Gender-Based Violence and Sexism among Young Couples

Abstract

This study aims to characterise the prevalence of violence in intimate relationships among young university students and the internalisation of ambivalent sexism. The method used was a quantitative, descriptive study of Primary Education and Early Childhood Education groups in Andalusia, Spain. The final sample consisted of 848 participants. As a data collection tool, we used the VIREPA questionnaire and the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. The results show that the most frequent forms of violence in young couples’ relationships are emotional, followed by physical and sexual violence, and emotional violence, followed by physical and psychological violence, with sexual aggression being slightly lower. Concerning the variable sex, although the averages are very close, women have higher averages in terms of emotional, physical, and psychological abuse; personal devaluation; and sexual abuse, while men have higher averages in terms of social and economic control. In addition, low levels of sexism were found to be ambivalent in the sample, with the results being highly differentiated by gender, with men having higher arithmetic means than women. This led us to design educational strategies that avoid inequalities between men and women and that contribute to the eradication of sexism and, consequently, the perpetration of violence.