February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, a national effort to raise awareness about dating violence, promote programs that support youth, and encourage communities to prevent this form of abuse with the goal of decreasing the prevalence of dating violence amongst teens.
Women With A Vision has launched a new program focusing on Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Dating Violence, specifically aimed at African-American women and LGBTQ survivors. Our program coordinator, along with our community navigators can assist survivors with culturally-specific domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking services and referrals.
What is Dating Violence?
Dating violence is a pattern of abusive behaviors used to exert power and control over a dating partner that can come in these forms:

• Physical Abuse: Any intentional use of physical force with the intent to cause fear or injury, like hitting, shoving, biting, strangling, kicking, or using a weapon.
• Verbal or Emotional Abuse: Non-physical behaviors such as threats, insults, constant monitoring, humiliation, intimidation, isolation, or stalking.
• Sexual Abuse: Any action that impacts a person’s ability to control their sexual activity or the circumstances in which sexual activity occurs, including rape, coercion, or restricting access to birth control.
• Digital Abuse: Use of technologies and/or social media networking to intimidate, harass, or threaten a current or ex-dating partner. This could include demanding passwords, checking cell phones, cyber bullying, sexting, excessive or threatening texts, or stalking on Facebook or other social media.

Did you know that one in three teens will experience some form of dating abuse this year? And that nearly 1.5 million high school students across the nation will experience physical abuse from a dating partner? In fact, women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence – almost triple the national average. The CDC has created a factsheet that explains the warning signs of teen dating violence as well as strategies to prevent teen dating violence.
Parents, teens, friends, and loved ones, take time out this month to talk to each other about building healthy relationships.

If you or a loved one needs more information, please contact WWAV at (504) 301-0428.