Romantic love and gender violence: Clarifying misunderstandings through communicative organization of the research

Abstract

Some prevention programs start from the assumption that romantic love triggers gender violence. This assumption has no scientific basis; no links have been found in the literature between romantic love and gender violence. This study explains how the communicative organization of research allows us to challenge discourses that claim the existence of a link between gender violence and romantic love without any evidence. Among other elements, the communicative organization of research implies the existence of an advisory committee, composed, in this case, of adolescents. In this committee, voices heard during fieldwork are contrasted with the literature, including theories on romantic love from the Middle Ages or theories on platonic love, as well as current scientific research. By so doing, examples of romantic love that refute the links to gender violence have been identified.