Från kärlek till kontroll - En kvalitativ studie om unga kvinnors upplevelser av våld i nära relationer

Sammanfattning: Our study aimed to, through a qualitative content analysis, understand how violence manifests among young women aged 16-25 in their romantic relationships, as well as how violence affects their social lives. By listening to six podcasts, watching three short film clips, and reading three written texts, we have gained insights into personal stories from young women's own experiences of violence in close relationships. Our findings highlight the various expressions of violence in young individuals' close relationships, where psychological violence emerges in all stories. Psychological violence is often the initial type of violence displayed by the partner, and the results indicate that controlling behavior from the partner occurs in 10 out of 12 stories. Today's youth use digital tools and platforms to communicate and nurture their social relationships, contributing to the tendency for digital violence to increase and become normalized among the young. With our feminist theoretical framework, which includes the normalization process and coercive control, we have gained an understanding of how gender power dynamics and power imbalances can explain women's vulnerability to violence. Digital development has also contributed to the possibility of surveillance and control, as evident in several of the young women's stories. Drawing on Foucault's ideas about how people can be controlled and disciplined through surveillance, and keeping the Panopticon in mind, we contemplate how digital surveillance can lead to control over the young woman, ultimately limiting her freedom, autonomy, and opportunities for social life.