Teenage Domestic Violence

As part of my Intro to Gender Studies class, we have to come up with a topic we've always been interested in and research it. Part of the project requirements include sharing information and teaching others as well as learning about the topic yourself. So I wanted to share some information here, hoping that it'll help someone somewhere.

Here is a link that lists hotlines and organizations that can help a huge range of people. There are LGBTQ resources, teen resources, and adult resources. Domestic violence (or dating violence, in the teen years) doesn't discriminate. It effects us all.

“About 72% of 8th and 9th graders report dating;... and 1 in 10 adolescents reports being a victim of physical dating violence. Over 40% of young people who report they are victims of dating violence say that the incidents occurred in a school building or on school grounds.” (here)

“Nearly one in six (7th grade) students surveyed reported being a victim of physical dating violence in the last six months.” (here)

“Teens' caution in talking to adults might be warranted. Our surveys of a sample of adults in Michigan found that over 53% of mothers and 62% of fathers stated that they would urge their child to talk to their dating partner about dating abuse if he or she came to them about the issue.... Over 29% of mothers and 32% of fathers stated they would point out the good things in their child's relationship with the partner.”
“...[O]nly 8% of high school students used formal sources of help, such as teachers, counselors, medical personnel, or police, when confronted with dating aggression.”
(both from here)