Professor Torrado expresses “the surprise among ourselves when we know some details and keys to the investigation”. In this regard, it values that young people and adolescents in Tenerife – between 11 and 20 years old – claim to receive affective sexual training and gender equality, mostly through educational centers. But, says the expert, it has been “in specific actions and not with the necessary quality and continuity.” “This has as a consequence – assesses – the perception that this population has regarding sexist violence and sexuality, which is far from achieving real equality.” He considers it essential to “involve families in this education.”
The profile.
Not emancipated, with a precarious job and very little desire for participation. It is the profile of the young population of Tenerife. The study proposes to put the focus of public policies on this lack of active participation and job insecurity. The objective was to know the profile of adolescents and young people in Tenerife to establish common characteristics around culture and leisure and free time habits, as well as the knowledge and perception of gender violence between the ages of 11 and 20. The information was collected through two channels: the analysis of demographic and labor data and the conduct of telephone surveys of 956 people. It should be noted that the youth index in the Canary Islands and Tenerife has decreased steadily from 2015 to 2019. In addition, that of Tenerife is above that of the Canary Islands. The fertility rate behaves the other way around, so that in the Canary Islands it is below Tenerife and slightly exceeds the child per woman, which does not ensure generational replacement. Another reality: the female unemployment rate exceeds that of men between 2016 and 2019.
“The research offers some clues that have surprised even us”
They study more.
Most of the people surveyed study at university. 58% are women compared to 47.1% of men. They would aspire to have a higher level of education to combat the labor gap. In addition, girls spend more time on housework and care, personal hygiene and studying (6.7 per 5.2 hours a day). Males use it to enter the Internet and sports. Another conclusion: traditional gender roles are reproduced as a result of differential socialization according to sex. Women devote more time to information and social relationships, while online gambling and pornography are established as eminently masculine activities.
Sexual habits
Four out of ten young people and adolescents in Tenerife began to have sexual relations between the ages of 16 and 18 and 8 out of 10 claim to have had them before the age of 18. 87% use contraceptive methods compared to 12.1% who claim not to use them. When asking about the causes, they allege that they were drunk, trusted their partner or did not consider it necessary. Although it is a “minority” figure, it is also a “very worrying” figure, says Esther Torrado.
Deniers.
“We are very concerned that 50% of the young people surveyed are deniers of sexist violence or do not differentiate it from other types of violence,” says the Sociology professor, for whom “it is worrying that they consider sexist or gender violence it is equally suffered by men and women. 33.8% of young people between 18 and 22 years old affirm that there are no inequalities between men and women due to gender. This means “that an important sector of the population denies this type of violence that is exercised simply because they are women,” underlines the professor, director of the research team completed by her colleagues Josué Gutiérrez and Alberto Javier Báez.
Life conditions.
The study reveals that 8 out of 10 respondents have had their own room available, study table, mobile and internet during the pandemic. Two out of ten, however, had to share the resources. Therefore, “although small, it is a significant enough percentage to take it into account”, since they are young people “who have not had the minimum,” adds the teacher.
Out of plane.
The sociologist recognizes that work “is a step”, but it is possible to delve into aspects such as social classes, despite the fact that the level of income has been analyzed and the most affected are young people from the lower classes, from working families or in unemployment. Another monograph would be addiction to internet gambling. Finally, including sex education as a curricular issue in schools and institutes –in addition to proposing the recovery of the Schools for Fathers and Mothers– “is a matter of state,” for the ULL expert.
