Abstract

Intimate partner violence is any type of behavior that is aimed at threatening the physical and psychological safety of one’s partner in any way. Studies have shown a significant increase in the rate of intimate partner violence among young people. The aim of this paper was to draw attention to the occurrence of intimate partner violence among young people from the perspectives of gender and type of violence committed. A total of 100 respondents between 15 and 25 years of age and of both genders took part in the study. The study was conducted by means of a structured questionnaire which contained sociodemographic data on the respondents in one part, while in the second part the characteristics of intimate relationships, types of violence in relationships, duration of violence, feelings while experiencing partner violence, and the respondents’ opinions about the organizations providing assistance to victims of violence were examined. According to the results of our study, a total of 24% of the respondents have experienced intimate partner violence, and the highest percentage of violence experienced pertained to psychological violence (54.16%). A total of 25% of the respondents reported having experienced physical violence, while 20.84 % were victims of cyber (electronic/virtual) violence. None of the respondents reported experiencing sexual violence in their relationships. Ensuring that young people are better informed, thus enabling a clearer perception of the occurrence, type, consequences of violence and protection from violence, as well as providing more comprehensive preventive programs adapted to young people, are of extreme importance and could help prevent and reduce partner violence among young people.