Healthy Young Adult Relationships (HYAR) - Project

在英国，2020年有230万人报告遭受家庭虐待，其中大多数是由于亲密伴侣暴力。其中，14%为女性，5.3%为男性，年龄在16至19岁之间。世界卫生组织估计，在15至19岁的女性中，每4人中就有1人在其一生中遭受过某种形式的亲密伴侣暴力。人们对年轻男性的经历知之甚少，对LGBTQ+年轻人的知识差距更大。 亲密伴侣暴力对年轻人的影响与成年人相似。这包括产生不良心理健康后果，包括创伤后应激反应、焦虑和抑郁。亲密伴侣暴力的经历也会影响年轻人接受教育的能力，并影响他们与家人和朋友的关系。 胁迫控制是亲密伴侣暴力的一种形式，其特征是旨在恐吓、贬低、操纵和控制一个人的行为模式。我们以前的研究发现，亲密伴侣暴力受害者认为强制控制是最糟糕的虐待类型之一，也是最难报告的类型。这种虐待不仅限于成人的亲密关系。越来越多的证据表明，青年人的关系中存在这种行为。 了解和理解健康的亲密关系对于确定伴侣何时虐待，寻求帮助和导航支持服务非常重要。然而，在英国缺乏对年轻人进行健康亲密关系的有效教育，尽管关系和性教育有助于长期改善健康状况，减少亲密伴侣暴力，减少歧视，增加性别平等规范。于2020年，我们完成了一项调查，调查对象为北方爱尔兰逾2000名16岁的青少年，探讨他们对强制控制的知识及理解。只有16%的受访者听说过这个词并理解其含义。 关系教育可以支持理解和识别伴侣虐待行为，特别是在没有身体形式暴力的情况下，但这必须反映年轻人的现有需求和个人差异（例如性取向、性别认同）。这种教育不仅有可能减少重新融入社会的风险（包括相关的身心伤害），而且有可能增强年轻人现有关系的资源、复原力和质量。虽然在联合王国的一些学校环境中提供亲密伴侣暴力预防方案，作为关系和性教育方案的一部分，但方案的实施并不一致，而且方案有效性的证据有限。然而，关系和性教育的内容通常由更广泛的社区内的一系列人提供。由以青年为重点的专业人员提供的以社区为基础的授课方法提供了一个重要的伙伴关系机会，可以在灵活的授课形式内满足关系和性教育课程的需要。目前的项目应对这一公共卫生挑战，并将满足16-19岁的年轻人、他们的父母和青年服务提供者在健康的年轻成人关系，包括亲密伴侣暴力方面的教育需求。我们将采用非正规教育和以社区为基础的方法来做到这一点。这将涉及与年轻人、父母、监护人和其他利益攸关方讨论有关年轻人人际关系的首选教育提供模式。然后，我们将利用这些信息来开发一个原型干预，由年轻人告知，重点是健康的年轻成人关系（HYAR）。

In the UK, 2.3 million people reported experiencing domestic-abuse during 2020, the majority due to intimate partner violence. Of these, 14% were female and 5.3% male victims aged between 16-19-years. The Word Health Organisation have estimated that 1 in 4 females between the ages of 15-19 years have already been subjected to some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Less is known about young males' experiences, with even further knowledge gaps regarding LGBTQ+ young people. The impact of intimate partner violence experiences for young people is similar to that experienced by adults. These include the development of adverse mental health outcomes including post traumatic stress, anxiety and depression. The experience of intimate partner violence will also influence young people's ability to engage with education as well as affect their relationships with family and friends. Coercive control is a form of intimate partner violence characterised by a pattern of behaviour which aims to intimidate, belittle, manipulate and control a person. Our previous research has found that intimate partner violence victims perceive coercive control to be one of the worst types of abuse to experience and the most difficult type to report. Such abuse is not limited to adult intimate relationships. There is increasing evidence of such behaviours in young peoples' relationships. Knowledge and understanding of healthy intimate relationships is important to identify when a partner is being abusive, for help-seeking and to navigate support services. However, effective education for young people on healthy intimate relationships is lacking in the UK, even though relationships and sexuality education can contribute to long-term health improvements, reduce intimate partner violence, reduce discrimination, and increase gender equitable norms. During 2020 we completed a survey with over 2000 young people across Northern Ireland aged 16 years exploring their knowledge and understanding of Coercive Control. Only 16% of respondents had heard of the term and understood its meaning. Relationship education can support the understanding and identification of partner abuse, particularly in the absence of physical forms of violence, but this must reflect young people's existing needs and personal differences (e.g. sexual orientation, gender identity). Such education has the potential to not only reduce risk of victimisation (including associated physical and psychological harm), but also enhance resource, resilience and quality of young peoples existing relationships. While intimate partner violence prevention programmes, delivered as part of relationships and sexuality education programmes, are available within some UK school settings, delivery is not consistent, and evidence of programme effectiveness limited. However, elements of relationships and sexuality education are generally provided by a range of people within the wider-community. Community based delivery methods provided by youth focused professionals offer an important partnership opportunity in meeting the needs of relationships and sexuality education curriculum within a flexible format of delivery. The current project responds to this public health challenge and will address the needs of young people aged 16-19-years, their parents, and youth-providers with regards to education about healthy young adult relationships, including intimate partner violence. We will use an informal-education and community-based approach to do this. This will involve speaking with young people, parents guardians and other stakeholders about preferred modes of educational delivery regarding young people interpersonal relationships. We will then use this information to develop a prototype intervention, informed by young people, focused on Healthy Young Adult Relationships (HYAR).