teen dating violence awareness month
Emily Carey, University of Vermont, BA in Social Work Intern
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Most often associated with Valentine’s Day and love, in 2010 Congress designated February as the month to bring attention to teen dating violence.This 1 focused on teen dating violence The annual monthly event promotes advocacy and education to stop dating abuse before it starts. Teenage dating violence is defined as including physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional/psychological abuse between dating partners (www.teendvmonth.org)Conversations about teen dating violence are encouraged and welcomed throughout February. Participating in this kind of conversation gives you the space to listen to the signs of someone you know and love can be affected by teenage dating violence. By understanding these factors and learning the early warning signs of harmful and abusive behavior, we can change things for ourselves and the people we care about.
Teenage dating violence is much more common than many people think. , or experienced emotional abuse, two-thirds of whom never tell anyone. 43% of women in college reported experiencing violent or abusive dating behavior (www.teendvmonth.org). Dating violence can happen to anyone regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation or background.
The first step is to get correct information about healthy relationships and abuse in front of young people. It’s essential for teens to know that abusive relationships are often emotional as well as physical. There are some warning signs that teens may be in an unhealthy or abusive relationship. , if you are trying to control different aspects of your life, this could be a sign of an abusive partner. (For example, if your partner let you down but said he loves you). If so, this could also be a sign of an abusive partner. Young people may be experiencing physical harm, including threats and threats of harm. Therefore, it is very important for young people to have a safe adult in their lives that they can talk to. During these relationships, teens learn a lot about basics of relationships such as communication, empathy, respect, and intimacy. By giving young people the tools to build healthy relationships, we help them become safe and caring partners and friends.
WomenSafe provides sexuality and violence prevention education to all students in Addison County. We are committed to the belief that a comprehensive and inclusive education is one of the most effective ways to empower students to become healthy and safe friends, families and partners. Providing this education early in someone’s life will improve their ability to identify the signs of dating and sexual violence when they or someone they know may be experiencing violence or abuse. You can ask for help. By equipping students with the skill sets for healthy partnering, we can foster cultural change that ends sexual and dating violence. Last year, our training and education programs reached her 2,246 adults and youth, with 331 prevention workshops, presentations, outreach events and professional training. Our curriculum is primarily centered around healthy relationships.
The theme for this year’s Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is “Know Your Worth.” This theme is about learning about healthy relationships and personal development. You deserve respect and deserve healthy, loving relationships. Everyone deserves a healthy relationship! If you’re her teen in Addison County and would like to learn more about healthy relationships, sign up for the Healthy Relationships Workshop Series, which is currently being held virtually at the Middlebury Teen Center. For more information, email lj@womensafe.net or call 388-9180.
