Addressing Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Among Adolescents: Emerging Evidence of Effectiveness

“Addressing Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Among Adolescents: Emerging Evidence of Effectiveness,” authored by Rebecka Lundgren, Ph.D, of the Institute for Reproductive Health, and Avni Amin, Ph.D, of the WHO, is one of five review articles published in the January 2015 supplement to the Journal of Adolescent Health devoted to adolescent sexual and reproductive health that has been coordinated by the WHO.

Evidence suggests that the drivers of gender-based violence among adolescents are similar to those identified for adults. In addition to exposure to violence as a child and prior victimization, bullying and homophobic teasing, poor parental practices, harmful alcohol and substance use, unequal social norms that condone gender-based violence, lack of female empowerment, controlling male behavior, as well as laws and policies that perpetuate gender inequality are risk factors.