Teen Dating Violence Awareness

Dating violence is more common than people think, especially among teens and young adults: one in three teens in the US will experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from someone they’re in a relationship with before they become adults, and nearly half (43%) of college women report experiencing violent or abusive dating behaviors.

Every February, young people and their loved ones join together across the country for a national effort to raise awareness about the issue of teen dating violence through Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM). This annual, month-long push focuses on advocacy and education to stop dating abuse before it starts.

Teen dating violence (TDV), also called, “dating violence”, is an adverse childhood experience that affects millions of young people in the United States. Dating violence can take place in person, online, or through technology. It is a type of intimate partner violence that can include the following types of behavior:

• Physical violence is when a person hurts or tries to hurt a partner by hitting, kicking, or using another type of physical force.
• Sexual violence is forcing or attempting to force a partner to take part in a sex act and or sexual touching when the partner does not consent or is unable to consent or refuse. It also includes non-physical sexual behaviors like posting or sharing sexual pictures of a partner without their consent or sexting someone without their consent.
• Psychological aggression is the use of verbal and non-verbal communication with the intent to harm a partner mentally or emotionally and exert control over a partner.
• Stalking is a pattern of repeated, unwanted attention and contact by a current or former partner that causes fear or safety concern for an individual victim or someone close to the victim.

Teen dating violence profoundly impacts lifelong health, opportunity, and wellbeing. Unhealthy relationships can start early and last a lifetime. The good news is violence is preventable, and we can all help young people grow up violence-free.

1. Roughly 1.5 million high school boys and girls in the U.S. admit to being intentionally hit or physically harmed in the last year by someone they are romantically involved with.[1]
2. Teens who suffer dating abuse are subject to long-term consequences like alcoholism, eating disorders, promiscuity, thoughts of suicide, and violent behavior.[2]
3. 1 in 3 young people will be in an abusive or unhealthy relationship. [3]
4. 33% of adolescents in America are victim to sexual, physical, verbal, or emotional dating abuse.[4]
5. In the U.S., 25% of high school girls have been abused physically or sexually. Teen girls who are abused this way are 6 times more likely to become pregnant or contract a sexually transmitted infection (STI).[5]
6. Females between the ages of 16 and 24 are roughly 3 times more likely than the rest of the population to be abused by an intimate partner.[6]
7. 8 States in the U.S. do not consider a violent dating relationship domestic abuse. Therefore, adolescents, teens, and 20-somethings are unable to apply for a restraining order for protection from the abuser.[7]
8. Violent behavior often begins between 6th and 12th grade. 72% of 13 and 14-year-olds are “dating.”[8]
9. 50% of young people who experience rape or physical or sexual abuse will attempt to commit suicide.[9]
10. Only 1/3 of the teens who were involved in an abusive relationship confided in someone about the violence.[10]
11. Teens who have been abused hesitate to seek help because they do not want to expose themselves or are unaware of the laws surrounding domestic violence.[11]

Source: DoSomething.org

Learning about healthy relationships and consent starts young. Parents can use the following resources to learn how to talk to their children and teens about healthy relationships and consent:

• Safe Secure Kids: This website provides free resources to help parents and caregivers prevent sexual abuse and harassment by communicating with children about respect and consent.
• Parent Discussion Guide on Youth Healthy Relationships: A discussion guide on how parents can talk to their teens about healthy relationships.
• I Ask How to Teach Consent Early: This handout contains tips for parents on how to teach and model consent
• Parent Tip Sheet: How Do I Help My Child?: This card provides tips for parents on how to help a child in an unhealthy relationship
• Healthy Communications with Kids: This resource shares information for parents about how to incorporate consent in everyday interactions with children.
• Parents Postcard: This postcard provides information for parents about teaching children and teens age-appropriate lessons about consent and healthy relationships.