Abstract
The study aims to explore university students' understanding and perception of violence against women (VAW). A total of 14 focus group discussions were conducted and stratified into 2 genders (men and women). Participants were undergraduate students (n = 75) from a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Findings revealed gender variations in the understanding of VAW. Although many considered VAW to essentially involve physical harm, female participants had a broader understanding of what constituted VAW. Most male participants were more conservative and emphasized the physical aspects of violence, whereas the majority of women participants considered that psychological and verbal abuse to be forms of VAW. Many participants expressed the belief that poor women are more likely to be victims of violence. The majority of the male participants recognized sexual harassment as a form of VAW but defined sexual harassment more narrowly than female participants. These gender disparities in understanding the meaning of VAW and perception of violence victims need to be taken into consideration when designing interventions and programs. Finally, it is the intention of the researcher to conduct a similar study in other governorates in Egypt to explore the variation in understanding of VAW among youngsters across regions.
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