With school getting ready to start again, and most districts going back to in-person learning, I want to touch really quick on talking to, and educating our youth about, Teen Dating Violence.
Teen Dating Violence occurs in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships and can include any combination of verbal, emotional, physical, sexual abuse, and even financial abuse.
It may start as early as middle school when youth start dating for the first time. The dangerous effects of teen dating violence and sexual assault can significantly affect the rest of a teenager’s life. Even after the violence has ended, victims are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, including binge drinking, drug use, suicide attempts, and eating disorders.
How Parents Can Help
Teens may not have the experience or maturity to know if their relationships are abusive. They may think of dating violence as only physical violence (pinching, slapping, hitting, or shoving), not sexual violence, emotional abuse, or even the threatening of violence.
For example, a teen may think his or her partner cares when he or she calls, texts, emails, or checks in all the time. But that kind of behavior is about controlling the relationship.
Talk with your teen about what makes a healthy relationship. Explain that a caring partner wouldn’t do something that causes fear, lowers self-esteem, or causes injury.
You might start by asking your teen:
- Is your boyfriend or girlfriend easy to talk to when there are problems?
- Does he or she give you space to spend time with other people?
Let them know that they deserve respect in all their relationships. Think about values and messages that you want to pass on when talking to them.
Survivors of teen dating violence may find it difficult to be intimate with a new partner in adulthood, become a productive member of society, develop a personal value system, or establish an adult identity.
A FEW STATISTICS & FACTS
- Approximately 1 in 3 girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner.
- Technology (Facebook, Twitter, blogging, text messaging, etc.) that tweens and teens use allows teen dating violence to increase in pervasiveness but remain more hidden than ever.
- Only 3% of students who experience dating violence tell an authority figure, while 60% tell a friend.
- Nationwide, 12% of 9th-12th grade girls have been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to.
- One in six women was raped before the age of 25; 42% of female rape victims were first raped before the age of 18. Let me add that this is based on reported cases only…Scary right??
For more information about Teen Dating Violence, please visit: https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/talk-teens-teen-dating-violence/
Thank you for reading this week’s FYI Friday.
