PERCEPTION and ATTITUDES Protection It is understandable to marry off the adolescent BOY to protect him from harassment and abuse. It is understandable to marry off the adolescent GIRL to protect her from harassment and abuse. 55% I AGREE 113 respondents I DISAGREE 93 respondents 62% I AGREE 78 respondents I DISAGREE 126 respondents Gender-based violence is a general term that refers to any harmful act committed against a person based on socially ascribed (e.g. gender-related) differences between men and women. This includes acts that cause physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering, as well as threats of such acts, such as coercion and deprivation of liberty. These acts can take place in public or private spaces. Common forms of gender-based violence include sexual violence (rape, attempted rape, unwanted contact, sexual exploitation and sexual harassment), intimate partner violence (also called domestic violence, including physical, emotional, sexual and economic abuse), child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. [25] The answers of the respondents who find it ‘understandable’ and ‘acceptable’ to marry children in order to reduce the risk of harassment and abuse and to protect them from these forms of violence, which are addressed in the context of violence against children and women and gender-based violence, reveal the perception and attitude that the risk and the need to marry for protection are higher for girls. As in the previous question, Turkish citizens mostly answered ‘disagree’, while respondents from Syria and Iraq stated that they ‘agree’. On the other hand, while 83 per cent of respondents from Syria agree for girls, this rate drops to 60 per cent for boys. [25] UNFPA, Guidance, How to Design and Initiate Cash Support in Gender-Based Violence Case Management, 2023 42