February is national Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention month. Did you know that dating violence is a teen issue? We all have images that spring to mind when we think of this kind of abuse, and more than likely none of them are teenagers.
A plethora of high-profile cases like Ike and Tina and Nicole and O.J. have drawn plenty of attention to adult domestic abuse over the years, but only recently have we begun to realize the severity of dating violence in younger age groups.
Singer Rihanna's abuse by boyfriend Chris Brown is just one example as then 19-year-old Rihanna made her history of physical abuse at the hands of Chris Brown known to the world. Dating violence doesn't just begin in adulthood. In most cases it starts much earlier before it develops into full-fledged violence, and in some tragic instances, death.
A 16-year-old verbally abusing and emotionally controlling his girlfriend after class might make for a less dramatic mental image than our glamorous celebrity examples, but it doesn't deserve our attention any less. Statistics tell us that most victims of dating violence are girls between the ages of 16 and 24.
What's more, many victims of domestic violence report having been first abused between the ages of 11 and 17. When we remain unaware that dating violence is a teen issue, we miss the very root of the problem.
Another scary fact tells us that violent behaviors within a dating relationship are occurring at earlier and earlier ages as younger and younger children start "dating." One study reports that 25% of 8th and 9th graders say they've been victims of dating violence. That's 1 in 4!
While any amount of abuse is too much and worthy of our attention, the fact that this many students engage in abusive relationships at such a young age should serve as a warning sign that teen dating violence is a serious issue, and we can't ignore it.
What does it look like?
Let's take another look at that 16-year-old and his girlfriend. Since almost half of the reported incidents of teen dating violence occurred on school grounds, let's imagine them in the hallway between classes...
