Education, Social Media, and Gender-Based Violence Prevention Among Vocational Training Students

Social media has become the primary medium of socialisation for adolescents and young people, significantly altering interpersonal relationships. It is therefore essential to study and contextualise this phenomenon to analyse the interpersonal interactions occurring in virtual environments among students in the sociocultural and community services (SSC) vocational family, from a gender-based perspective. A descriptive study was performed using a questionnaire on gender-based violence. The findings confirm that social media is perceived as a violent space by the youth, with at least 3 out of 10 reporting having been harassed online. Their experiences indicate that gender stereotypes are perpetuated in social media spaces. Furthermore, gender exacerbates the reproduction of sexism and inequality, with girls being the most frequent observers of such violence. The education system must educate citizens on how to constructively address the impact and risks of virtual environments in situations of inequality, positioning itself as a crucial space for eradicating gender-based violence. The situation necessitates educational actions in digital and media competencies for SSC vocational students, incorporating into their personal, professional, and social skills the full integration of digital culture. This will enable them to develop a critical understanding of the social issues they may encounter in virtual environments, where they will carry out numerous professional and personal activities.