Victimization and Perpetration of Violence in Adolescent Couples and Support Networks in Colombia. Analysis from a Gender Perspective

This study analyses the victimization and perpetration of violence in youthful relations and other socio-demographic variables by comparing two groups, one that sought social support in circumstances of partner violence with another one that did not seek such support. It also describes the structure and density of social support networks based on a sample of 2,217 women between 13-19 years of age, who answered the Bogota-2011 health macro-survey. Contingency tables with Chi-square contrast and Cramer's V coefficient were used to verify the intensity of the association among variables. In victimization, 9% of the sample suffered violence by their partners, and of this sample 67.5% did not seek support. The group that sought support reported a high prevalence and intensity of violence suffered, with up to 19 different forms of violence reported by the same teenager. A higher prevalence and intensity of violence increased the seeking of support, although living and sharing with the aggressor decreased the search for support. In perpetration, 3.2% of the sample used violence against their male aggressor partner. The teens who reported the highest levels of violence did not perpetrate violence towards their aggressor partners in a major proportion. Regarding support networks, their close family was the main one reported. The findings suggest that young women experience gender-based violence in their relations, and male dominance continues to be present, invisible, and culturally legitimized in younger generations. The importance of design social policies and interventions that contribute to deconstructing unequal relationships before these relationships begin is evident.