Exploring Gender-Based Violence in Youth Culture

Benedikta Björg Sörensen Valtýsdóttir's study explores how gender-based violence appears within youth culture. The research is divided into two parts: the first, now complete, involved analyzing educational materials; the second, currently underway, consists of interviews with teenagers.

Through these interviews, Benedikta aims to understand how gender-based violence manifests among young people and whether it follows a continuum. She is exploring whether certain behaviors are simply part of everyday discourse or if some actions clearly cross into violence. “I want to investigate how language is gendered and examine the full spectrum between inappropriate speech and violent behavior,” she explains.

To foster open and authentic conversations, Benedikta conducts group interviews with friends, enabling the natural flow of dialogue and trust that exists within peer groups. The focus is not on individuals’ personal experiences but on their perceptions of youth culture in Iceland.

In the study’s first phase, she reviewed nearly all educational materials available in Iceland on gender-based violence and its prevention, primarily sourced from the website stoppofbeldi.is. “The scope was broad. My criteria were that the materials had to be in Icelandic, address gender-based violence, and be educational or explanatory in nature,” she notes.

Her goal is to create two comprehensive perspectives: one capturing the range of experiences and perceptions young people have regarding gender-based violence, and another mapping out the existing educational resources. By comparing these, she hopes to identify gaps—areas where teens encounter gender-based violence, but where educational support is lacking.

Understanding Teenagers’ Perspectives on Gender-Based Violence

Although the study is still in progress, Benedikta Björg Sörensen Valtýsdóttir has already begun to gain valuable insight into how teenagers perceive and experience gender-based violence. She observes the presence of a clear continuum—where the way situations are discussed is closely linked to how young people interpret them. “There’s a strong connection between the language used and how teens understand potential scenarios. Some behaviors are clearly identified as violence in certain contexts, but not in others,” she explains.

For instance, she notes that rough or boundary-crossing jokes between boys are often not seen as violent by teenagers. However, when a similar act is framed as something a boy does to a girl, they immediately recognize it as violence. This illustrates the fluid boundaries that form the continuum of gender-based violence.

“If the situation escalated slightly or involved someone different, it would be clearly recognized as violence. But if it’s toned down, they barely consider it worth mentioning—it falls somewhere in between,” Benedikta says.

She also highlights the unique challenges faced by queer youth, who frequently report experiencing harassment and feeling that truly “safe spaces” are often out of reach. Social media, according to all interviewees, represents a particularly harsh and unregulated environment, further complicating their experiences.

Benedikta hopes her research will shed light on the lived realities of young people—especially in digital spaces—and ultimately help address gaps in education about gender-based violence. “My aim is that this study contributes to bridging the disconnect between young people’s experiences and the educational materials currently available,” she says.