'Dating Violence a Widespread Problem in Schools'

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Association for Struggle Against Sexual Violence (CŞMD) has released a research report titled, "Dating Violence: School-Focused Measures and Obstacles Against Intervention, Needs and Suggestions for Solutions."

The report is part of the project named "What's up?! Project for Educating the Educators," which was conducted by the CŞMD between October 2017 and July 2018. In the project, 20 psychological counselors interviewed 5,518 high school students on violence.

CLICK - Young People Tell Their Experiences of Dating Violence

The project aimed to increase the occupational capacities of school psychologists in terms of knowing, preventing and intervening in dating and peer violence.

Statements by psychological counselors from 17 high school with different attributes indicate that dating violence is a common problem in schools.

Dating violence is not perceived as a problem

Here are some highlights from the report:

• Counselors said that they need group-based approaches that they can apply at classrooms to prevent violence.
• The need for methods that encourage young people to participate in and that are informal, rights-based, anti-hierarchical, supported by materials.
• Through material-supported and enhanced methods, a lot of hard topics such as personal boundaries, safe and unsafe relationship, cyber violence, stalking, victim blaming, the right to privacy, physical, sexual and emotional dating violence, dating rights, could be talked with students.
• Considering the political atmosphere in schools, conducting protective and preventive efforts against dating violence, which is not perceived as a problem in schools, seems to be very difficult for psychological counselors without support and solidarity.
• The anti-hierarchical, inclusive and empowering language that the psychological counselors used paved the way for creating a safe space and a common language between the students and the counselors.
• Psychological counselors said that they made some progress regarding the "individual causes" of dating violence through their protective and preventive works, nevertheless more comprehensive works are needed for social, cultural, familial, economic and legal causes.

(AÖ/VK)