 1961 tries to explain the ambition that people have to receive some kind of gratification in their relationships and to reduce or eliminate the costs that these relationships may mean. Thus, the behavior will depend on the rewards and costs that the relationship has.
Social exchange theory can explain violent behavior as a method used in the relationship to reduce its costs and have certain profits, such as control and dominion over the other person. In this way, the aggressor will always try to show control with the intention of reducing other costs such as the uncertainty of not knowing what the other person thinks, what he does or where he is. Therefore, this theory explains the need they have to obtain that domain over the other individual.
Cognitive-behavioral approach
The cognitive-behavioral approach considers that the violent behaviors that occur in relationships are determined by cognitive cognitions and processes, that is, by thought, behavior and emotion. So that, if cognitive distortions appear between them, it can lead to negative feelings and with it to violence.
However, this approach has put more impetus in explaining the cognitive distortions that occur in aggressors in certain situations, than in non -aggressors, since each one will have a different thought, causing negative emotions regarding the aggressor with respect to their partner with respect to their partner. Therefore, this theory could also be the cause of the violence that is exercised in courtship, if the aggressor presents these cognitive distortions.
Ecological Model
This theory was carried out by Urie Bronfenbrenner to give an explanation about the violence that occurs in relationships, acquiring from there the name of the socio-ecological model. To do this, it will focus on the study of the different environments in which an individual develops, since these environments will directly influence the cognitive, moral and relational development of the people. It is, therefore, a model based on the relationship that exists between the genetic variables of the individual and the environment in which it develops, and that in turn is divided into three systems that make up personal relationships.
- The microsystem, which is the closest level in which the person develops (family, parents or school).
- The mesosystem, which includes other environments in which the person actively participates (relationship between family and school).
- The exosystem, which focuses on those situations in which the person does not actively participate, but in which things occur that can affect him.
- The macrosystem, referring to culture, customs and historical-social moment in which this person lives.
Therefore, this approach will emphasize that the behavioral problems of a person should not be attributed solely to it, but that these are the fruit of an interaction between the individual and his environment, being necessary to examine the behavior in the context whereIt occurs (P.Ex: if it were in the classroom or school).
In this way, I consider that above all the theories of social learning, that of attachment and the ecological model are the theories that can best explain gender violence in young people, since they express how the imitation of certain behaviors, the influence of theparents or the different environments in which they move during childhood can cause the acquisition of violent behaviors or behaviors that will internalize as normal, giving rise to gender violence among young people.
It is important to educate from very early ages and teach certain values contrary to violence and aggressiveness. It is about trying to learn positive behaviors related to attachment, cooperation, support between peers, to avoid imitating violent behaviors, and that in the event that they are complicit in some know that this is something that is wrong and thatThey should not continue. It is necessary and essential that the environment in which children and adolescents are cried and educated is calm, without violence, without insults, avoiding above all aggressiveness and contempt.
However, I consider that the ecological model is the one that can best manifest the violence exercised among young couples and with which you could best act with coeducation. As I have explained above, it is a model in which violent behavior is determined by the influence of various environments, among which is the family, school, customs, etc. Therefore, I think that through coeducation in schools that affects young people from very early ages, you can end the bad influence of these environments, inappropriate behaviors could be corrected in schools and institutes, imitation could be avoidedof behaviors in families where violence occurs, as well as avoiding the influence of a culture and customs based on a traditional model that discriminates to women, and thereby promoting an education based on gender equality that does not promote the domain of manabout women and avoid sexist ideas and stereotypes.
– The particular problem of new technologies.
Information and communication technologies that are increasingThey cause new ways of exercising gender violence (Sánchez Pardo, 2017)
These new forms of gender violence can be:
- The cyberbullying based on insults, teasing, humiliations, vexations, threats, blackmail, dissemination of information, photographs of defamatory content ..
- Sexting, which consists of spreading photos or videos of sexual or erotic content through mobile or internet.
- Grooming, sexual abuse caused by adults to minors, coercing them with information and images of sexual content that are obtained through the Internet.
- The impersonation of identity to another person on social networks by fraudulently using their password to access personal data of the owner of said password or disseminate images or vexatory content making them pass by said person.
New technologies are a serious risk to gender violence since they have caused greater control over the couple, new forms of harassment and abuse are given, the damage caused and the negative effects to the victim are increased, as well asIt is difficult to break the relationship between the alleged stalker and the victim.
In general, young women are the most vulnerable to receive some kind of violence through the network, normally because of the inequality that exists in terms of behaviors and image of women in a relationship relationship. To this is added the fact of sending to the couple personal or sexual contents, thinking that it is a sample of confidence towards it, but running the serious risk of suffering after finishing the relationship.
But not only does the dissemination of images of sexual content exist as a form of gender violence through new technologies, but there are other forms such as threats, false accusations, sending vexatious messages, password theft to accessPersonal contents of the other person, the impersonation of identity to damage the image of the victim herself, the use of false identities, the surveillance of the activities she performs, the continuous pressure by the stalker so that it pays attention to it, revealintimate data or use personal and private information from the victim to blackmail it.
Around all these forms of gender violence, there are characteristic features that are to resort to the Internet or social networks to come into contact with the victim once physical contact has been lost;The development of strategies to blackmail the victim emotionally to get it to return with him, that is, try to convince her to return, making her feel guilty for everything that is happening;Use the network to go to the victim through insults and threats, since as they have had a previous relationship, the stalker knows enough things of the victim causing in it an irrefutable fear of finding himself physically with him;or use the use of the Internet to damage the victim’s image by sending compromising images, false accusations, personal information, etc., to various people among whom friends of the same can be included.
In addition, all this has serious consequences for victims, such as psychological and emotional damage, whether depressions, anxiety, isolation …, or inequality and exclusion. Within the latter we can talk about digital exclusion since for them there is a limitation that does not allow them to use internet and social networks freely and freely. Consequences that lengthen over time because in recent years the gender violence that is carried out through new technologies has grown considerably, since almost one in ten girls have received some type of vexatious message throughof the Internet, either by computer or by mobile phone. 61.7% of the girls have received a message insulting them, 39.2% have received some message ridiculing them, 36.5% causing them fear and 20.5% threatening them to do something they did not want to.
Likewise, the data provided by Isabel Ventura, an expert from Portugal at the Observatory of Gender Violence of the European Women’s Lobby, show that 18% of women and girls have suffered some kind of violence through the network before completing the 15years and up to 11% continues to suffer since it exceeded this age.
According to Ventura, there are up to three thousand sites online where they are dedicated solely and exclusively to violence against women, being the most common revenge for revenge within the network, something that the security company McAfee corrobora, establishing that one in tenCouples threatens to spread images of erotic or sexual content, and that more than three thousand have already done so.
In addition, she assures that it is difficult to end this problem since there are hardly any physical and temporal barriers within the network, there is a great diffusion power and of course there is a great anonymity that can allow you to perform these actions without being discovered, because asVentura says, "Internet is like anyone’s land, many times you can’t establish the responsibility of these crimes’
The violence that is carried out through the network against girls, adolescents and women is usually exercised by former partners, class or work partners, but it can also be the case that it occurs for online criminals such as hackers, sexual predatorsor criminal organizations.
Therefore, despite the fact that it is difficultEducation affects this area to stop the excessive use given to new technologies and with it the violence that is exercised through them.
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