Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is recognized each February to promote healthy relationships and raise awareness about teen dating violence to prevent dating abuse before it starts.
Approximately 1 in 12 high school students in the U.S. have experienced physical or sexual dating violence. Survivors of teen dating violence are more likely to experience mental health challenges and face increased risk of experiencing intimate partner violence later in life (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2019).
What can you do to prevent or stop teen dating violence?
Everyone can help prevent or stop teen dating violence by learning about healthy relationships and learning to recognize signs of unhealthy or abusive relationships.
Warning signs a relationship is unhealthy or abusive include:
- A lack of communication, dishonest communication, and/or harmful or threatening communication
- Disrespectful treatment or mistreatment (e.g., putting a partner down frequently, especially in front of others)
- Controlling behaviors (e.g., checking a partner’s phone, email, or social media without their permission, pressuring a partner into activities, isolating a partner from friends and family, etc.)
- Extreme jealousy or insecurity
- Explosive outbursts, temper, or mood swings
- Any form of physical harm
Learn about healthy relationships!
Parents and caregivers:
- Talk with your teen about healthy relationships, boundaries, and safety. Healthy relationships require honest communication, safety, and respect. Encourage, empower, and support your teen to set and maintain healthy physical, emotional, and digital boundaries with their partner.
- Model healthy relationship behaviors. Support your teen by modeling healthy relationship behaviors and communication in all your relationships, including with them!
- Have questions or need support? Connect with love is respect for support 24/7 via chat, text (text “LOVEIS” to 22522), or phone at 1.866.331.9474. Love is respect is a project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and provides information, support, and advocacy about romantic relationships to teens and young adults (and those who care about them!).
Youth and young adults:
- Set and maintain healthy boundaries. Everyone deserves to feel safe and respected by their partner. Healthy relationships include open and honest communication, respect, trust, personal time away from each other, and mutual decision-making. Learn more about setting boundaries!
- Talk with a trusted adult about relationship concerns. Whether you’re concerned about your relationship or a friend’s, seek out and share your concerns with a trusted adult. Remember, a trusted adult can be your parent or caregiver but can also be a counselor, teacher, coach, youth group leader, mentor, etc.
- Get help. If you don’t have a trusted adult you feel comfortable talking with about relationship concerns, connect with love is respect for information or support 24/7 via chat, text (text “LOVEIS” to 22522), or phone at 1.866.331.9474. Love is respect is a project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and provides information, support, and advocacy about romantic relationships to teens and young adults.
For more information and resources, visit love is respect’s Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month page.