Violence Against Women: a pilot study on the perception of Apulian High school students

Abstract

Violence Against Women (VAW) is a widespread issue deeply rooted in social and cultural structures. Affecting women of all ages and backgrounds, VAW is often underreported due to stigma and victim-blaming. This study explores young people's perceptions of VAW in the Apulia region (Southern Italy), using a local survey inspired by a National framework on gender stereotypes and attitudes towards VAW. The survey gathers insights into youth opinions on gender roles, the acceptability of violence, and awareness of VAW within their communities, aiming to uncover the underlying attitudes that perpetuate this issue. The analysis combines two methodological approaches to examine these data. A network-based approach explores relationships within item responses, allowing for an in-depth look at the direct interactions among youth attitudes. This approach is paired with a psychometric model based on Item Response Theory, specifically the Graded Response Model, which interprets attitudes as manifestations of latent traits, revealing how different factors shape perceptions of VAW. Together, these methods offer a comprehensive analysis of young people's views on VAW, highlighting both individual response patterns and broader cultural trends essential for designing effective interventions. Findings indicate a gradual shift in attitudes toward gender roles; however, traditional views remain prevalent, especially among young males. Socioeconomic factors, such as parents' employment status, also contribute to the persistence of stereotypes, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to address and reduce VAW in youth populations.

Figures (7)

• Figure 1: Comparison between the distribution of respondents (Sample) and the distribution of students at the regional level (Apulian pop), based on sex, A), age class, B), and type of school attended, C). For A), sex categories include male (M) and female (F) students. In B), age classes include students aged up to 15 years, 16 years, 17 years, and 18 years and older. For C), types of school correspond to the educational tracks attended, where "Lyceum" refers to academic-oriented curricula (classical and scientific high schools) and "Tec+Prof" stands for technical and professional curricula.
• Figure 2: Distribution of respondents based on the educational levels, A), and employment statuses, B), of parents. For A), abbreviations refer to the parents' level of education: MAND = Mandatory school, HIGH = High school, MASTD = Bachelor's/Matser's degree or higher. For B), abbreviations refer to the parents' employment status: VUL = Vulnerable condition (precarious work, on-call work, etc.), PERM = stable and permanent work.
• Figure 3: Distribution of scores assigned to selected items concerning stereotypes about gender roles. Based on Mood's median test, (***) represents p-value$<0.001$ and (**) represents p-value$< 0.01$. Referring to the mother' employment status, abbreviations VUL and PERM stand for "Vulnerable work condition" and "stable and permanent work".
• Figure 4: Distribution of scores assigned to selected items concerning stereotypes about sexual violence. Based on Mood's median test, (***) represents p-value$<0.001$ and (**) represents p-value$< 0.01$. Referring to the mother' employment status, abbreviations VUL and PERM stand for "Vulnerable work condition" and "stable and permanent work".
• Figure 5: Incidents of violence reported by young respondents by type of reporting.