Georgetown University. US: Widespread among adolescents, intimate partner violence and sexual
violence can place young people on a lifelong trajectory of aggression
-- either as victims or perpetrators -- endangering their sexual and
reproductive health now and in the future.
Researchers at the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University Medical Center and the World Health Organization (WHO)
have conducted a review to identify effective or promising approaches
for preventing intimate partner violence and sexual violence against
adolescents (10- to 19-year-olds).
"Addressing Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Among Adolescents: Emerging Evidence of Effectiveness,"
authored by Rebecka Lundgren, MPH, of the Institute for Reproductive
Health, and Avni Amin, PhD, of the WHO, is one of five review articles
published in the January 2015 supplement to the Journal of Adolescent
Health devoted to adolescent sexual and reproductive health that has
been coordinated by the WHO.
"The results of this research show that it is possible to prevent
intimate partner violence among youth and we have the tools we need to
make a difference,” said Lundgren, director of research at the Institute
for Reproductive Health. “Our review suggests that working in schools
and supporting children and adolescents who have been exposed to
violence prevents violence in high income countries such as the United
States. It is imperative that we invest resources to adapt and test
these successful approaches in other settings to tackle the global
problem of violence."
Evidence suggests that the drivers of gender-based violence among
adolescents are similar to those identified for adults. In addition to
exposure to violence as a child and prior victimization, bullying and
homophobic teasing, poor parental practices, harmful alcohol and
substance use, unequal social norms that condone gender-based violence,
lack of female empowerment, controlling male behavior, as well as laws
and policies that perpetuate gender inequality are risk factors.
Girls bear the greatest burden of intimate partner violence and
sexual violence. Much of this violence is perpetrated by boys or adult
men, although boys can also be victims. According to a 2013 report
from the WHO, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and
the South African Medical Research Council on the prevalence and health
effects of violence against women, nearly 30 percent of adolescent girls
(15-19 years) have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an
intimate partner.
The authors of the new review found four promising approaches to
preventing intimate partner violence and sexual violence among
adolescents:
School-based interventions working with students in grades 9 through
11 are shown to be effective in preventing dating violence in the United
States and Canada;
Psychological support interventions to improve cognitive, emotional and
behavioral functioning of children and adolescents subjected to
maltreatment or exposed to parental intimate partner violence are
effective in preventing intimate partner violence among adolescents in
high-income countries.
Community-based interventions to form gender equitable attitudes have
successfully reduced the acceptability or tolerance for intimate partner
violence or sexual violence in low and middle-income country settings.
Parenting interventions that seek to decrease corporal punishment and
develop skills to address conflict without violence are shown to reduce
child maltreatment, which is a risk factor for later perpetration or
experience of intimate partner violence.
The review also highlights critical knowledge gaps in what works to
prevent gender-based violence among adolescents. Lundgren and Amin call
for programs that have been shown to be successful in higher income
settings to be adapted and evaluated in low and middle-income country
contexts.
There are some current efforts to do this. For example, in
partnership with Save the Children, the Institute for Reproductive
Health currently is conducting the Responsible, Engaged and Loving
(REAL) Fathers Initiative for 16- to 25-year-old fathers in northern
Uganda to strengthen positive partnerships and parenting practices among
young fathers and reduce the incidence of intimate partner violence and
harsh discipline of children.
Publication of the review article
in the JAH supplement was supported by the WHO. The opinions or views
expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily
represent the official position of the WHO.