Psychosocial Representations of Gender-Based Violence Among University Students from Northwestern Italy

The aim of the study was to explore the psychosocial perceptions that young adults have regarding gender-based violence, including those based on their personal experiences, and to highlight perceptions related to social media and how its use might be connected to gender-based violence. The participants were 40 university students from Northwestern Italy with an average age of 21.8 years (range: 19–25); 50% were women. Sampling was non-probabilistic and followed a purposive convenience strategy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online and audio-recorded, and data were analyzed using the reflective thematic approach. The results revealed that young adults are very aware, at a theoretical level, of “offline” physical, psychological, and verbal gender-based violence and its effects, while they do not give much consideration to online violence, despite often being victims of it, as revealed by their accounts, for example, through unsolicited explicit images or persistent harassment on social media. Therefore, the results of this research highlight the need to develop primary prevention programs focused on increasing awareness and providing young people with more tools to identify when they have been victims of violence, both online and offline, and to process the emotional experiences associated with such events.