February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM) and we are asking everyone to wear something orange and promote respect and healthy relationships.
Dating abuse statistics:
- Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.
- One in three girls in the US is a victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence.
- One in ten high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped, or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend.
Why awareness is so important:
- Only 33% of teens in an abusive relationship ever told anyone about the abuse.
- 81% of parents believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue.
- Though 82% of parents feel confident that they could recognize the signs if their child were experiencing dating abuse, most parents (58%) could not correctly identify all the warning signs of abuse.
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Sources:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Physical Dating Violence Among High School Students—United States,2003,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 19, 2006, Vol. 55, No. 19.
- Davis, Antoinette, MPH. 2008. Interpersonal and Physical Dating Violence among Teens. The National Council on Crimeand Delinquency Focus. Available at http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2008_focus_teen_dating_violence.pdf.
- Grunbaum JA, Kann L, Kinchen S, et al. 2004. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2003. Morbidity andMortality Weekly Report. 53(SS02); 1-96. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5302a1.htm.
- Liz Claiborne Inc., conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, (February 2005).
- “Women’s Health,” June/July 2004, Family Violence Prevention Fund and Advocates for Youth, http://www.med.umich.edu/whp/newsletters/summer04/p03-dating.html.
- Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. (Liz Claiborne, Inc.), Conducted by Teen Research Unlimited, (May 2009). “Troubled Economy Linked to High Levels of Teen Dating Violence.