Making meaning of relationships: young women's experiences and understandings of dating violence

Abstract

This article discusses young women's experiences and understandings of dating and dating violence. The findings are drawn from research interviews with young women, aged 14 to 18 years, in Adelaide, South Australia. The study uses an analysis of the micro practices of gender relations and dating relationships discussed in young women's interviews to illuminate gendered power relations and practices of dating violence. The implications of young women's understandings of dating violence for education and intervention programs are discussed.