Part of the story I tell teens in the classroom is that I experienced dating violence in my relationship with my “first love.” Luckily, I recognized that physical aggression was a deal-breaker, and I broke the relationship off.
According to one study, about 12 percent of teens reported being hurt by a teen they were dating, and 9 percent say they were forced to have sex. The thing that stood out most to me in the article, is that more than half of parents have not talked to their teens about this issue. I am actually encouraged that almost half have, of course, but think it’s a good idea to urge ALL parents to include this topic in their conversational “to do” list. Besides talking to our kids, another bit of advice is to “encourage teens to double date to help prevent violence from occurring,” and “know a date’s plans for the evening and the expected return time.”