Twelfth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

In September 2020, relationship and sex education (RSE) became statutory in England and intimate partner violence (IPV) related contents were suggested to be taught in the curriculum. However, because varied IPV definitions were documented in UK educational policy and practice, it is unclear what knowledge English students have obtained from previous schooling and how they perceive IPV issues. To adequately prevent IPV and its associated issues from students, it is of crucial importance to examine how college students understand definitions of IPV and their current knowledge of healthy or unhealthy, acceptable or unacceptable behaviours. To do so, a college-based educational intervention following mixed methods within a participatory action research approach was conducted to research this phenomenon. Results from this study indicated that college students outlined inadequate understandings of IPV definitions, an endorsement of some IPV myths and wrong conceptions of IPV-related issues existed among those in this sample. Findings of this study can be used to assist policy makers, RSE practitioner and future researchers in grasping the crucial parts of IPV-related problems among college students, therefore, offer insights into developing an appropriate intervention addressing these issues with efficiency.