ADOLESCENTS' PERCEPTION OF DATING VIOLENCE FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE

This research was carried out with adolescents from the coastal zone of Ecuador, characterized by having a miscegenation between the Afro-Ecuadorian population, indigenous peoples and Europeans. The objective was to explore the experiences and perception of adolescents about dating violence from a Public Health perspective. A qualitative methodology of phenomenological design was applied, using as techniques the focus group and non-participant observation with a question guide to guide the discussion in the focus group, structured based on gender theory and previous studies of dating violence. As a result, the perception of violence was found as an element that is built over time, observing how these adolescents see it as normal to give their phone codes to their boyfriends as part of trust, a situation that ends up invading the private space by complete; adolescents grant a significant part of their privacy to maintain their partner, observing control and domination as a category that is also associated with the manifestation of various behaviors in which the level of violence increases. Conclusion: Violence is observed in a bidirectional way where control strategies are used, in many cases referring to a cultural factor that favors violence as something normal among them. And it is described as worrisome and negative, both for physical and psychological health "seriousness of the problem".