The students who attended the optional course “Harmonious family relations” learned to identity the signs of manipulation and abuse in a relationship, changing their attitude to violence in a couple and to the roles of partners in a relationship. The teens were questioned within a thematic study commissioned by the International Center “La Strada”. The results were presented in a news conference at IPN on July 5.
Director of the Center for Investigations and Consultation “Sociopolis” Diana Cheianu-Andrei said a part of the teens before attending the given course paid attention to the physical appearance when choosing a partner. Now these became more informed about the traits of the partner that they should know and understood that they should analyze things as a whole. The number of students who consider that a woman should not tolerate violence in order to keep the family increased.
“The discussing of future relations, building of a harmonious family is, regrettably, not a tradition or something ordinary in Moldova. This is done only in a low number of cases. Both the teachers and students said this discipline is welcome and useful, being like a “primer of family life” and a subject that shapes their future,” stated Diana Cheianu-Andrei.
Discussions on how a harmonious family should be built are held in only 12% of the families in Moldova. Most of the parents do not want violence-related problems to be discussed at the civic education course that is taught at school. “The harmonious and durable families that the young people will create in the future should be a preoccupation of the state and the school,” said Diana Cheianu-Andrei.
Before this discipline was taught, eight in ten respondents considered the woman should know to cook and should like to do the cleaning. The study conducted at the end of the school year shows that the perception of the roles in the family has changed. The changes are more significant among students who studied the discipline, as opposed to those who didn’t study it. Now more students think it is important for a “good housewife” to have the own opinion, while the number of students who laid emphasis on beauty, forgiveness when the husband insults the wife and the woman’s obligation to do the cleaning decreased.
Also, a large part of the students who earlier considered that a girl who lives with a young man before marriage has an immoral behavior now changed their minds. The young people no longer stick to stereotypes related to rape and few of them consider that a girl who is dressed indecently is to blame for being raped.
The study was carried out after one year of teaching of the course “Harmonious family relations” in 21 schools and lyceums all over Moldova. Focus group discussions were held for the purpose and there were interviewed over 800 students and 288 parents.
