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Research shows a high prevalence of sexual violations among young people despite widespread agreement on the importance of consent. To understand their perspectives, we conducted focus-group interviews with 63 young Norwegians (aged 16-20) discussing a film about a problematic sexual encounter. Despite the participants' diverse backgrounds (in terms of gender, ethnicity, geographical location and social class), they mostly described the problem that causes the sexual violation to be miscommunication. Through an analysis of this miscommunication problematization, we show how four heterosexual norms shape their understanding of responsibility for the violation. Two of these norms are well documented: sexual egalitarianism and patriarchy. Additionally, we found norms of sexual market and seductive masculinity. Based on our findings and former research, we suggest that to prevent sexual violations, one needs not only to focus on actions like asking for consent, but also to emphasize gender norms and an ethics of care.

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to shed light on how the situation of children in domestic violence shelters in Norway has progressed over the last 15 years. We ask; how has the situation for children changed from 2008 until today? How do children themselves understand the situation? Can children be understood as service users today, as defined in the 2010 Norwegian Domestic Violence Shelter Act? How do shelters currently use the "window of opportunity" in terms of fulfilling children's rights and needs?

Methods

Leaders in domestic violence shelters in Norway were surveyed in 2008 and 2010. The results of these surveys were compared to results from a survey answered by child-focused practitioners and leaders in domestic violence shelters in 2023. In addition, qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 children and young people, 5 to 23 years old, who all were staying, or had recently stayed, at a shelter in Norway.

Results

There had been progress with regard to almost all issues that were compared between 2008/2010 and 2023. More staff are now employed specifically for children, children receive more counseling and information, are able to visit friends, and the shelters cooperate more with other agencies. However, although more children continue schooling, many do not. Fewer children receive visits from friends, and social media compromises their security.

Conclusion

The situation for children in shelters has improved considerably. Today, children are seen as rights-holders and agents. However, progress still must be made before the full potential of the window is used.

Background: Bereavement due to fatal family violence (e.g. intimate partner homicide, filicide, parricide, siblicide) is a profoundly disruptive experience for children, with lifelong psychosocial consequences. Although the need for fatal family violence prevention is increasingly recognised internationally, support for bereaved children in the aftermath remains fragmented, inconsistent and largely dependent on local service availability rather than individual needs. Caregivers, often coping with their own grief, face extraordinary demands without adequate guidance or resources.

Objective: This paper seeks to draw attention to the urgent need to focus on children bereaved by fatal family violence and develop an international, collaborative agenda that places the voices of young survivors and their caregivers at the centre.

Methods: We held a workshop in Caen, Normandy, France, in 2025, to mark the launch of the international component of the five-year research programme Homicide at Home: Minimising the Impact on Young Survivors, funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. This workshop convened 33 researchers, clinicians, policymakers and advocates, including with lived experience, from 11 countries to develop a roadmap.

Results: The envisaged agenda aims to centre the perspectives of people with lived and/or caregiving experience and comprises three interconnected components: (a) identifying existing knowledge, practices and resources; (b) shaping and curating an international repository; and (c) supporting the development of new research. The description of these elements is intended as both a starting point and an invitation.

Conclusions: Fatal family violence leaves behind a significant number of children whose needs are urgent yet under-addressed. By working collectively across disciplines and countries, together with those who are the most affected, we can begin to address the long-term impact of these traumatic losses. We invite colleagues to join this initiative.

Mäns våld mot kvinnor och våld i nära relationer är ett allvarligt folkhälso- och samhällsproblem med djupgående konsekvenser. Våldet är könsrelaterat och en fråga om mänskliga rättigheter – allas rätt till ett liv fritt från våld.

Denna antologi ger en aktuell och fördjupad kunskapsöversikt om våldets uttryck, orsaker och konsekvenser. Med utgångspunkt i nationell och internationell forskning presenteras centrala perspektiv och teorier som bidrar till förståelsen av mäns våld mot kvinnor och våld i nära relationer.

Boken har ett interprofessionellt perspektiv och vänder sig till studenter och yrkesverksamma inom bland annat hälso- och sjukvård, socialt arbete, tandvård och rättsväsende. Den belyser olika myndigheters ansvar för att bekämpa våldet samt att erbjuda skydd och stöd till den som är utsatt.

Nationellt centrum för kvinnofrid (NCK) vid Uppsala universitet och Akademiska sjukhuset är ett nationellt kunskapscentrum om mäns våld mot kvinnor, hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck samt våld i hbtqi-personers nära relationer. NCK arbetar med utbildning av yrkesverksamma och studenter samt med forskning och kunskapssammanställning. På regeringens uppdrag driver NCK även nationella stödlinjer och chattar för våldsutsatta samt patientmottagning.

