The Problem

 

Just how widespread is the problem of teen dating violence? We asked 125 high school freshmen in our target school about their experiences with dating and dating violence. Almost 70% of freshmen had dated at least one partner, and, as illustrated in the figure above, dating violence within the sample is depressingly common. This is particularly true of emotional violence, though significant numbers experienced physical and sexual violence as well. The prevalence of emotional violence is not surprising. Controlling and emotionally abusive behavior is often normalized and romanticized in popular culture (see, for example, the entire Twilight series.) Of course, in real life emotional abuse is not only damaging on its own; it is also often a precursor to physical and sexual abuse. Ultimately, these are the behaviors that we are trying to prevent, and it starts by teaching students to reject dating violence and not simply see it as "normal relationship drama."