Facebook Pixel

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

By HERWriter
 
Rate This

In the U.S., teen dating violence is a serious issue. Due to embarrassment and fear, many teens do not report it.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 54 percent of high school students reported dating violence among their peers. Also, one in five high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.

Teens in violent relationships are at an increased health risk. Along with physical injury, teens who are dating violence victims are also more likely to commit suicide, binge drink, and be sexually promiscuous. Also, rates of drug, tobacco and drug use are twice as high among dating violence victims. Overall, dating violence can negatively affect teens throughout their entire lives.

Dating violence can be prevented.

One key thing to prevent violence is for the caregiver of the teen to discuss the importance of developing healthy relations. Teens need to understand and recognize a healthy relationship versus an unhealthy relationship.

Here are some key tips if you or someone you know is a victim of teen dating violence:

First, stay calm. Your reaction could affect how your teen reacts to her situation. Also, create a safe haven for communications for your teen. Your teen may need time to freely express her situation and may pull away out of fear. Be patient and give her time to explain her feelings. Reaffirm that you are not upset or offended by her feelings or emotions but you respect her privacy and are concerned for her safety.

Do not threaten to harm or seek revenge on her dating partner. These actions may cause your teen to avoid talking about any future dating situations.

Also, thank your teen for sharing and revealing the situation. Reassure the teen that you have her best interests at heart. Discuss different professional resources to deal with the situation. For example, consider visiting a counselor or contacting the resources below for additional information.

Additional sources regarding teen dating violence include:

Choose Respect Initiative - www.chooserespect.org
National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
National Sexual Violence Resource Center - www.nsvrc.org
National Youth Violence - www.safeyouth.org

Finally, you may want to report the violence to local law enforcement. Discuss and document the options you want to pursue with local law enforcement.

The CDC stated the best time to talk with your teen about unhealthy dating relationships is before she starts dating. When your teen starts to date, set rules and limits. Involve your teen in setting sensible ground rules. Consider meeting the parents of your teen’s friends. Here are some basic dating rules to consider:

• Set a dating age for your teen. Be clear to your teen when he or she can start dating
• Request to meet the date prior to the date
• Set a curfew
• Before your teen’s date ask details about the date (i.e.: group date, double date, who is driving, etc.)
• A parent or guardian should always be present if the dates want to spend time at home.
• Each night, set a time limit on texting or instant messaging (IM) activity.

Source:
http://www.cdc.gov/chooserespect/index.html

Add a Comment4 Comments

EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Really good post. Teenage is very delicate and parents have to keep a good balance between freedom and restrictions on children.
Dating and money

March 14, 2011 - 1:23am

Domestic violence will never end as long as the whole truth about it is misrepresented to comply with feminist ideology. V.P. Biden recently called violence against women, "the very worst abuse." The very worst abuse is valuing one life less than another for having been born the wrong gender. Under domestic violence law, the wrong gender is men. Shelter and services are virtually non-existent for male victims of domestic violence. Options out of a bad relationship, that women have, are often not available to men. Men wind up gender profiled and falsely accused by the taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry, because of gender feminist ideology controlling the d.v. industry. Men are often battered by domestic violence, and then battered again by the taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry as shown in "Los Misandry" at Youtube.

February 25, 2011 - 1:12am

What about women's violence against children? Deaths of little children, killed by their mothers, is egregious, yet the taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry disingenuously tries to make us believe that women don't abuse men too. According to the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services and DOJ statistics, more kids are killed by neglect and abuse in a year (1,760 in 2007), than all the female intimate partner homicides in a year. Mothers are the single largest group of kid killers, according to HHS, and they have a rate twice that of fathers. Nowhere near the money is spent to protect kids from kid killing mothers as is spent by the domestic violence industry to protect women. The taxpayer funded d.v. industry is a bastion of misandrist vilification, falsely accusing men of being the overwhelming cause of d.v., and empowering violent women to commit further domestic violence. The corruption of the taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry is characterized in "Los Misandry" at Youtube.

February 25, 2011 - 1:10am

What about all the men who are victims of women's domestic violence? Women's domestic violence against men is grossly under reported, while male victims are still routinely being ignored by the taxpayer funded domestic violence industry. Credible research overwhelmingly shows that the ratio of domestic violence is at least 50/50 between women & men. Go to Fiebert Bibliography. According to one study by researchers who work at the CDC, in 70 percent of domestic violence incidents, where the d.v. is not mutual, it's women who initiate the d. v. Go to Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting. Click on the link under the red & blue pie chart. D.v. law follows a gender feminist agenda over facts & does great harm to many innocent men & also many violent women. Go to Youtube, “Los Misandry.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAmOxvudpF8

February 25, 2011 - 1:04am
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
By submitting this form, you agree to EmpowHER's terms of service and privacy policy
Add a Comment

We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

Relationships & Family

Get Email Updates

Relationships & Family Guide

Have a question? We're here to help. Ask the Community.

ASK

Health Newsletter

Receive the latest and greatest in women's health and wellness from EmpowHER - for free!