“That you really hold someone else's life in your grip” -A qualitative study about risk and protective factors within young intimate partner violence and strangulation as a lethal method.

Young intimate partner violence is a severe societal problem. The aim of this study was to investigate risk and protective factors regarding young intimate partner violence from the perspective of different professionals working within the field. Furthermore the aim includes investigating their perceptions about strangulation as an act of fatal violence. This was conducted through semi-structured interviews. The material was analyzed based on a qualitative thematic analysis, connections were made to previous research and the normalization process.The results show that the majority of risk and protective factors regarding young intimate partner violence tend to overlap. Perpetrators under the influence of drugs were particularly prevalent among young people's acts of violence, in comparison to domestic violence of adults. It was explained that social media and pornography containing violent elements might influence the increase of strangulation among young people. The content was also considered contributing to the maintenance of macho culture and gender-stereotypical beliefs.