KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR STUDY ON DATING VIOLENCE

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to examine the perception of dating violence of individuals who differ in terms of age, gender and education level, and to what extent they are aware of the severity of dating they may be exposed to and the impact of this situation on them. The research was conducted via the internet in Turkey. A questionnaire was applied to all participants from all age groups and all education levels above the age of 18. 74% of the participants were women and 26% were men; it is stated that 6% of them had no dating relationship until today. 79.6% of the participants stated that they witnessed the dating violence and 33.5% stated that jealousy is a sign of love. In a question where it is possible to mark more than one option, 63.6% of the participants deemed neglecting, 41.8% of the participants deemed preventing to meet with their family and friends, 23% of the participants deemed forcing to a sexual intercourse in the scope of dating violence. Dating violence is a type of violence that is frequently encountered in daily life, but social and individual awareness is not at a desired level. Our survey, that we had parallel results with the prior surveys, shows that many people perceive the dating period as the previous stage before the relationship. Since, the violence among spouses during relationship, engagement and marriage are not considered in the scope of dating violence, the findings do not provide the exact number of people who are exposed to dating violence.