Experiences of Dating Violence Among Adolescents and Young People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Literature

Understanding the experiences of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in adolescent dating relationships is critical to addressing its physical and psycho-social impacts. Intervention research on IPV in dating relationships often focuses on high-income contexts. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies on dating violence among adolescents and young people aged 10 to 25 years in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Twelve databases were systematically searched last in March 2023. Twenty-three publications describing 22 qualitative studies across 13 countries met the inclusion criteria. Thematic synthesis of the included study findings led to five themes: experiences of violence, causal attributions, impact, help-seeking and expectations of support. Findings revealed cross-regional experiences of physical violence, sexual coercion, control, and emotional violence both offline and online, associated with physical harm and adverse psycho-social effects. Traditional gender norms were key drivers of dating violence, maintained and normalised by myths of romantic love. Help-seeking was limited to informal sources, unless medical attention was necessary. Our findings highlight the severity of harms associated with dating violence and the limited resources available for adolescents in low-resource settings. We make a case for developing prevention interventions that address risk factors at multiple levels – individual, interpersonal, social and cultural – and that overcome the barriers identified by adolescents and young people from LMIC settings. The review protocol was registered prospectively on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42021267236).