Violence against women is still happening around the world, generating physical and psychological pain and disability for many of its victims. Violence in premarital relationships is an implicit aspect of the widespread abuse against girls and women in traditional societies. Young girls who get involved in premarital relationships are very vulnerable to all forms of abuse due to the lack of socio-cultural and legal frameworks and networks of support.
Premarital relationships are legally and culturally forbidden and considered false and sinful, especially for young girls. Cultural emphasis on female values such as virginity and chastity prohibits any heterosexual relationship before marriage. Nevertheless, dating is a secret but a ubiquitous part of the lives of Iranian youth.
In this paper, physical, sexual, psychological, and social violence against female dating partners is investigated in urban Iran, as a common aspect of premarital dating relationships. It will be discussed that, having a fear of stigmatization and losing marriage prospects, fear of facing more violence by male family members, and not getting any support from family, society, police, and legal system has made young girls easy targets of victimization in premarital relationships.
By using a qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews with dating victims, this paper will explore young girls’ experiences of abuse by addressing the very cultural factors that lead to their victimization. It will also be mentioned that the cultural mechanisms lead to the victims’ inability to end such abusive relationships and ending up in a violent cycle. Despite being latent in society, the consequences of these violence cycles are essential, because once in a cycle, getting out usually has a high personal or social price for the victims.
Published by Ladan Rahbari
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