Objectives Despite the important role of healthcare services in trauma recovery, many survivors of violence do not seek help. This study aims to examine rates of healthcare utilisation, including differences for physical violence versus rape, gender and physical injury (vs no injury) and obstacles to seeking care within 6 months following incidents of physical violence and rape. Design and setting The participants were randomly chosen from the National Population Registry in Norway and invited to participate in a telephone survey on violence exposure and health between June 2021 and June 2022 (N=4299, 49% women). Participants The sample included 1768 violence-exposed individuals. Of the women (n=749), 82.1% had experienced physical violence and 40.3% had experienced forcible rape. Of the men, most had experienced physical violence (98.6%) and a small percentage had experienced rape (3.5%). Outcome measures Logistic regression models were used to investigate whether healthcare seeking differed by gender, type of violence (rape vs physical violence) and severity (physical injury). Barriers to accessing healthcare were also investigated using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results Healthcare seeking rates were low after rape (16.9%) and physical violence (24.2%), with somewhat higher rates among individuals experiencing both types of violence (39.9%). There were no statistically significant differences in the odds of healthcare utilisation between the three types of violence exposures when we controlled for gender, physical injury, violence characteristics and sociodemographic factors. Men were more likely than women to have sought healthcare (adjusted OR (aOR): 1.37, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.85, p=0.042). Physical injury was strongly associated with greater healthcare utilisation (aOR: 6.39, 95% CI: 4.85 to 8.41, p<0.001). Barriers to healthcare seeking included perceptions of violence severity and context, as well as shame and fear of consequences. Conclusions Few victims seek healthcare shortly after experiencing rape or physical violence. Quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that many seek healthcare exclusively for severe physical injury. These results emphasise the need to improve health services' outreach to victims of violence, who are at heightened risk of mental health issues and chronic illnesses.

Across institutional settings, people who talk about having committed sexual violence often do so in ways that may neutralize their personal culpability for it. These so-called neutralizations may be part of a pro-social forward-looking narrative, but might also obscure information and strengthen attitudes that enable further violence. In this article, we examine how one such neutralization –excuses – is managed turn-by-turn, in research interviews with 19 young persons who have committed sexual violations. We specifically ask how the interviewers respond to potential ‘excuses’ in interviewees’ talk, and how these responses in turn affect their subsequent conversation. The purpose is to unpack the details of how this is done, and what we might learn of relevance to social work practice. Using conversation analysis, we show how resources of active listening can support and steer interviewee reflections while neither endorsing nor confronting potential ‘excuses’. This way of responding creates room for co-achieving a project of making sense without displacing responsibility. We unpack how the interviewer uses subtle verbal and non-verbal resources to suspend explicitly evaluative responses, enabling gentle negotiations of the interviewees’ accounts and recognition of the interviewees’ sensemaking projects. Three key implications for practice are discussed. First, the importance of supporting the clients’ sense-making; second that subtle nuances in how active listening can both support and put interactional pressure on the client to continue and adapt their story, and third, the potential utility of opening with a non-evaluative, relationally oriented stance.

Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA) is an increasingly recognized issue, especially among young people, yet empirical research on its consequences remains relatively scarce. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search identified peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2024, and eligible studies were screened and quality-assessed using standardized criteria. This systematic review synthesizes findings from 12 empirical studies to provide a comprehensive overview of the psychological, social, educational and occupational consequences of IBSA victimization among individuals aged 10-24. The findings highlight severe emotional and psychological distress, including fear, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Social repercussions such as bullying, ostracization, and victim-blaming further exacerbate these impacts. Additionally, IBSA is associated with significant disruptions in educational and occupational trajectories, with victims reporting school relocation and/or job loss. These outcomes underscore the parallels between IBSA and physical sexual abuse, emphasizing the need for targeted prevention strategies, improved legal frameworks, and informed victim support services. The study calls for further research into the long-term consequences of IBSA and the development of interventions that address both its digital and societal dimensions. Given the legal and psychological severity of IBSA, this review also highlights the need for forensic psychological assessment, integration of victim experiences into legal processes, and the development of trauma-informed policies that support young people through the justice system.

This study focuses on sexual youth intimate partner violence (YIPV), what it is like to be young and subjected to such violence and how this experience affects a young person. Drawing upon 27 interviews with victims (ages 17-24) of sexual YIPV, we ask: How does psychological aspects influence how sexual YIPV and control were experienced? How are young victims affected by the violence? From a social perspective, how can we understand the consequences? The results suggest that experiences of sexual YIPV may lead to consequences such as development of a negative body image and difficulties having sex; loss of bodily control; and using sex as a means of self-injury. Our findings also show how sexual YIPV is interconnected with other forms of violence. The findings are valuable to professionals supporting young victims of sexual IPV, as they shed light on how sexual YIPV may affect young victims.