Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

IHCRC
12 minutes ago
4 min read

Boy and girl making a heart shape with their hands together.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month!

WHO IT AFFECTS

Teen Dating Awareness Month Statistic from CDC, 15.7% of high school students have reported physical teen dating violence. Learn the signs and access resources at ihcrc.org/dvp

According to 2021 survey data collected from Oklahoma high school students who dated during the 12 months preceding the survey, 17.3% of American Indian/Alaskan Native girls experienced sexual dating violence, and 10.4% of American Indian/Alaskan Native girls and 9.9% of American Indian/Alaskan Native boys experienced physical dating violence.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

Teen dating violence, or TDV, can take place in-person, online, or through other forms of technology. TDV includes:

Physical violence – Injury or intimidation by physical force.
Sexual violence – Forced or attempted nonconsensual sexual acts, including in situations where the victim cannot consent. This includes sharing sexual photos, including AI-generated photos, and unwanted sexting.
Psychological aggression – Mentally or emotionally abusive communication or controlling and coercive behaviors.
Stalking – Repeated and unwanted attention and contact resulting in fear or safety concerns.

WHAT IT CAUSES

Illustration depicting teen experiencing cyber bullying attacks .

TDV can lead to:

Depression
Anxiety
Substance abuse
Antisocial behaviors
Missing school
Suicidal ideation

“IT’S COMPLICATED”

Teens are still developing social skills, healthy boundaries, and learning what is and isn’t acceptable behavior. For example, what may seem like “teasing” to teenagers might later develop into a more serious issue where a victim may be unsure whether they are being “too sensitive” or not. This is why TDV awareness is important, and parents or guardians may consider having a talk with their adolescent children to set a foundation for healthy relationship expectations.

Teen victim sitting down, feeling overwhelmed by the harmful effects of bullying.

Unhealthy relationship patterns that begin early in these formative years may persist throughout adulthood. Youth who experience abusive relationships in high school are at a higher risk of experiencing unhealthy relationship patterns in college as well. Women exposed to partner violence are 5x more likely to attempt suicide, with higher rates for men as well. TDV, with its higher risk of ongoing issues, can result in family trauma cycles, where children of these individuals experience the same risk factors.

Protective factors for TDV perpetration and victimization include high empathy, high verbal IQ, good grades, enjoying school, and positive family relationships. At the societal and community level, protective factors include low substance abuse rates, interpersonal abuse-intolerant community norms, increased economic opportunity, and housing security.

This gives a look at how harmful cycles operate and why it requires our mindfulness and careful, compassionate, and sustained efforts, as parents and community members, to replace negative patterns with healthy family and societal cycles that keep individuals safe and help them heal, feel their best, and achieve their true potential.

Parents and teens sitting/listening to teacher educating about communication skills.

PREVENTION & CARE

As you can see, it’s critical to try and prevent IPV early in these formative teenage years. Creating and maintaining a healthy relationship requires social skills that can be learned and developed just like any other skill. Identifying and regulating emotions, staying mindful of empathy and respect, and learning effective communication strategies and conflict resolution skills are important. Having supportive and protective environments is also crucial. This includes engaging men and boys as allies in prevention, educating and empowering bystanders, educating parents, and improving family and community conditions. Should TPV occur, it’s important to increase safety and lessen current and further harm. This includes treatment and support for survivors as well as other victim-centered services. IHCRC offers domestic violence prevention services, youth support services, and therapies to treat trauma and teach behavioral coping skills. You can visit our Domestic Violence Prevention and Behavioral Health pages for more information.

“REAL LOVE RESPECTS”

So, what should a healthy relationship look like? Popular movies, music, and other media aren’t always meant to serve as role model examples. It’s important that youths have access to healthy, realistic representations as well as materials to become informed and involved. Love is Respect is an organization that offers teens helpful information for setting healthy boundaries, identifying possible red flags, finding support in difficult situations, and becoming involved in TDVAM. If you anticipate a lot of eye rolls from your teen during your conversation about TDV, you might consider engaging them with this organization’s social media throughout February! Their theme this year is “Real Love Respects,” aligning with their organization’s mission to educate teens in identifying both positive and negative attributes associated with relationships, which can range on a spectrum from healthy to abusive.

Understanding, raising awareness for, preventing, and healing TDV is about caring for one another and strengthening our people and communities. Together, step-by-step, we can build brighter futures for our children and healthy societies overall. You can navigate the websites listed below to learn more about how you can become involved at the individual or communal level.

SOURCES & ADDITIONAL INFO