As the school year comes to an end, we are very proud of all RAPP accomplished this school year, from participating in the Gladys Ricart Memorial Brides March in September, to One Billion Rising For Justice in February, to International Street Harassment Awareness Week and Denim Day in April, we’ve had another busy year raising awareness of dating abuse and promoting healthy relationships and respect. While we are away for the summer, training a new class of RAPP Peer Leaders, we wanted to leave you with some very important statistics about dating abuse, and implore you to keep communicating with your children about it.
PARENTAL AWARENESS
81% of parents surveyed either believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue. “Women’s Health,” June/July 2004, Family Violence Prevention Fund and Advocates for Youth, http://www.med.umich.edu/whp/newsletters/summer04/p03-dating.html, (Last visited 9/23/04).
A majority of parents (54%) admit they’ve not spoken to their child about dating vio- lence. Empower Program, sponsored by Liz Claiborne Inc. and conducted by Knowledge Networks, Social Control, Verbal Abuse, and Violence Among Teenagers, (2000).
TEEN AWARENESS
Nearly 25% of 14-17 year-olds surveyed know at least one student who was a victim of dating violence, while 11% know multiple victims of dating violence. 33% of teens have actually witnessed such an event. Empower Program, sponsored by Liz Claiborne Inc. and conducted by Knowledge Networks, Social Control, Verbal Abuse, and Violence Among Teenagers, (2000).
20% of surveyed male students report witnessing someone they go to high school with physically hit a person they were dating. Tiffany J. Zwicker, Education Policy Brief, “The Imperative of Developing Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Intervention Programs in Secondary Schools.” 12 Southern California Review of Law and Women’s Studies, 131, (2002).
39% of female high school students report that students talk in school about whether someone is attempting to control the person they are dating. Tiffany J. Zwicker, Education Policy Brief, “The Imperative of Developing Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Intervention Programs in Secondary Schools.” 12 Southern California Review of Law and Women’s Studies, 131, (2002).
PREVENTION RECOMMENDATIONS
57% of teens know someone who has been physically, sexually, or verbally abusive in a dating relationship. Liz Claiborne Inc., Conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, (February 2005).
45% of girls know a friend or peer who has been pressured into either intercourse or oral sex. Liz Claiborne Inc., Conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, (February 2005).
One in three teens reports knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped or physically hurt by their dating partner. Liz Claiborne Inc., Conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, (February 2005).
In 9 out of 10 rapes in which the offender is under 18, so is the victim. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Fact Sheet on Violence: Adolescents & Young Adults, 5, (2002).