Using drama-based research and practice to understand intimate partner violence with young people in Samoa: Exploring an intersectionality informed approach to health promotion

Abstract

Young people around the world report high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) and are at a critical life stage for building the foundations for intimate relationships free from violence later in life. Working with young people in culturally diverse contexts to understand their perceptions of and experiences within intimate relationships is an important step for IPV prevention globally. In Samoa, the Pacific Island nation where this study is located, 47.5% of young women (aged 15-24 years) report experiencing physical and/or sexual IPV. Social norms and cultural taboos leave young people in Samoa largely alienated from sexual and relationship health promotion. There is an immediate need to better understand the root causes of violence with this at-risk group to inform meaningful intervention that can halt violence, and to work with young people to establish safe and fulfilling intimate relationships free from violence now and into the future.This thesis presents findings from a participatory study conducted with young people in Apia, Samoa’s urban centre. The study was conducted over three phases. The first phase engaged 15 young people in an interactive drama workshop to gain in-depth understandings of their perceptions, conceptualisations and challenges within intimate relationships. The second phase worked with a smaller group of five young people to translate the initial outcomes from Phase 1 into a performance script. In the final phase, this script was presented to a broader group of approximately 50 young people as an interactive production aimed at providing opportunities for critical reflection and dialogue around current challenges within intimate relationships and possible ways forward.The data collected throughout the three phases of the study included: photographs and audio-visual material to capture embodied knowledge and exploration and transcriptions of focus group discussions after the first and final phases. Intersectionality informed approaches guided the data collection and analysis, drawing out key intersections between individuals’ multiple identities and personal biographies with social and cultural systems of power, highlighting the implications of these for young people’s experiences within intimate relationships.Finding from across this study indicate young people in Samoa are engaging in intimate relationships and grappling with actions and approaches related to current and future experiences of IPV. Young people in Samoa want to engage in safe and fulfilling intimate relationships built on equality, but intersections of identities related to gender, age, religion and sexuality, with social gender expectations that support male leadership and hierarchical social systems, limit avenues and opportunities for young people to question current practices and explore new approaches. Findings suggest the interactive production provided an opportunity for participants to embody current and new approaches, and to physically express and explore alternative responses in a safe space. These embodied opportunities built a sense of empowerment and courage to try new approaches in practice. Such findings indicate a potential for drama as a tool for supporting critical consciousness in relation to intimate relationship practices with diverse groups of young people warrants further investigation.This thesis makes three significant contributions to public health: addressing an important gap in knowledge to inform IPV prevention with young people in Samoa; building on a small body of literature indicating a role for drama in public health research and practice; and supporting continued engagement with social theories in public health, specifically advocating for intersectionality informed approaches in health promotion research and practice.