Abstract
Research on gender violence has identified as one main component leading to gender violence a dominant socialization process which associates attractiveness to men who show violent behaviors and attitudes, while egalitarian and non-violent men are emptied of attractiveness. This is known as coercive dominant discourse. Starting from the evidence that the peer group is a main context of socialization in adolescence, quantitative data were collected from six classes of secondary education (14–15-year-old adolescents) to explore whether the coercive dominant discourse is displayed in social interactions in the peer group and, if so, how it influences attractiveness patterns and sexual-affective behavior in adolescence. The analyses reveal that the coercive dominant discourse is often reproduced in the peer group interactions, creating group pressure, and pushing some girls to violent relationships. Alternative ways of interaction are also reported, which allow a socialization leading to more freedom, less coercion, and more healthy relationships.
Highlights
Data on gender violence show that, in the many forms it can take, it is part of the life stories of many women from early ages
The data analyzed show that a coercive dominant discourse is displayed in the social interactions in the peer groups within the sample of adolescents involved in this study
Our data showed that non-violent caring boys were associated with stable relationships, while aggressive dominant boys were associated with sporadic relationships
Summary
Data on gender violence show that, in the many forms it can take, it is part of the life stories of many women from early ages. It can be found either in stable or sporadic relationships, from current or ex-partners. The United Nations [2] showed that one in three women (35%) around the world had suffered physical and/or sexual violence by their partner or ex-partner or sexual violence by others at some point in their lives. In Europe, one in five women has been a victim of physical and/or sexual violence from her current partner or ex-partner, one in 10 women has been a victim of sexual violence (including girls under age 15), and one in 20 women has been raped. Data from 2017 showed that the highest increase in gender violence as compared to the previous year was in the age group of women under the age of 18 (14.8% of increase, while the overall increase rate was 2.6%) [5]
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