Women’s experience of sexual violence in intimate relationships during adolescence: Vulnerability and impact on formal education

Abstract

The aim of this article is to map the experiences of survivors of sexual violence in intimate relationships during adolescence. Theories on normalization of violence in intimate relationships were applied and placed in context with adolescent vulnerabilities. In addition, previous research on violence in intimate adolescent relationships was consulted to further contextualize our results. In Iceland, research is lacking on sexual violence in intimate adolescent relationships. This article seeks to answer the following questions: Which factors enhanced the vulnerability of participants experiencing sexual violence in an intimate relationship and what impact did the violence have on the survivors’ formal education?

Violence in intimate relationships is a manifestation of (social) sexism which appears among adolescents no less than among adults (Barter, McCarry, Berridge og Evans, 2009; Gådin, 2012; Plauborg, Johansen og Helweg-Larsen, 2012; Wiklund, Malmgren-Olsson, Bengs og Ohman, 2010). Gender is considered an important variable in relation to adolescence since gender has much to say in terms of the social expectations and practices that individuals are faced with during adolescence (World Health Organization, 2014). The social messages that adolescent girls and boys receive about sex, relationships and communication are very different and display old-fashioned ideas about gender roles (Aapola, Gonick og Harris, 2005; Flood, 2008; Karen Dögg Bryndísar-og Karlsdóttir, 2015; Knauss, Paxton og Alsaker, 2007; Kolbrún Hrund Sigurgeirsdóttir, 2015; Seidler, 2006; Snærós Sindradóttir, 2015; Tolman, Striepe og Harmon, 2003).

Qualitative methods were used, and interviews were conducted from September 2014 to July 2015. The data consists of ten semi-structured individual interviews with Icelandic women who had experienced sexual violence in an intimate relationship as adolescents. The women were between the ages of 18 and 60 years, they are all cisgender, non-disabled, white and heterosexual. In order to obtain more diversity in the participant group the research was specially advertised among groups of disabled women, young queer people and trans people. This, however, did not yield the expected results. It is important to note that even though the participant group was insufficiently diverse this does not mean that people from groups not represented never experience sexual violence in intimate relationships as adolescents. Research has shown that these groups are marginalized because of power structures and social oppression (Ásdís Aðalbjörg Arnalds, 2013; Barter o.fl., 2009; Brown, 2011; Hilmar Jón Stefánsson, 2013; Ristock, 2011).

Young age and inexperience contribute to the vulnerability of adolescents experiencing sexual violence in an intimate relationship (Barter o.fl., 2009; Plauborg o.fl., 2012; Wiklund o.fl., 2010). Our analysis indicates that sexual violence in adolescent’s intimate relationships has a strong and long-lasting impact on the lives of those who experience it. The women described confusion regarding their experience while they were in the relationship and difficulties with identifying that they had experienced violence. This indicates that it may be particularly complicated for adolescents to define their experience as violence since the violence is normalized within the relationship, which can make the boundaries between consent and non-consent extremely vague. It took most of the women a long time to realize that they had experienced violence. The results highlight that the experience seems to a have negative impact on formal education among adolescent survivors. Experiencing sexual violence in an intimate relationship as an adolescent impacted various aspects of all the women’s lives. Consequences like anxiety, depression, social isolation and self-destructive behavior made it difficult for survivors to pursue studies and half the women dropped out of school. The dropout rate of Icelandic upper secondary students is above the OECD average, or 30 percent (OECD, 2012). Dropping out of school can have serious effects on the social status of people between 16 and 20 since the well-being of young people who are not in school is lower than among those who attend school (Hrefna Pálsdóttir, Álfgeir Logi Kristjánsson, Inga Dóra Sigfúsdóttir, Birna Baldursdóttir og Jón Sigfússon, 2010).

In a report from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (Mennta- og menningarmálaráðuneytið, 2016), dropout is seen as a process that needs urgent intervention and there seems to be a reason to start dropout prevention from upper secondary schools already at the compulsory level. Since the vast majority of adolescents are in school, we believe in the importance of heightened awareness regarding the experiences of sexual violence that adolescents may have and the impact it can have on their formal education. We suggest that strategies within the school system for dropout prevention should take into account sexual violence in intimate relationships among adolescents.