Dating Violence Intervention
Teen Dating Violence Red Flags
- Shoves, slaps, chokes, hits, or uses weapons against me
- Constantly checks up on me or makes me check in
- Isolates me from my friends
- Texts or calls me excessively
- Has frequent mood swings: Is angry one minute and the next minute is sweet and apologetic
- Puts me down, calls me names, or criticizes me
- Breaks things or throws things to intimidate me
- Yells, screams, or humiliates me in front of others
- Threatens to hurt him/herself because of me
- Makes me feel nervous or like I'm walking on eggshells
- Forces me into proving my love or loyalty constantly
- Pressures me into having sex
Why Focus on Young People?
- Girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence – almost triple the national average.
- Among female victims of intimate partner violence, 94% of these age 16-19 and 70% of those age 20-24 were victimized by a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend.
- Violent behavior typically begins between the ages of 12 and 18.
- The severity of intimate partner violence is often greater in cases where the pattern of abuse was established in adolescence.
Lack of Awareness
- Only 33% of teens who were in a violent relationship ever told anyone about the abuse.
- Eighty-one (81) percent 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 was experiencing dating abuse, a majority of parents (58%) could not correctly identify all the warning signs of abuse.
Source: Dating Abuse Statistics –