Professor Esther Torrado sees denialism among young people as “worrying” and demands training plans from administrations
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo de Tenerife, through the delegated council for Equality and Prevention of Gender Violence, presented this Tuesday the main results of the ‘Sociodemographic Study of the Adolescent and Youth Population of the Island of Tenerife’, commissioned to the University of La Laguna (ULL), whose conclusions include the fact that half of the island’s young people deny the existence of sexist violence and believe that it affects men and women equally.
This was explained by the professor of Sociology at the University of La Laguna, Ester Torrado, who also highlighted that young people and adolescents in Tenerife receive affective sexual training and gender equality, mostly, through educational centers, but with poor quality and continuity.
“This has as a consequence the perception that this population has regarding sexist violence and sexuality, which is far from achieving real equality,” he said.
Along these lines, he indicated that “it is very worrying that 50% of the young people surveyed are deniers of sexist violence or do not differentiate it from other types of violence, it is really worrying that they consider that sexist or gender violence is suffered by equally men and women “.
For her part, the counselor Priscila de León explained that “this study is framed in the strategy in which the Cabildo de Tenerife is already working for the preparation of the first ‘Plan for the prevention of gender violence at an early age’, with which will comply with the Law against Gender Violence “.
He also recalled that previously they also presented with Professor Torrado an analysis on the consumption of pornography in adolescents and young people and its link with sexual or gender violence.
“Thanks to the results of this study, which we present today, we have a valuable tool that will allow us to be more effective when designing and improving social policies and strategies aimed at them,” added the CEO. .
De León also wanted to recognize the important work carried out by the entities of the insular network for gender equality ‘Tenerife Violeta’ and to value the ‘Strategic framework of actions in gender equality policies Tenerife Violeta’, a collaborating entity in the study and a tool for the Cabildo to articulate and define priorities in the development of public policies aimed at promoting real equality of opportunities between women and men on the island.
Esther Torrado explained that taking into account the results, it is evident “the need for public administrations to make an effort to establish employment and participation policies and above all a training plan that involves all social agents, including families, on education affective sexual and equality “.
This analysis has also revealed that the young and adolescent population of the island of Tenerife is not very participatory and is mostly unemancipated and with precarious jobs.
THE STUDY AND RESULTS
The objective of the study focused on knowing the profile of adolescents and young people residing in Tenerife to establish the common characteristics around culture and leisure and free time habits, as well as the knowledge and perception around gender violence in the ages between 11 to 20 years.
The information used to prepare the study was collected through the analysis of demographic and labor data and the conduct of surveys.
Within the analysis of demographic and labor data, it stands out that the youth index in the Canary Islands and Tenerife from 2015 to 2019 has decreased steadily in this period.
In addition, it can be noted that the youth index of Tenerife is above that of the Canary Islands.
Likewise, and with respect to the synthetic fertility index in the Canary Islands, said index is below that of Tenerife, slightly exceeding the child per woman, an amount that does not ensure generational replacement.
Another of the realities that the study reveals is that the unemployment rate of women is always higher than that of men from 2016 to 2019.
Regarding the results, it is revealed that the majority of the people surveyed study at the university and of these, 58% are women, compared to 47.1% of male students.
These data could indicate that women aspire to have a higher educational level than men, possibly as an aspiration to combat the employment gap.
Another reality that stood out is that women dedicate more time to housework and care, personal hygiene and study (6.7 hours a day in women between 18 and 22 years old) than men (5.2 hours a day in men between 18 and 22 years old), who spend more time on the Internet and sports.
In this way, it is evident that traditional gender roles continue to be reproduced as a result of differential socialization according to sex. In this sense, women dedicate more time to information and social relationships.
Online gambling and pornography are configured as eminently male activities, as men continue to be the main consumers of pornography and gambling.
SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS
Regarding the sexual habits of young people and adolescents in Tenerife, 4 out of 10 started having sex between the ages of 16 and 18 and 8 out of 10 claimed to have had sex before the age of 18.
In addition, 87% of the people who participated in the survey who have had sexual intercourse use contraceptive methods compared to 12.1% who affirm not to use them.
Within this percentage, more than 5 out of 10 do not consider it necessary to use them and in the case of women under 18 years of age, this figure is higher.
