Teen dating violence is a serious issue that is too often overlooked and unrecognized. While many of us are coming out of our teens and settling into our twenties, according to an article from the Northeast Community Challenge Coalition, each year one in four teens reports being the victim of relationship violence. Dating violence often begins during adolescence and can have a large effect on adolescent development. The patterns seen in violent relationships will often follow these teens into their future relationships. Dating violence can be seen in various forms, such as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
The top ten warning signs of abuse by your significant other include checking your cell phone or email without permission, constantly putting you down, acting extremely jealous or insecure, having an explosive temper, demanding to know where you are and who you are with all the time, isolating you from family or friends, undergoing large mood swings, physically hurting you in any way, being possessive, and telling you what to do (www.teendvmonth.org). In order to spread awareness and encourage teens to stand up against abuse, President Obama has declared the month of February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. This month will be used to promote healthy relationships among teens, support the victims, and work to end the violence.
“Adolescents in controlling or violent relationships may carry these dangerous and unhealthy patterns into future relationships,” President Obama stated. “The time to break the cycle of teen dating violence is now, before another generation falls victim to this tragedy.”
If you have been a victim or a witness of relationship abuse, do not be afraid to speak up. There are various organizations created to help, such as the National Dating Abuse Helpline, whose number is 1-866-331-9474.
Let us remember that this issue is something many of us have experienced or will experience at some point in our life. It is important to stand together and recognize the month of February as a month to break the silence.