ABSTRACT
This chapter begins to evidence why some parents are unable to safeguard young people from peer-on-peer abuse and the ways in which it is critical to foreground social context in any discussion which seeks to identify opportunities to intervene and prevent the phenomenon in question. Unlike adult partnerships, young people's relationships are often played out in public and in the context of a peer group. Research into peer-on-peer abuse has implied that a reciprocal relationship does indeed exist; however, for young people who abuse their partners and peers symmetry simply serves to reinforce harmful attitudes. Assessing the weight of peer group influence over young people's intimate relationships suggests a need to recognise not just peer group norms, but also peer group dynamics, when exploring the nature of peer-on-peer abuse. The process of peer recruitment and bystander involvement in peer-on-peer abuse requires far more attention as does the impact of peer social norms on family relationships in cases of peer-on-peer abuse.
