Rape within heterosexual intimate relationships in Iran:legal frameworks, cultural and structural violence

Rape and sexual assault are widespread but significantly under-reported worldwide. This is more so in countries where the legal system and the cultural context provide impunity for the perpetrators of sexual violence, and which sometimes blame victims for provoking the assault. Secondary victimisation of rape and sexual assault victims through the responses of individuals and institutions are prevalent globally. However, this silence might be enforced further by the patriarchal legal system and long-established traditional cultures. This article aims to theorise rape within the Iranian context employing the concepts of cultural and structural violence from a feminist perspective. Such conceptualisation will facilitate a demonstration of the interplay between victims, perpetrators, the culture and the state. </jats:p

Young people's online and face-to-face experiences of interpersonal violence and abuse and its subjective impact across five European countries

Objective: This paper explores the experiences and interconnection of young people’s online and offline (face-to-face) experiences of interpersonal violence and abuse (IPVA) victimization across 5 European countries (i.e., Bulgaria, Cyprus, England, Italy and Norway) and its subjective impact. Evidence on the association between online and offline forms of IPVA in young people’s relationships remains rare and even fewer studies address the subjective impact of these experiences. To our knowledge this is the first study to address these issues within a European context. Method: As part of a wider mixed-method study, a school-based survey was completed with 4,564 young people aged 14–17 across 5 European countries. Results: The findings showed that IPVA through new technologies, especially controlling behavior and surveillance, represented a common aspect of IPVA behaviors across the 5 country samples. There was a substantial intersection between online and offline forms of IPVA. In 3 of the 5 country samples, IPVA prevalence rates were not significantly associated with gender. However, for each form of IPVA studied, the reported subjective impact was gendered: Girls reported greater negative impact than boys. Conclusion: Our research showed that youth programs aimed at preventing or responding to adolescent IPVA need to pay careful attention to how new technologies are used within young people’s relationships and the ways in which these experiences may be differentiated by gender