Adolescence and gender violence online: a comparative literature review of Costa Rica, Mexico and Spain

Abstract

Teenagers are susceptible to the changes introduced by the technological revolution. From an early age they incorporate the use of TICs in their daily lives, becoming one of the main means to communicate, socialize and explore, sometimes leading to dangerous situations. Thus, they begin to establish their first romantic relationships in which behaviors that are expressions of structural gender violence are sometimes transferred to the virtual space. Advances in the understanding of this form of violence are limited, which is why this article seeks to make visible the scope and gaps in the recognition of online gender violence (OGV). This will be done through the review of secondary sources and by taking as reference lines of research as well as regulatory and instructional approaches in three countries: Costa Rica, Mexico and Spain. This research is carried out within the framework of the project "Technology and gender violence in adolescent couple relationships" of the Institute for Women's Studies, National University of Costa Rica (UNA). Among the findings, it becomes clear that online gender violence is a recently recognized problem, although in the Latin American region it has not been accompanied by clear public policies that guide its approach.